Photo by Brant Gamma Photos.
South Farm Horse Trials celebrated its 25th anniversary running last weekend and by all accounts it was a picture-perfect weekend. The 110-acre facility in Middlefield, Ohio, has been staging the event at the same farm in the same original format — dressage and cross country on Saturday followed by show jumping and awards on Sunday — for a quarter century … truly an impressive feat.
Photo by Brant Gamma Photos.
South Farm hosts 18 equestrian events annually, including dressage shows, schooling jumper shows, USEA and USEF recognized Horse Trials, unrecognized Horse Trials, clinics, USPC events and EAGALA trainings. It’s well earned a reputation amongst riders as one of the most competitor-friendly venues around, with great footing and courses that are constantly being upgraded and improved.
One of our favorite photographers, Brant Gamma, was out and about last weekend’s event and kindly shared some gorgeous photos, as well as an inside look at what makes South Farm so special.
Owner Sarah Greer and Chris Gable have served as the event’s organizers for all 25 years. Photo by Brant Gamma Photos.
Photo by Brant Gamma Photos.
The history of the farm, Brant explains, is quite interesting: “The South Farm records date to the early 1850s, but the land was originally part of the Western Reserve Connecticut Land Company in the early 1800s. Many of the farm buildings date to the early 1800s and the Civil War Era. What is now Sarah’s ‘office’ was originally the ‘summer kitchen’ in the 1800s, and was then not attached to the house.
“It still has the original chimney of stone from the farm. The huge farm house has three chimneys from three different eras. Each one depicts the era. The original Outhouse still stands (boys on one side and girls on the other) and they plan to renovate it to a pool house for the family and boarders.”
Another element of what makes the event so beloved is the attention bestowed upon it by the South Farm H.T. team.
From Brant: “It was an amazing feat for them to pull off and run it as scheduled after terrible flooding in Ohio. Sarah and Chris said that as late as Wednesday they still had not been able to get the hay cut from the cross country fields. I have amazing photos of Chris towing jump judges out of mud trying to get to their jumps. But the galloping lanes and jumps were in great condition by Saturday. John Williams is their cross country course designer, and he had to redesign the course because they could not use one entire field, and at the last minute, he volunteered to also come run and design the show jumping course so they could get cross country ready.”
John Williams and Sue Smithson. Photo by Brant Gamma Photos.
Photo by Brant Gamma Photos.
Announcer Charles Pinell. Photo by Brant Gamma Photos.
The courses were truly a sight to behold. “You never saw so many flowers on cross country and show jumping – all live,” Brant says. “Hundreds of flowers planted on the original cross country stone bank/walls and lining the water jump. It’s in one of the largest Amish communities in the country, and the Amish also pitch in. You see whole families on cross country.”
Open Training winners Kelly Ransom & Heart of Hollywood. Photo by Leah Prengaman for Brant Gamma Photos.
Molly Smith & Pop’s Loaf and Jug. Photo by Brant Gamma Photos.
Open Novice winners Brandi Podboy & Tully Cross Discrete. Photo by Brant Gamma Photos.
Jenna Myler & Sandpiper. Photo by Brant Gamma Photos.
Open Training second place finishers Jane Papke & Robinstown Ballivor. Photo by Brant Gamma Photos.
Open Preliminary winners Heather Strawbridge & Jonathan of Damascus. Photo by Brant Gamma Photos.
Congratulations to all the winners — you can view complete scores from the event here.
South Farm H.T. [Final Scores]
Open Preliminary: Heather Strawbridge & Jonathan of Damascus (44.5)
Open Training: Kelly Ransom & Heart of Hollywood (28.6)
Training Rider: Ellen Super & Seattle’s Finest (29.8)
Novice Rider: Emma Feil & Hase (28.1)
Open Novice: Brandi Podboy & Tully Cross Discrete (28.8)
Beginner Novice Rider-A: Taylor Reis & Strong Royalty (25.3)
Beginner Novice Rider-B: Sarah Pickering & En Vogue (24.7)
Open Beginner Novice: Anne Kaufman & Motif CF (30.3)
Starter-A: Hannah Reeser & Augustine HOF (26.1)
Starter-B: Sloane Haddad & Star Top Brass (36.4)
Open Beginner Novice winners Anne Kaufman & Motif CF. Photo by Brant Gamma Photos.
Photo by Brant Gamma Photo.
Learn more about South Farm by visiting the website here. Many thanks to Brant Gamma for sharing these images from the event — view more at the Brant Gamma Photos website here. Go Eventing!
