A rider schools the water at Barnstaple South. Photo via the Barnstaple Facebook page.

Derek Strine knows a good opportunity when he sees one. A lifelong businessman and real estate investor, Derek got back into the horse world after a number of years when his daughter, Katie, began riding. Now the owner of a booming new facility in Ocala, Barnstaple South, with plenty of support funneling in from an array of side hustles, Derek says eventing has become his second home. He plans to give the sport as much support as he can muster thanks to his knack for growing businesses.

Everything started when Derek’s daughter began riding with Bruce Davidson in Pennsylvania. From spending time around the jumper ring, where Katie had previously competed, Derek began to notice something: people flocked to the show jumping scene, but eventing seemed to get much less support.

But Derek admired the well-known eventer work ethic, the bootstrapping attitude that has transformed scrappy riders into polished professionals. He liked the attitude, so he started studying.

“I thought it was the right thing to do to put the riders and horses first and not just go after money,” Derek explained of his idea to start getting involved with the eventing community. Derek was in a position in which he knew he’d have enough financial backing from his various other businesses — more on that later — to be able to make an impact for eventing. And so he went to the eventing mecca, Ocala, Florida, where he purchased a parcel of land that would later be named Barnstaple South.

Photo via Barnstaple South on Facebook.

Derek worked with cross country course builder Mark McCleary, who built over a hundred fences for Barnstaple South. This was done with input from Derek, who had spent time poring over the questions asked on most courses and noticing that many facilities didn’t cater as much to the lower levels, as well as numerous top professionals such as Caroline Martin, Capt. Mark Phillips, Leslie and Lesley Law, John Michael Durr, and countless others with vast amounts of experience.

“The bulk of what we have added is for the lower levels,” Derek explained. He went on to go into the details of his facility’s offerings from a marketing standpoint. Go after the largest market, he advises, because that’s your biggest potential revenue source. “It’s a pyramid,” he continued. “From a marketing standpoint, you go after the broadest market — lower level horses and riders. We want to focus on good education that’s fun and safe and on good footing.”

Since its opening in 2018, Barnstaple South has added upgraded footing, more cross country schooling questions, and more amenities both for daily visitors as well as long-term renters. Barnstaple has become a destination for many riders heading south for the winter, with full-service facility features available for the winter season or even year round.

Coming down the pipe for the facility are recognized horse trials in 2021 as well as the USEA Young Event Horse Symposium in 2020. All of this has become a bit of a passion project for Derek, who says he simply wants to have a hand in helping the sport and its hard working participants grow. Contributing to the eventing has become his second love, and he wanted to find ways to expand the learning opportunities within the sport.

But how does Derek support this endeavor? I couldn’t help but ask — after all, we all know there isn’t much in the way of hand-over-fist revenue abounding in our beloved sport. Here is where Derek can’t stop talking — growing businesses has always been his life’s work, and he seems to enjoy the thrill of taking something and building it from the ground up.

Pennhurst Asylum. Photo via AETV.com.

One of his most perennially successful ventures is the Pennhurst Asylum, many times over voted the number one scariest haunted house in the U.S. Situated in an abandoned mental health hospital in rural Spring City, Pennsylvania, the Pennhurst Asylum is one of Derek’s favorite projects to date.

“I’ve been involved with [Pennhurst Asylum] for three years,” he said. “We get tens of thousands of visitors each season, and it’s very well-known among haunted house fans. It’s a long-term real estate development project, so we have plans going forward 20 years for the property.”

Derek says the success of the haunted house has enabled him to continue to invest in his southern facility in Ocala, but his involvement doesn’t end there. Derek has also gone into business with Caroline Martin and Emil Spadon sourcing horses to sell. After a trip to the world-class Aachen event with Caroline and Islandwood Captain Jack, Derek wanted to find more ways to raise the bar of competition here in the States.

Caroline Martin and Islandwood Captain Jack. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

“Teaming up with Caroline has been a great way to bring in more revenue for supporting [Barnstaple South],” Derek explained. “Having her expertise and sales ability makes that side of business easy while also bringing more quality horses into the country for our riders to compete with.”

