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DARE TO FLY
Travel by horseback
By Sandra Kirkland
 When man first domesticated Hyracotherium, the ancestral horse,to pull his burdens and, eventually, to ride as an easier and faster mode of travel, he was onto something that has spanned millenia. While we use horsepower in our vehicles to get us from Point A to Point B, riding horses has evolved into a very competitive sporting event.
Within minutes of Toledo there are approximately a dozen stables that run the gamut from Western style, where trail riding and reining competitions are offered, to English style, where equitation, hunt seat or show jumping and dressage are de rigueur.
No matter what form you choose, you’ll find you and your family wrapped up in a unique and consuming relationship with a large, powerful beast of great heart and exhilaration. When a horse enters your life, nothing is ever the same.
At Fox Meadow Farms on Secor Road in Temperance, Michigan, four generations of the Howard family have been teaching area youngsters to ride and training them to be top competitors. The Howards’ sterling reputation draws families from Toledo, Perrysburg, Metamora and Columbus in Ohio, Gross Pointe and Ann Arbor in Michigan, and Fort Wayne, Indiana.
 All four generations live on the property surrounded by exquisitely landscaped gardens and lawns that lead to the first-class barn, paddocks, and an extensive outdoor arena. Seventy-five great equine athletes, costing anywhere from $35,000 to $100,000, live in superb quarters where they’re well groomed, fed, exercised and trained. During inclement weather, riders train in a large, indoor arena, and friends and parents can watch from the comfortable viewing room.
According to owner Judy Howard, many children come out to riding school, become boarders and then go on to show. Riders sign up for show divisions that best suit their abilities, as determined by their trainers, Polly and Meg Howard.
For each level and division, the United States Equestrian Federation has specific rules that must be followed by all its members. Everything is regulated. At every show points are earned and the federation keeps track of them. At the end of the show year, the points are accumulated to determine who will go on to compete in the indoor shows in Harrisburg, PA, Washington, D.C., and New York City.
The American Horse Show Association class in Harrisburg is for juniors under 18 who have competed all over the country. The McClay Class in New York City takes only 100 riders, who are judged on their position, skills and overall performance on the fences. The DC show is on equitation and hunter/jumper competition.
In the spring, the more local shows are at Stoney Ridge in Chelsea, Michigan and Winagin at Metamora. There are six summer shows and a spring and fall show at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky. Ms. Howard says, “We’re so very fortunate to have the very best, the Kentucky Horse Park, in our area.”
Many parents who have children involved in soccer, softball or volleyball circuits think they know about the rigors of traveling the road; they’ve no idea what goes into traveling the horseshow circuit. As Ms. Howard exclaims, “It’s like a gypsy caravan.
“First we load the horses into our 15-horse semi Air Ride trailer. In another semi, the tack boxes, the saddles, the wheelbarrows, the hay, the apple pickers and all the equipment must be packed up and shipped off.
“The golf carts are usually loaded on small trailers behind the cars. We use the carts to get from the barn to the rings. For example, there are 12 rings in Ocala, Florida, and we need to get from the barn to the ring to the next ring very quickly.”
 The Fox Meadows families spend the winter from January through March in Florida, traveling the circuit between Ocala and Palm Beach. Usually, the families stay in luxurious motor homes on the show grounds; some stay with friends, or in hotels. The families, who spend the entire season in Florida, usually send their children to school there. Some riders fly down on Thursday and stay through Monday.
Traveling with the riders and their families are the trainers and groomers who start their day at the barn before sunup. Any show day, trainers school their young riders before each class and, where allowed, from the sidelines during the course.
The first classes begin at 8 a.m. and the last horse may ride out well after 6 p.m. A rider may have classes spread out during the day, depending on which divisions she’s signed up for.
The motto at Fox Meadows Farm is “Dare to Fly,” and these families do their fair share. The horses and their riders do it every day over the jumps and through the fields to winning.
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