102 SIDELINES FEBRUARY 2013
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
By Holly Hugo-Vidal
Ever since Rusty Stewart was a little boy, riding has
been an integral part of his life. Now 65, he began
riding at the tender age of 15 months with his father,
who was a professional trainer in upstate New York in
the small town of Guilderland, at his grandfather’s My
Place Stables. He remained on the East Coast and
showed there while he was a junior, riding hunters as
well as jumpers.
In 1960, at the incredibly young age of 12, Rusty
had a tremendous amount of success with a wonderful
hunter named Little Fiddle, ending up high score in
the Second Year Green Division and taking home the
AHSA Horse of the Year award. The following year,
with the same horse, he was high score in the Regular
Working Division. It is no surprise that Rusty thinks
of himself as “always” having been a professional
horseman -- proceeding directly to the profession
ranks from the juniors. In fact, Rusty said he loves
the horse world and couldn’t imagine doing anything
else besides following in his father and grandfather’s
footsteps.
In 1966 Rusty rode with the team (USET) in
Gladstone, New Jersey and trained with the legendary
Bert DeNemethy. Rusty was among the renowned
fgures in the horse world; Joan Boyce, Neal Shapiro,
Kathy Kusner, Hugh Wiley, George Morris, Frank
Chapot as well as Bill Steinkraus. To this day, he credits
Bert with teaching him his most valued information.
He joined the Army in 1968 for a couple of years and
then moved to California in 1970. Shortly after, Rusty
started his own business and farm in Camarillo, which
he named Grey Fox Farm. The logo with a hunting
horn and fox mask in the middle actually came before
the name, giving Rusty the idea to call his farm Grey
Fox Farm. Rusty and his wife Kandi have an extensive
breeding program which began with a few mares and
a couple of stallions. Today the head count is 50 and
most of the breeding produces jumpers. This keeps
them so busy; they never take a day off!
Rusty has a very talented horse that he bred named
Bristol, who was Pacifc Coast Grand Prix Horse of
the Year, and is in the rankings (ranked 3rd when
this issue went to print) for World Cup standings. In
his third year of showing in grand prix classes, Bristol
has won eight grand prix. He has also won two World
Cup classes in his frst year of showing in World Cup
classes. Possible plans to compete in Gothenburg,
Sweden for the World Cup Finals will be determined
by how Bristol does at Thermal. The Olympics could
be in Rusty and Bristol’s sights!
Rusty has about 15 clients and spends most of his
time on the road showing -- and when time permits
-- gives a few clinics and judges. It is no surprise with
Rusty’s smooth effortless style of riding that he is
successful showing both hunters and jumpers. Rusty
is living proof that some things get better with age!
e
Getting Better with Age
Rusty on Bristol, in the jump-off, winning the
World Cup Class at Showpark, in Del Mar,
California.
Rusty on Bristol, a horse bred
at his own Grey Fox Farm.
All photos by ©McCool Photos ‘12