Please enter as soon as you can! It helps us plan, budget, manage volunteers, etc.
We Are A Few Weeks Away From the 53rd Annual MCTA Horse Trials (May 31-June 1) & Jenny Camp Horse Trials (June 8) at Shawan Downs
Spring weather is shaping up beautifully, the Shawan Downs footing should be outstanding. We have some new jumps and the Paint Party is underway each weekend to help get all in shape! Mogie Bearden-Muller returns as Course Designer. With enough entries we will host Collegiate Teams and Interscholastic Teams at the recognized horse trials. We need volunteers, too! Take a look at our Eventing Volunteers page and pick a job at either event. We have a new Volunteer Hospitality Tent sponsored by RPM Trailer Services, stocked with goodies for our beloved volunteers! And don’t forget to renew your MCTA membership BY CLOSING DATE OF ENTRIES to be eligible for our trophies. (See Membership and trophies lists below).
We can’t wait to see you! Remember Picnic/Tailgate on The Hill on Sat/Sun is FREE to all spectators. Enjoy great cross-country from your vehicle with a beautiful view of the field.
Only once a year! Come school at Shawan!
MCTA sponsors XC Schooling Days at Shawan Downs
Monday, June 2 through Thursday, June 5 – WEATHER PERMITTING
Course is Starter through Training – ditches, banks, water included
Open from 10am-8pm (see weather permitting info above)
Park in the field at top of gravel road – there is water in the parking area.
Please do not leave trailer droppings, manure, or trash in the field.
Please stop in with the XC Course Monitor and sign a release form for every rider/horse combination.
FEE: $65 non-member, $50 MCTA member; MCTA members with 8 hours of MCTA Bucks ($50) school for free! Payment via check to MCTA, Inc., cash, PayPal, Venmo or Zelle – the course monitor will have payment QR codes posted.
What Can MCTA Volunteers Expect?
Here’s a short guide for you.
Where do I go?
We have a brand new shed at Shawan Downs that will house scoring and packet pickup. Look for our dedicated volunteer tent to check in, pick up your goodies, and grab a coffee or drink!
What should I bring?
Sunscreen, sunglasses or a hat, sturdy comfortable shoes, and a sense of humor are great accessories for all positions! If you’re jump judging or working dressage or stadium check in, you may want to bring a collapsible camp chair. Although we adore them, we suggest leaving your pets at home for event days.
What do I do?
Plenty of positions remain open for pre-event prep, event days, and post-event cleanup! Here’s our listing: Volunteer Signup, and feel free to reach out if you have a question about where your skill set might be best used!
Why Should I Volunteer?
Eventing is an equestrian sport that requires a massive amount of personnel, and to keep entry fees down (and serve that welcoming and educational spirit we eventers pride ourselves on) VOLUNTEERS are the backbone of every event. If not for volunteers, the cost of a one-day event would be exponential and untenable for many….and that’s not what we’re about!
In addition, MCTA members who plan to submit points for year end awards are also required to volunteer a total of 8 hours prior to November 15 of the competition year, 4 of which must be for MCTA.
What’s In It For Me?
In addition to the above-mentioned good eventing juju, volunteers receive swag, MCTA Bucks ($25/4 hours or $50/4 hours, redeemable at most MCTA activities), and competition day volunteers receive lunch!
MCTA Sponsor Roundup
FRIENDS PLUS
Maryland Horse Breeders Association, The Maryland Horse Library & Maryland Million
Dover Saddlery – Sponsoring Gift Certificates to HT Winners
Tack of the Day – Sponsoring Gift Certificates to the Fall Starter Trials
FENCE SPONSORS As of May 1 – More coming!
Dovecote Equestrian
Hunting Ridge Farm
Gina Perilla
RPM Services
A Bit Better Farm
The Mill of Belair
Full Moon Farm
Hunting Ridge Farm
FRIENDS & CONTRIBUTORS
Fair Hill Saddlery, Newsletter Sponsor
RideIQ
Bark Box
Wawa Foundation
US Rider – Sponsoring Gift Certificates
Chicks Saddlery – Sponsoring Gift Certificates
And Kirk’s Soap, an international woman-owned brand, returns as a Contributing Friend!
We hope to announce more by the time of the horse trials! Please visit our sponsors and donors online, like them on social media, share, and help us thank them!
Member Spotlight: Ruth Frey, MCTA Historian & Calendar Wizard
Ruth Frey, Founding Member of MCTA
Ruth:
I’ve been in MCTA since the beginning–I attended the founding meeting at McDonogh School in February of 1972.
