Valerie Kalderon: Ringing In New Equestrian Chapters at Opening Bell

By Laura Scaletti

Portraits by Kacy Brown

For nearly 30 years, when the New York Stock Exchange rang its opening bell at 9:30 a.m. it had a direct impact on Valerie Kalderon’s day. While on Wall Street, Valerie worked for Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan, where she became known as “The Fixer.” Regardless of what challenge came her way, she would gather the right people and technology to get it done ahead of time and under budget.

These days, it’s a different kind of opening bell that excites Valerie, and this one starts the day way before the one rings in New York City. This opening bell is Valerie’s pride and joy, her Opening Bell Farms and Opening Bell Sporthorses in Ocala, Florida.

A lifelong horse lover, Valerie and her family moved from their apartment in New York City to Austin, Texas, after she retired from the fast-paced Wall Street lifestyle. “I didn’t know what to do with myself, after being used to working all the time. So, my husband, Avi, suggested I take a riding lesson,” Valerie said.

It wasn’t a random suggestion, since Valerie had ridden competitively as a Junior. But unbeknownst to Avi at the time, it was just the beginning of Valerie’s next chapter. “What started with taking a lesson a few times a week turned into me wanting my own horse. Well, then it spiraled from there. As you can imagine, I have a ‘type A personality,’ so I quickly go all in. One horse led to a second horse, which led to a third horse and before you know it, I had a herd,” she said.

By 2022, Valerie decided she needed her own farm, as she was boarding 10 horses at a local Austin barn. As she began to look for a farm to call her own, one of her friends suggested she look at farms in Ocala, Florida. At the time, the Roberts family had just built the World Equestrian Center there.

“First of all, I thought, Where is Ocala? I had never been there. Wellington, sure, I knew about it, but Ocala? Never heard of it. But then, I started looking at the real estate in Ocala and realized you could get a lot more for your money there than in Austin. Then I saw an article that the Roberts family bought another 1,000 acres that housed the Ocala Jockey Club,” Valerie said. “That’s when I knew something big was really happening in Ocala and we should check it out.”

Valerie and Avi spent the next weekend with a realtor looking at Ocala farms. “We looked at 15 farms and what is now Opening Bell Farms was one of the last farms that we saw. The second we pulled up, I knew that was our farm,” she said.

Second Act

Although Valerie didn’t come from a “horsey family,” she always felt drawn to them. “I’m one of seven kids, so I really had to beg my parents for lessons because all my sisters and brothers had them running to baseball and basketball practices and games. I was the odd man out wanting to go to the barn and ride horses,” she said.

Once those lessons started, Valerie slowly ramped up her dedication to the sport. For her 15th birthday, she was gifted Jackson Max, an OTTB that she was able to take to local and ‘A’ rated shows. “I did all the braiding myself and worked part time to pay for everything. A highlight of my Junior days was showing my horse at Devon,” she said. “He had amazing scope and was very athletic. I definitely learned a lot, because he tried to buck me off every day.”

Growing up, Valerie wanted to spend as much time as possible at the barn. She simply loved horses and riding. Now during her second act with horses, Valerie has a different appreciation for horses and the sport. “When I was younger, I wasn’t as much of a horsewoman as I am today. Now I really pay attention to each horse’s personality to figure out what does and doesn’t make them happy. That could be anything from changes to feed, turnout or discipline, or maybe they need vet attention to be more comfortable,” she said.

It was this desire to be in total control of her horses’ well-being that helped spur on finding a farm of her own. “I love having my own farm with a handpicked team so we can together make the best choices for the horses and their individualized needs,” Valerie said. “At Opening Bell, we provide customized care for each horse and rider.”

Opening Bell Farms sits on 37 acres, has a large ebb and flow GGT arena, derby field, racetrack original to the farm, trails throughout the farm, 36 stalls and 35 paddocks. It’s also home to Valerie and her family. “It was always my dream to live with my horses. I actually have two stalls behind the cottage where I live. My husband joked we could put a window in so we could see them through the bedroom, but that would be odd,” she chuckled. “We have ‘The Three Stooges:’ Bangs, Rigby and Brave, who are turned out in a big paddock at the front of the property. They are the official greeters at Opening Bell. There is nothing like living so close to my horses.”

One of the first equine residents at Opening Bell was the aptly named MTM Opening Bell, known as Brave. “I was literally jumping crossrails when I purchased him. When I brought him home on trial from MTM, my friends thought I was crazy. He was 4 years old, I was an older woman jumping crossrails, but I knew he was the one. My trainer at the time took him from Baby Greens to the Green Hunters and he became my Adult horse,” she said. “He’s still here today.”