It’s a hectic life for Derek, who commutes weekly between Florida and Pennsylvania and often says he forgets which car he’s looking for at whichever airport he finds himself haunting in the wee hours of the morning. It was fascinating to hear his perspective, as someone otherwise uninvested in riding personally, of wanting to simply help a sport he’s grown an affinity for grow and prosper.

“Financially, it seems that the eventers are the least supported in the business,” he said. “They’re more of the ‘can do’, ‘get it done’ type of people, and I have a lot of respect for that. I have a way to help support them, and I’ll keep doing it for as long as I can.”

Looking for something spooky to do this Halloween? Ask for Derek on your visit to Pennhurst Asylum and enjoy a free (and even scarier) upgrade to VIP. You can also check out an A&E special done on Pennhurst Asylum here.

Thibault Fornier and Siniani de Lathus. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Update on 10/29:

An update from today on Thibault’s Facebook page shows even more progress being made, as Thibault was able to stand for a few moments. On 10/25, the page also posted that Thibault was also able to eat a bit.

Update on 10/24:

Thibault has passed two milestones in his recovery, according to the most recent update posted on his social media pages. We’re pleased to report that Thibault is no longer under respiratory assistance and is also no longer under sedation — both excellent updates. We will continue to monitor for updates on his condition and will provide them as they become available.

24-year-old French eventer Thibault Fournier has opened his eyes and continues to make slow progress after a fall on cross country at Pompadour Horse Trials in France earlier this month. Thibault was competing Chactas Chalonges, a 7-year-old Selle Francais gelding, when he fell and was subsequently airlifted from the venue to CMU Limoges.

Thibault has been in a coma since the fall, but progress updates posted on his Facebook page show some positive steps made. We will continue to provide updates on Thibault’s condition as they become available.

A young rising star for the French team, Thibault swooped in to win his first attempt at the CCI5* level, taking home the top honors at Les Etoiles de Pau aboard Siniani De Lathus in 2018.

Megan Sykes and Classic’s Mojah. Photo by Abby Powell.

Megan Sykes has lived much of the last four years in her truck. She’s come to love the hours spent listening to true crime podcasts and endless playlists shuffled by Spotify. It’s a nomadic life for Megan, who splits her time between southern California and west Texas, balancing a budding upper level career with a busy program back at home. But she says loyalty is important to her, and this concept is what makes her hook up the trailer and hit the road time and time again.

Megan began eventing at the age of 15, after spending her childhood as many of us do on the local hunter/jumper and 4H circuits. Wanting to give eventing a real go, Megan began riding at Mike Huber’s Gold Chip Stables and working as a groom for Heather Morris. From that point on, Megan recalls, “the rest is history.”

In 2015, Heather Morris moved to southern California to join up with Next Level Eventing. Megan joined her for the first winter season and says the only reason she returned back home was because she broke her leg. As fate would have it, though, Megan would meet her now-husband, Reed, after she returned home. The two now own and operate Northwest Stables and Classic’s Eventing out of Midland, Texas, where Reed breaks colts and runs the facility while Megan trains clients and takes on sale horses.

A New Classic

Megan Sykes & Classic’s Mojah. Photo by Sherry Stewart.

It was Tamie Smith who called Megan about a horse named Classic’s Mojah, who had just come in to the Next Level program to be sold. Megan, who had competed through the former CCI1* level with her previous horse, Ghypsy, was seeking a partner with whom she could continue to move up. “Mo,” an Oldenburg gelding who was seven at the time, was willing but able to take a joke, Megan described. It was his easy attitude and temperament, coupled with keen ability, that prompted Tamie to tell Megan she’d found her the perfect horse.

Suddenly, Megan found herself with a talented potential horse of a lifetime and a fantastic coaching team ready to make her dreams come true. She knew that pursuing both her upper level dreams as well as running her business back home would require some creativity, but she took on the challenge with aplomb.

It’s an 18 hour drive from point A to point B, and Megan makes the trek from Texas to California at least twice a year in order to take advantage of training opportunities with Heather and Tamie, as well as with dressage trainer Niki Clarke. Megan says their help has been invaluable and well worth all the juggling.