Eventing attracted me after I read Waldemar Seunig’s classic Horsemanship (always one of Jimmy Wofford’s “must reads”) when I was 12 or 13–shortly after I made the absolutely amazing (to me) discovery that they had horse books in the adult section of the public library. I was really taken by the idea of doing three different things with your horse and also jumping all those different kinds of cross country fences.
I remember the old days of MCTA’s major recognized Horse Trial, originally held at the fox hunting/Pony Club-oriented Jackson family’s Jackson Hole Farm in Upperco, as a very enthusiastic, totally volunteer learning experience. Back then, if you wanted to ride in an event you pretty much had to volunteer, because that’s the only way the courses got built, dressage arenas set up, packets stuffed, etc. There were no professionals except TDs and judges! The few in MCTA who had some idea of what they were doing–Ann McKay, Capt. Andy DeSzinay, Willis and daughter Mary Lynch, Dick and Patti Montal –led the way and taught the rest of us. It was a new and exciting venture for Maryland equestrian sport.
Almost all of the original MCTA eventing volunteers and participants came from fox hunting/Pony Club backgrounds, and fully half of the entries in the first MCTA event were juniors.
I competed at Jackson Hole in the 70’s and 80’s on Denegri (second photos, a water jump in Stadium), Sunrock Ridge (top photo), and Sunwood Spring.
The photo of me competing Sunrock Ridge is at Jackson Hole, and the jump we’re pictured over was designed and probably built by Ann McKay, like just about everything on cross country for the first couple decades.
Because my teaching took up 50-60 hours a week while I was trying to compete a couple horses, much of my volunteering in the early years was doing things that could be done on a “flexible” schedule (i.e. in the middle of the night), like being MCTA secretary and newsletter editor and helping with year-end points and awards. I did set stadium fences–and (with some help) painted them all one year. We used those belonging to Sallie Robertson at Ship’s Quarters, where I kept my horses during the summer.
Competition-wise, I organized the combined tests we used to have because they took place during school vacation. At Shawan, mostly since I retired to a 40-hour a week job and then fully retired, I’ve been cross country steward, fence judge, and stadium scribe, helped with sponsorship, the old-fashioned print program, and prizes and trophies, scrounged up volunteers in the days before Eventingvolunteers.com, did some flagging/numbering/decorating, attended tons of meetings–probably a little of just about everything.
I think it’s important for people who compete and school at Shawan Downs to look over at the high rise buildings of Hunt Valley in the distance and realize that, but for the efforts of the land preservation/fox hunting/steeplechasing community, including some people like Joan Hoblitzell and Shockey Gillett who were also very involved with MCTA, those rolling hills and the wonderful turf that we can now gallop over would have suffered the same fate.
I also think it’s important for people to realize that our stand-alone, largely volunteer-run event at our unique location isn’t going to last another half-century if we can’t rekindle a bit more of the original volunteer spirit.
Today, Ruth is active in MCTA by providing the valuable online Calendar, updated frequently by Ruth and considered an absolute must-read by nearly every eventing enthusiast in the area (if not the country!).
Members are welcome to send dates of competitions related to eventing and schooling to Ruth.
Our deepest and sincerest thanks to Ruth for all her service and dedication to eventing! In Ruth’s honor of her over 50 years of service to MCTA, the association’s annual Volunteer of The Year Trophy is dedicated in her name, and she was the first recipient in 2020. In 2021, awarded to Alicia Davis; and in 2023, Mardi Herman.
MCTA Dressage Clinic with David Ziegler May 24 at Full Moon Farm
Join us at Full Moon Farm for a private lesson with Grand Prix Dressage rider David Ziegler of FMF Equestrian. You may also use this opportunity as a fix-a-test. Auditors welcome! Special discounts for MCTA members!
David’s passion for horses began early, growing up on a family farm in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He began his competition career in 2005, and in 2011 moved to Pennsylvania to train with Missy and Jessica Ransehousen. Under the guidance of Jessica, an Olympic dressage team rider, international judge, and former US team manager, David focused on dressage.
In 2014, David made history at the North American Young Riders Championships, becoming the only rider to ever medal in two disciplines in the same year: capturing Individual Gold in Eventing and Individual Silver in Dressage. Since then, he has successfully competed to Advanced level Eventing and Grand Prix dressage. Recently, David served as Chef d’Équipe for the Canadian Young Rider Dressage Team. Following his marriage to Savannah (Woodge) Fulton,he moved to Maryland’s Full Moon Farm to continue training and teaching in dressage.