Going Public

Though Opening Bell was purchased as Valerie’s personal horse haven, she quickly realized that one of her favorite parts of being in the horse world is the sense of community. “You know as a horse girl growing up, we always had our barn friends. When you’re by yourself, it’s just not the same experience,” she said. “I had enough land, I wanted the best of both worlds—ability to care for my horses how I wanted while being able to ride with friends and share our beautiful farm.”

After following Jordan Lubow for a few years on Instagram, Valerie sent her a private message and ended up sending her a few investment horses. In 2022, Valerie and her daughter went to Wellington to watch one of her horses show. It was there that she finally met Jordan in person. “I told Jordan I had purchased the barn in Ocala and was looking for a full-time trainer. Eventually she decided to join us,” Valerie said.

At first, Opening Bell was home to Valerie’s personal horses and a handful of sales horses. It has now grown to offer training to a few select clients. Valerie believes her experience on Wall Street has helped manage the team as they offer more services at Opening Bell Farm. “Obviously two very different businesses, but one thing remains key: Customers are king. My ability to pivot when something isn’t working has been a huge selling point for us. We get a lot of different types of horses in and we have to be flexible if something isn’t working out. I like to investigate the root cause and figure out a way to make it work,” she said. “At the end of the day I’m always evaluating how we can give our clients a better experience as well as provide the horses with an environment where they can thrive and perform at the highest levels.”

This year Opening Bell is expanding its services beyond the typical training and sales that most hunter-jumper operations offer. “We will be launching a riding academy. It will be a whole program, teaching riders everything they need to know from the ground up,” she said. “I really want to be able to provide lessons to the Ocala area without the initial commitment to own a horse.”

Young Horse Development

One thing that Valerie enjoys and wanted to be a large part of Opening Bell was the development of young horses. In 2022, Valerie heard about Emerald Silver, aka Silvio, thanks to a friend, Lisa Williams, in Texas. “She is always looking for talented young horses and actually found him in rural Poland,” Valerie said.

Silvio’s sire is Emerald Van’t Ruytershof, a talented international Grand Prix horse who competed at the 2016 Rio Olympics. With that lineage, Silvio was bred to enter the Grand Prix ring himself, except for one thing—he seemed to lack speed.

“I kept him in Hungary for the first year I owned him so we could put some jumper miles on him and allow us to build out our team in Ocala. We thought for sure he’d be a Grand Prix horse, as his scope is endless. However, as I watched the videos, I thought, It doesn’t look like he wants to go fast,” Valerie said. “I had never owned a young Grand Prix horse before, so I was worried maybe we were pushing him too fast.”

With the balanced canter Valerie saw in Silvio’s stallion approval video, she couldn’t shake the thought maybe he’d excel in the hunter ring. He’d still be able to call on his scope, but do it at a slower pace. Wanting to test her hunch that she had a hunter, Valerie enlisted one of Jordan’s friends who was in Europe to go ride Silvio as hunter. “He didn’t even get off Silvio before he called and told us that Silvio is absolutely a hunter. He floated the reins at the first jump and that was exactly what Silvio wanted. He didn’t want to be pushed,” Valerie said.

Although Silvio had qualified for the Lanakin Young Horse Championship as a 5-year-old, he found himself on a plane headed to Florida to begin his next chapter as a hunter. Once he landed in Ocala, he was started with groundwork to establish a relationship. The team worked together to build a program that worked best for him in his new environment.

While siring the next generation of hunters, Silvio is making his own mark as a champion in the hunter ring. “He and Jordan were the 2024 USEF Horse of the Year in the 3’ Green Hunters for both points and money won. This year he’s competing in the 3’3” Green Hunters with an eye on once again competing at the 3’/3’3” Green Hunter Incentive Finals, where he placed first in the 3’ section and eighth overall in 2024,” she said.

Silvio is gearing up for his next chapter and dipping his toes in the derby ring, currently competing in USHJA National Derbies. “The big goal is for him to do the International Derbies. That’s where I believe he will really shine, with the softness of his jump and his scope,” Valerie said. “I also hope to start showing him myself in the Adults.”

With her eyes set on big goals for Silvio, Valerie’s desire to enjoy the horse community via Opening Bell remains the same. “We want to continue to grow the business,” she said. “I’m excited to open the doors of the riding academy so even more riders can enjoy this beautiful property with us and join the Opening Bell family.”

 

For more information, follow on Facebook and Instagram @openingbellfarm and @openingbellsporthorses and on their website at www.openingbellfarms.com

Photos by Kacy Brown, kacybrownphotography.com