118 SIDELINES APRIL 2013
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
Cheryl on Arrie and her daughter Rachel on Bel, enjoying the
trails at Portofno.
Cheryl and Arrie with friends in the barn at Portofno.
All photos courtesy of Portofno
Cheryl Alles knows how fortunate she is. It’s a rare and wonder-
ful husband who gives his wife a pair of Holsteiner broodmares
as a Mother’s Day gift and then helps her set up a successful
small breeding farm. But that was several years in the past, in the
snowy cold north of Michigan. Cheryl and her husband John have
since traded in the chilly north for easier southern living in Clayton,
North Carolina. Sidelines caught up with her riding the trails at
Portofno, the equestrian community where she now lives.
You have been riding since you were young, what drew you
to dressage?
After I became married with children, I was introduced to
dressage by Linda Larisch. Dressage was the next natural step in
my dance with the horse. As my frst dressage trainer, Linda was
and still is, such an important infuence for me. She introduced me
not only to the art of dressage, but also to the Holsteiner horse.
After John gave me those two lovely mares, we decided to try
our hand at breeding. We ran a small but successful sporthorse
breeding operation for several years in Michigan.
What brought you to in North Carolina?
John had served in the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division in the
1970s and had always talked of coming back to live under the
“Carolina Blue” skies. When the kids were young, we spent
summer vacations on the Outer Banks. So in 2000, when we
found a small business to purchase in Chapel Hill, even our kids
felt comfortable with the move. As much as we loved Michigan,
we grew tired of the long winters and those gray days. John is
an avid golfer, I love to ride and we can do both year-round here.
The nice thing about North Carolina is that you still have the lovely
change of seasons, but without those drastic winter temperatures.
And there are so many sunny days here! So in 2000, we sold the
farm and moved from Michigan to Clayton, North Carolina. We
Trading the Snowy North for the
Sunny South
e
Special Section - North Carolina
kept one broodmare, Bel Esprit and bred her for one last foal in
2004. She came south with us and that breeding produced the
Holsteiner flly Uwharrie (“Arrie”) who is now eight years old.
Who have you trained with in North Carolina?
I trained with Elizabeth Moore for several years here. Both
Linda and Elizabeth have taught me to strive for perfection. Arrie
and I have competed only at Training Level; but we school from
First through Third Level movements. We just started training
with Laurie Hutchinson and I’m looking forward to seeing how
that partnership can grow. This year I’m planning to continue
schooling Arrie at First through Third Levels and compete in a
few recognized shows. My fve-year plan includes competing with
Arrie through Fourth Level. She is a talented FEI prospect and I’m
looking forward to many years of teamwork to get us to the upper
levels. Arrie is the mare that dreams are made of! I’m excited to
see how far she and I can go together.
How are you able to fnd the time to ride?
My job as a grants and contracts administrator at Duke
University keeps me busy; but I still ride four to fve days a week.
After I get home from work, I hop on the golf cart and head to the
barn to get my ride in. Having the horses right here on the property
makes it convenient to ride on weeknights. In prior years, I’d have
to get home, change and drive to the stable after work. Now I
come home, get dinner started, head down to the barn to ride and
then I’m home in time for dinner with my family, which is a major
priority for me.
What are the benefts of living at Portofno?
Once we became empty nesters a dozen years ago, John and I
talked about fnding another farm, like the one we had in Michigan.
But when we discovered Portofno, we realized that having a home
in this equestrian-friendly community would give us the chance
to have the horses close by - but someone else is mending the
fences and fertilizing the pastures.
For more information on Portofno, visit www.portofnonc.com
and www.portofnoequestrian.com.