Although Morven Park was the official “coming out” party for Doug Payne and High Society, the horse’s owners – Jess Hampf and her parents, had come to the decision to give Doug the ride quite a bit earlier, at the AEC’s in Georgia in fact. Jess was kind enough to spare time out of her allotted hour to ride, in between a packed schedule of classes (biochem, organic chemistry, a test on friday…) and studying at Auburn, to explain the details.
Going back to school had always been the plan for Jess but what with competing her lovely Australian Thoroughbred High Society at the top tier of eventing, garnering a Blenheim and two Rolex completions, as well as finishing 11th at Jersey Fresh CCI***, her academic career kept being pushed further onto the back burner. Four years later, Jess is back at Auburn getting her prerequisites completed so she can apply for Pharmacy school next fall,
“I graduated from undergraduate with a degree in Animal Science with the intention of going to vet school, then I realized that vet school wasn’t the best path for me. When I was re-evaluating my future after Rolex this year, I realized that I was only 4 or 5 classes away from having all the pre-requisites needed to apply to Pharmacy School. So that’s why I came back to take the Biochem, Organic and Physics this semester. I wasn’t putting off college, I just wasn’t sure what my career path was going to be at that time and really wanted to give a shot at riding the horses at the upper levels.”
Pharmacy school is a four year progra, and as yet Jess is undecided on the exact path she’ll take on completion,
“I’ve thought about doing the pharmacy with humans, and maybe even opening up a little store or something, but I’ve also thought about maybe going into the equine pharmaceuticals and compounding it, because that’s another path that I think would be very interesting. It was actually Dr Chris Newton who recommended I look into that. There are so many different options which is partly why I’ve chosen to try and go to pharmacy school.”
Following a nice 5th in the advanced last weekend at Morven Park, one could hardly blame Doug for having high hopes for his relationship with his girlfriend’s horse. Before Doug gets too excited about Jess being locked in a lab though, swapping her helmet and spurs for a Bunsen burner and microscope, Jess tells me she fully intends to take the ride on High Society, fondly known as Trevor, back in January, when her course load will be lighter, and she’ll be aiming for a third time (lucky) crack at Rolex in the spring.
Before that, Doug will be a double threat at Fair Hill next weekend, riding both Jess’ High Society and Patti Springsteen’s Running Order. Although Jess and her parents did consider other riders for Trevor, Jess told me Doug had something of an unfair advantage!
“Doug had ridden and jumped him before I sent him to him after the AEC’s. We were up in New Jersey this summer and we played Switch Advanced Horses, so I’d seen him ride Trevor and was very comfortable in sending him my horse. He’s done a great job with him already, and I got to see Doug run him at Morven and he did a phenomenal job with the horse, I was very pleased.”
I asked Jess the difference between the two horses,
“R.O is a phenomenal horse, but they’re both quite different. Mine is very quick off the ground, he lands and just wants to keep going, and he feels a bit more like a thoroughbred. It was interesting, we both got to help each other and get a different perspective after riding each others horse. We communicate really well, so it was easy to compare notes and give one another tips, we both respect each others opinions.”
Although the old adage says you should never look a gift horse in the mouth, Doug gave it some thought, and Jess laughs when she tells me she might be exaggerating when she said she had to beg him to take the ride,
“I think he was nervous when I first asked him, because he realized it’s a big responsibility, I’m probably a bit of a pain and very meticulous about that horse, but it’s so easy now. We’re very much alike, surprisingly so. Our programs and such barely even skipped a beat going from me to him for that horse, he gets along with him really well.”
Strangely in the small community that is Eventing, Doug and Jess only met earlier this year,
“We met in Aiken in March. We didn’t even know each other before then, we’d never even met. I don’t know how that had never happened, we joke about it now because Ashley Adams who’s one of Doug’s best friends works for Will Coleman who’s one of my best friends, so that’s how we eventually met in Aiken, but we had no idea who each other were!”
Although they’ve been together less than a year, Jess and Doug’s relationship seems well established, even in a potentially high stress environment, such as, Jess watching Doug competing Trevor at advanced level….!
“We’re very easygoing with each other, amazingly enough. We communicate very well, it’s never the case of me feeling like I have to bite my tongue, and Doug asks whatever he wants to about him, like lines on cross-country. He understands that I’ve ridden the horse for so long so he wants the input just as much. I was really excited to see them go. Obviously it was hard because I love that horse and I wish I was riding him, but no part of me wanted to come in and just jump on him, because I hadn’t ridden but twice in maybe the last week and a half before Morven so I knew I wasn’t prepared, and it wouldn’t have been fair for my horse to try and take me round. Yes, I wish I could do it all, but I’m not Superwoman, I can’t do school and ride advanced right now. It wasn’t at all disappointing though to go and watch the horse and not ride, it was fun to see him still going, and have the opportunity. It’s a little different being an owner, but it was nice.”
Jess will definitely be at Fair Hill watching, and will probably be her usual sunny, relaxed self; she can’t (won’t?!) tell me which one of them she loves more, or gets more nervous for, laughing off my question,
“I’m actually not nervous watching them cross country. I know Trevor will take care of Doug, he’s a phenomenal horse, and Doug’s a very good rider so I don’t get nervous for either of them.”
In the spring, Jess will re-locate to Aiken, (“all I’ll have will be Ethics and Physics”!) where she’ll pick up her training with Trevor, and with Jan Bynny, her long-time coach. Until then, Jess stays sane by squeezing in some riding to balance her academic studies as often as she can. She has a mare at college with her, a Holsteiner that her sister bought as a 2 year old that’s a jumper, and she “plays around with; it’s nice if I have an hour in the middle of the day to be able to come out to the barn and not be on campus at all times.”
I’d like to thank Jess profusely for sparing me some of her precious barn time, albeit to talk about two of her favorite people! Wishing Doug and Trevor a safe and successful Fair Hill, and looking forward to seeing Jess and Trevor back at Rolex in the spring. Thank you for reading, and go eventing!
