Main Street News

On October 4, 5, and 6, the Silo Ridge Community Foundation is hosting the Silo Ridge Masters, an elite show jumping competition featuring world ranked athletes and national classes for top junior and amateur riders, at Keane Stud in Amenia, NY, near Silo Ridge Field Club. 

In addition to the competitive festivities, there are plenty of fun activities for the whole family as well! The weekend features a small farmers market, food trucks, fly fishing demos, a dog scurry, crafts like pumpkin painting for children, and a variety of other bespoke vendors. 

The Amenia-Wassaic Community Organization will be hosting a fundraising gala, A Champions Affair, powered by the Silo Ridge Community Foundation and being held on Friday, October 4 at 6:30pm. The event will be full of “fun and philanthropy,” including entertainment by Paul Peso and Jimmy Cozier, a silent auction, hors d’oeuvres, and interactive food stations.

The Silo Ridge Community Foundation strives to provide support and resources for a number of crucial aspects of the region, including arts, conservation, community enhancement and engagement, and education.

On Sunday afternoon, the big money event – the $125,000 Silo Ridge Grand Prix – will take place. The stakes of the grand prix are higher because the course is more complex, and when one thing – like the height of the jumper rails – gets more challenging, then all of the other aspects, including the technicality points and time allowed, also get more challenging. 

Speaking with the riders

Equestrian Camellia Ford, representing Christian Coyle Stables in Sherman, CT, took a moment to speak with us alongside Christian Coyle and Chelsea Dwinell after one of her competition runs. She stood with her horse’s handler Helen and her horse, whose barn name is Star, but who performs under the name Jetties.

Ford rode at the Lakeville Pony Club in her youth, attended Dutchess Day School in Millbrook NY, and also participated in Kent School’s riding program during her time at the Kent, CT, boarding school. 

Throughout her education she’s been in and out of the sport, yet it’s drawn her right back in each time. And the Silo Ridge event is truly right in her backyard, with Dwinell observing, “This is the closest thing to a home horse show we get.”

Ford pointed out that whether competing in show jumping or a different kind of event, the disciplines are quite interwoven in terms of the work you do, or try to do, on the ground with the horse. Star is eight years old, turning nine on January 1. 

Ford described how she got Star two years ago, and that typically, you start riding the horse when they’re three or four, start jumping with them when they’re four or five, and at around six, you can tell what kind of horse they will be. Coyle agreed, chiming in that at around 12 years old, horses reach their prime.

As we had the chance to feed Star some carrots, Ford discussed Star’s patience and well-rounded skill set, which is especially crucial for amateur horses to have. “If she didn’t have a good, even temperament, she wouldn’t put up with me,” she laughed. 

While Ford as a rider certainly has to signal to Star when to jump and make certain judgments that she then communicates to the horse, they also have an established trust that plays a crucial role in the competition. “She’s quite good to me,” Ford reflected with a smile.

Learning from the #1 female rider in the world 

Tiffany Foster is another one of the riders competing this weekend. She is currently tied with Erynn Ballard as the highest ranked female rider in the world and hails from Vancouver, Canada. 

Foster started riding when she was eight years old and later transitioned to working, riding, and teaching at Thunderbird Show Stables in Langley, BC, until she was 21 years old. Under the guidance of her mentors at Thunderbird Show Stables, Foster won both the Running Fox CET Medal and the Jump Canada Medal at the 2001 Royal Winter Fair in Toronto. 

Her career has only continued to blossom since. She has represented Canada as a member of the equestrian team in the 2012 London Olympics, the 2014 World Equestrian Games in Normandy, the 2015 Toronto Pan American Games, the 2016 Rio Olympics, the 2023 Santiago Pan American Games, and most recently, the 2024 Paris Olympics. 

Foster was kind enough to join us for lunch while we were watching one of the rounds of jumping. She explained that though she brought two horses with her, she would be jumping with her mare Northern Light this weekend, a horse with whom she has previously won five-star grand prix competitions. 

She went on to explain to us that her second mare would not be ready for competition just yet, but that by putting in the groundwork this year, she is hoping that the mare will be ready to compete in show jumping by next year. 

Foster shared that in show jumping, about 96% of the horses competing are warmbloods. While a coldblood might be a draft horse or a plow horse, with a more even temperament, she clarified that a hotblood will behave in quite the opposite manner. Hotbloods are your typical thoroughbreds and race horses, with much more flighty and energetic tendencies. Warmbloods, then, are right in between: a breed athletic enough to go hunting with a stamina like a hotblood, but a horse with the mentality of a coldblood, being less likely to get spooked.

For Foster, she tends to gravitate toward the hot end of the spectrum. “I like them to feel every move I make,” she observed.

Cultivating a relationship with the horse

Foster competes all year long and last year, competed for 44 out of 52 weeks. She attributes her immense success not only to her own hard work, but to the horses that she works with. 

Foster has been riding horses since she was eight years old, and while she considered her made horses her teachers throughout her early career, she now finds it important that she makes the horses herself. At a certain point, “all you have to do is think it, and the horse knows exactly what to do.”

“The incredible relationship that you build with these amazing animals is the most important aspect. You get to know them and develop a language to communicate,” she explained. “That to me is the coolest part of the sport. Why do the horses do it? They don’t get the praise and glory that the riders get, but they love it anyway.” 

Additionally, some of Foster’s students are competing in the lower level jumps this weekend, allowing her not only to enjoy the show as a rider, but also as a teacher and mentor. 

“I’ve taught at every end of the spectrum and have essentially had students since I was 16 years old, so I think it definitely gives me a unique perspective on the sport and on competitions,” she said. 

Foster smiled humorously while she told us that she does still have teachable moments herself, despite the fact that she has been teaching for a better part of her life. She shared that she very recently learned how to ski, and prior to the experience, she had assumed that she would pick it up quite naturally. That was not the case, however, and Foster found herself feeling apprehensive and maybe a touch scared while she was rocketing down the mountain. 

“Your skis don’t feel your anxiety, but your horse does. Some horses have a gut reaction to compete, while others have the gut reaction to take care of their riders. Skis, unfortunately, have neither,” she laughed. 

Show jumping and other equestrian sports are perhaps the only sports in which age is on your side, rather than against you. At 40, Foster is considered to be in her prime, and she noted that many riders will compete until they’re in their sixties. The age of the horse is perhaps considered more important than the age of the rider. Typically, horses will have about a ten-year career, while riders can compete for decades.

“If you look at the top ten riders in the world, the average age is 43 years old. It’s really wonderful to be able to apply all of the athleticism and experience that you learn to a horse and continue doing what you love throughout your life,” she said. 

You can purchase tickets to the Silo Ridge Master’s Show here. To learn more about the Silo Ridge Community Foundation, visit their site here and to learn about the Amenia-Wassaic Community Organization, visit their site here.