Megan typically starts her travel season in February, when the first shows of the new year are kicking off in earnest. “I typically have a few young horses at home that I’ll get going in the winter, going to schooling shows, and then I’ll pick one to bring with me to California and meet up with the NLE team at a jumper show and kick off the season. I’ll usually go home after the April event at Twin Rivers, then I’ll come back for late summer and stay for the fall season.”

For Megan, one of the biggest advantages that her work with Heather and Tamie is acquiring the tools to separate the emotions from her riding. With Mo, Megan feels some pressure to get it right since he’s her only top competition horse.

“When you only have one horse, you tend to pour your everything into it,” she says. “It can make you very emotional because everything is riding on that one horse. I’ve been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to ride some of the young horses at NLE, and it’s helped me develop more of a feel rather than attaching so much emotion to each ride.”

This learning curve has helped prepare Megan well for her own business, where she says she thrives on taking on sale horses and encouraging them to blossom. “I love working with the young horses and traveling to compete,” she says. “My time riding horses for Heather and Tamie has really helped me be more methodical and logical with my riding, which sets me up well for the future.”

The Proving Ground

Megan Sykes and Classic’s Mojah. Photo by Abby Powell.

This year, Megan’s travel plans included a maiden voyage to the final running of the CCI3*-L at The Dutta Corp. Fair Hill International. Megan and Classic’s Mojah have had a banner year together, finishing in second place in the CCI3*-L at Rebecca Farm this summer. Fair Hill, however, would be a different, more technical test.

For Megan, the journey to Fair Hill was a reaffirmation of why she’s chosen to pursue this path, why she spends endless hours in the truck, why she keeps putting in the time when others may have chosen to ease up on the gas.

“Fair Hill really tests your grit to get things done, and you really do get to compete against some great riders,” Megan said. “I wanted to prove to myself and to my horse that we could do more of the technical courses and still be competitive against the big names.”

And prove that they did, marching down centerline and laying down their first sub-30 score at the 3* level to sit fourth after dressage. A handful of time on cross country and an unlucky rail in their most challenging phase would keep Megan and Classic’s Mojah out of the top five, but their finishing score of 34.7 was enough to finish the weekend in seventh place overall.

The Next Level Eventing group always supports their own, and this was exemplified by the fact that both Heather Morris and Kaylawna Smith traveled to Fair Hill to coach, groom for, and support Megan. Tamie, fresh off a top finish herself at Boekelo, stopped by on her way back to California to compete at Fresno to help out and show her support. Anyone who observes this group is assured of one thing: NLE will never let you walk alone, even when you’re on the opposite coast.

I had called Megan to check in on how she was feeling after a huge effort over the weekend, and she seemed to take both the great achievements and the lessons learned in stride. For all my wonder at her lifestyle, I could almost see her shrugging nonchalantly through the phone. For her, it’s simple: you stick with the program that works for you, and you remain loyal to those who have helped you along the way. It’s not easy, but it isn’t hard at the same time. Megan’s message was clear to me through our conversations: when you know something works, you just find a way to do it.

The morning after Fair Hill, Megan packed up her precious cargo and got back on the road, heading back to Texas for a well-deserved vacation for Mo and some time to focus on the young horses and clients for Megan. It’s a 26 hour drive home from Maryland to Midland. Plenty of time for true crime, reflecting, and dreaming of what’s to come.

Bobby Meyerhoff and Fortuna. Photo by JJ Sillman.

Bobby Meyerhoff has learned a lot from the smallest horse in his barn. Perhaps one of the greatest lessons a horseman or woman can learn is that of empathy. Without this all-important skill — one that doesn’t always come naturally, at that — it can be difficult to tap into the deepest, most locked away talents a horse possesses.

There is no handbook for empathy and horsemanship. All we have is the concept of feel, our own instincts, and our knowledge of how horses operate. Sometimes, we learn the most valuable lessons when we’re least expecting them.

This idea is what made Bobby chuckle to himself as he galloped through the finish flags aboard Fortuna, a 9-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare he’s produced from the ground up. The diminutive mare, who stands just 15.2 hands, had just completed her first CCI4*-S at Plantation Field. And while the pair came away with perhaps the most memorable photo of the event, artfully captured above by JJ Sillman, the story behind the photo is one that speaks volumes — if we’re willing to listen and dig deeper.

