New Jersey Horse Park booked solid with shows Biggest event of the season slated May 31 to June 3 BY JANE MEGGITT Staff Writer UPPER FREEHOLD - Riders will travel to the Horse Park of New Jersey from all over the world for the fourth annual Jersey Fresh Three-Day Event and Advanced Horse Trials. The Horse Park is a 157-acre facility, owned by the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and leased by the New Jersey Department of Agriculture. The park has come a long way since it held its first horse show in 1989, according to Nancy Hutcheson, of Pittstown, who has been the president of the nonprofit Horse Park's board of trustees since its inception. She said the Horse Park is fully booked with shows this year. One of the park's biggest events is the Jersey Fresh, which will take place this year from May 31 to June 3 and will serve as a qualifier for the Pan Am Games to be held in Brazil July 13-29. Lynn Mathews, of the Department of Agriculture, said that competitors in Jersey Fresh will travel to the Horse Park from all over the country, as well as from Canada, Mexico, Ireland, New Zealand and Australia. Although entries just opened up this week, she said Olympians Karen and David O'Connor, of The Plains, Va., and Phillip Dutton, of Avondale, Pa., are already among those who have indicated they will attend the event. Capt. Mark Phillips, the former husband of Britain's Princess Anne and a former coach of the American Olympic eventing team, may evaluate the course at the Horse Park, according to Hutcheson. Mathews said she expects about 100 competitors overall and so far has 164 volunteers lined up to help out. Hutcheson said 20 local veterinarians are donating their services for the Jersey Fresh. "It's very rigorous testing," she said. "The horses get excellent care." According to Hutcheson, starting up Jersey Fresh has been costly for the Horse Park. Building the water hazard for the competition alone cost $100,000, she said. "You can't do something like that in little increments," she said, adding that many local residents have volunteered their time and equipment to build the courses. Mathews also said that jumps attached to the ground cost between $7,500 and $12,000 to build, with portable jumps costing between $5,000 and $7,500. This year, as a means to raise money for the Horse Park, the Jersey Fresh will feature an antiques appraisal program on June 2 by Lori Verdame, a certified appraiser with the American Society of Appraisers. The first test of the Jersey Fresh event on Thursday and Friday will be in dressage. Dressage riding was originally designed to show a horse's capability on the parade ground in performing various movements involved with reviewing troops. Judges will look at precision, suppleness, smoothness and complete obedience. The cross-country test, which is considered the highlight of the eventing, will be held on Saturday. The cross-country course is approximately two and three-quarters to four miles long, has 24-36 fixed and solid obstacles, and is ridden at a gallop. The two-star jumps on the cross-country course include the cannon, the sitting duck, the wagon, the produce stand and the coffin. The three-star course, which is one notch from the Olympic level, includes the foot bridge, the duck blind, the hay rack, the Giant's picnic table, the N.J. Turnpike and the Hop-Up Wile E. Coyote. Cross-country courses require horses and riders to be bold and smart in addition to possessing stamina, according to the Jersey Fresh program. On Sunday, show jumping will be held as the third test. The course, which will take place in the ring, consists of 12-15 obstacles, including at least two spread fences and a ditch or water jump. According to the rule book of the Federation Equestre Internationale, "The test on the third day is not an ordinary show-jumping competition. Its sole objective is to demonstrate that, on the day after a severe test of endurance, the horses have retained the suppleness, energy and obedience for them to continue in service." Dr. Stephen Dey, a Horse Park trustee, said he believes that 6,000 people will visit the Horse Park on the Saturday and Sunday during the Jersey Fresh event. Dey, of Upper Freehold, serves on the board with other local residents, who include Richard Osborn, David Meirs III and Mary Kossatz, all of Upper Freehold; Bruce McNab and Nancy Wolek, of Millstone; Boots Cassie, of Manalapan; and Barbara Isaac and Jacques Roszel, of Plumsted. Parking will be free, as will general admission, to those who attend Jersey Fresh on Thursday and Friday. General admission for Saturday and Sunday costs $15 per car. A four-day pass for the event is available for $25 and VIP admission is available in two packages at cost levels of $75 and $300. For information, visit www.horseparkofnewjersey.com or call (609) 259-0170.