New! Take a look! Support our local business owners & wear your MCTA pride.
Quarter zips, jackets, t-shirts and more.
MCTA Sponsored Course Walk June 7, 4pm at Shawan Downs
MCTA members are free, all others $20. Both SJ and XC! Plan on at least one hour in length. Bring your trainer! Clinician TBA. Check our MCTA Eventing Facebook page for up to the minute details. Course walks are great education!
June 29th – Quarter Mark Clinic at Willow View Farm in Hampstead, MD.It’s back! Our most popular clinic!
Clinician: Ginger LaBarre. Make your horse or pony just as fancy as Kentucky 5*! horses! June 29th, 10:00 am at Willow View Farm Hampstead, MD. Learn how to apply Quarter Marks *without* a stencil. Receive a take-home package too.
Pricing: MCTA Member: $30.00, Participant Non-MCTA Member: $40.00, Auditor MCTA Member: FREE, Auditor Non-MCTA Member: $20.00. Trucks & trailers, please use Rohrbaugh Road entrance. 2878 Rohrbaugh Rd., Hampstead, Maryland 21074. Questions? Please contact April at 717-586-9169 or april.labarre@gmail.com
About our clinician:
Ginger LaBarre, of Hanover, Pa., has 35 years of experience as a professional groom. She worked for Jim Wofford, Karen O’Connor, and David O’Connor managing FEI Event horses. She currently operates LaBarre Training Center, an Event and Dressage based business, while conducting clinics on grooming and horse management with the goal of elevating the relationship between horses and their caretakers.
~ April Virtual Challenge Winner is Merrilyn Cross ~
MCTA Jenny Camp at Shawan Downs
How did Jenny Camp get its name? MCTA has been holding the Jenny Camp Horse Trials for over 20 years. It was meant as an unrecognized, starter level event for those new to riding, new to eventing, and/or green horses, and to help reward the volunteers with their “own” event. A $50 entry discount is given to any volunteer for MCTA earning 8 hours of service!
But anyhow, back to the mystery of the name.
There was a famous Olympic three-day event horse, a mare named Jenny Camp, bred by the US Army in Virginia, who won back to back Olympic medals in the 30’s. (Photo above from the USEA Archives).
General Burton said the horse Jenny Camp was may have been named facetiously, as she was not an easy ride when first broken. Because of her small size, 15.3 hands, she was originally trained for polo, but when it was discovered she could jump, was aimed for three day eventing. She was ridden in two Olympics by Col. Earl F.Thomson to win the Silver individual medal in the 1932 and 1936 Olympic Games.
Many feel the event was named after Jenny Camp, the horse – but it also may have been named for the “jenny camp,” part of the cavalry’s training program.
General Jonathan Burton said that the name “jenny camp” came from the jenny mules (females) that the raw recruits were tasked with training. The new soldiers were sent to the jennies, rather than the jack mules, because they were easier to handle and less inclined to kick the new soldiers, injure them, and put them in the infirmary with broken legs and arms! Commanders didn’t want to report soldiers not at duty stations because of injury, so they kept the green recruits away from the tough Army jack mules.
When the cavalry held community horse shows, they called them the “Jenny Camp” shows, and welcomed children and wives of the officers to compete – hence, the name jenny camp came to denote beginner or green rider/horse shows.
What ever historical reason for the name – we welcome you to our modern day Jenny Camp Starter Horse Trials on June 8 – and mules are welcomed, too! 🙂
MCTA Membership Update
Membership
Have you renewed your membership yet this year?Don’t miss out on all the MCTA Membership Perks! And you can now print out/screenshot your membership card. It’s all on the website here:
In order to be eligible for the MCTA perpetual trophies given to members, you MUST be a member of MCTA BY CLOSING DATE OF ENTRIES (May 13 for the recognized, May 20 for the Jenny Camp.) Please click on the link above and make sure you’ve joined by those deadlines, which are strict!
Trophies for members at MCTA Horse Trials at Shawan Downs
The Next 8 Weeks in Maryland Eventing & MCTA Member-Organized Shows
MAY
2-4 Waredaca Spring HT Laytonsville MD (I,P,M,T,N,BN,S)
4 through 31 – Various days & times, MCTA Volunteer Hours at Shawan Downs: 53rd Annual MCTA Horse Trials, MCTA Jenny Camp Starter Trials, eventingvolunteers.com for more information
4 Morningside Stables CT at Columbia Horse Center, Laurel, MD