Fortuna (Nova Keur x Balou de Rouet) was feisty and hot-headed when Bobby first acquired her as a two year old. Right away, it was a lesson in patience for Bobby, who knew that he would need to listen to the mare in order to obtain her trust. Somewhere under that tough exterior was a careful and freakishly talented horse.

“It’s been a lot of slow and steady like a turtle,” Bobby explains. “I just have to keep telling her the same things: everything is ok, work your body side to side and let go, trust me. I’ve come to realize that she can be a little insecure — she has all this bravado and attitude, but underneath it she’s got some insecurities.”

Trust is something we all strive to achieve with our horses. Fortuna is “crazy brave and bold”, but sometimes this creates a potential for trouble out on a cross country course. We often discuss at length the shape a horse’s body should take over a jump. The distance we find to an obstacle dictates the shape and the efficiency of the jump. Bobby’s learned how to ride Fortuna forward to the base, which helps her tame the careful exuberance she displays. This carefulness and exuberance makes for an awesome photo, Bobby says, but the important thing to learn here is that this type of jump needs to be treated with caution.

“I had a sense that she would jump super high over that oxer at fence six,” Bobby recalls. “When she sees something she doesn’t know — and that was one of the bigger fences she’s seen — her instinct is to jump crazy high. And sometimes that power doesn’t carry over because she dedicates her inertia to getting up in the air but not necessarily over.”

By moving slowly with the mare, Bobby’s been able to smooth out her jumping technique over time. But it’s a constant question of balance for Bobby, who at 5’11 says he’s really had to fine tune his own balance in order to allow Fortuna to do her job. “If I move my upper body an inch, she moves,” he says. “So it’s actually made me have to ride better. I know she’s a super quality and has a lot of jump and scope, but I also know she’s giving me her all. So I know I have to be right there with her and everything has to be that much tighter.”

A newly minted Advanced horse, Bobby knows that with more time and experience Fortuna will continue to develop her jump. After that bold jump at the open over on Mike Etherington-Smith’s course last weekend, Bobby knew he needed to pay attention to his mare during the remainder of the course, which is certainly no slouch for even the most seasoned horses.

“The pictures are impressive, but they also mean she’s harder on herself,” Bobby explains. “I want her to be more efficient, and I think with more experience she’ll learn to use her talent more positively. You just have to be careful with horses like this and take your time with them.”

“She wasn’t scared, but she was impressed,” he continues. “I had to ride carefully at the next few fences after that just to make sure she hadn’t lost confidence after that big effort. And she really started to get better — she let me ride her to a better distance and listened to and trusted me rather than just looking at the size of the jumps and reacting on instinct.”

Bobby knows he’s sitting on a star. He knew it before he set foot out on Plantation’s cross country. And over the last seven years of creating a bond with the sensitive Fortuna, he’s been able to fine tune his sense of empathy and of knowing exactly what type of ride his horse needs on that day. That day, Fortuna grew up a little, and Bobby felt that much closer to cracking the code.

“Walking to the cross country warm-up, I had a little chat with her,” Bobby says with a laugh. “I said, ‘Ok, I’ll make you a deal. I’m going to trust you and go with you out there, but you have to trust me too. So let’s meet in the middle.’ And she went out, she got a bit impressed, but she listened to me and she took that and got better and better.”

Crossing the finish flags, Bobby was overcome with an emotion that elicited a chuckle from him. “It was something like, I can’t believe we just experienced that together.”

Bobby says he’s not concerned with ticking off goals at a specific point in time with his and his wife, Danica’s, talented mare. “I think it’s easy to say ‘Ok, they’ve done this level, now it’s time to move up,’ but I think that’s where you can get into trouble. If you don’t take the time to look beyond the qualifications on paper and ask yourself if the horse is truly ready for the next challenge, you may end up with a horse or a rider that has lost confidence.”

They say that if you can get a mare on your side, the sky may just be the limit. Even though Fortuna hasn’t been easy to get close to, he says every bit of this journey has been worth it and a testament to the idea of patience and empathy for the horse and what it needs. Horses, after all, aren’t so complicated, at the end of the day. They just need someone willing to listen.