SIGN IN YOUR ACCOUNT TO HAVE ACCESS TO DIFFERENT FEATURES

FORGOT YOUR PASSWORD?

FORGOT YOUR DETAILS?

AAH, WAIT, I REMEMBER NOW!

Sidelines MagazineSidelines Magazine

  • LOGIN
  • Home
  • Current Issue
  • Subscriptions
    • Flipbook
    • Subscribe Options
    • Order Individual & Back Issues
  • Podcast
  • Marketplace
    • Business Ads
    • Directories
      • Barns, Farms, Trainers & Clubs
      • Equestrian Services
      • Real Estate
      • Stallions
      • Tack & Feed Stores
    • Classifieds
    • Horse Trailers for Sale
  • Advertise
  • Blogs
    • Show World
    • What’s Happenin’
  • Partners
  • Contacts
    • Contacts
    • Employment
0
Tuesday, April 11 2023 / Published in Sidelines Feature, Sidelines Spotlight, Weekly Feature

Priscilla Baldwin: Living for Adventure

By Ruby Tevis

 

Live life to the fullest—that’s the goal for most of us—and Priscilla Baldwin has taken this mission to heart. From her humble beginnings in West Hartford, Connecticut, to today, Priscilla has followed her passions, taken risks and learned along the way. She’s an entrepreneur, has lived abroad and has sailed to 37 countries, and at 73, Priscilla isn’t slowing down anytime soon—now she’s on a quest for her USDF Gold medal.

 

The oldest of three children, Priscilla’s love for horses started before she could even walk or talk. “It was my 3rd birthday when I realized you could blow out a candle and make a wish. I wished for a pony,” Priscilla said. “I wished and wished every year.” At 8 years old, she and her brother went to visit a family friend’s farm, where they got to sit atop a champion Morgan show horse. “I thought I had died and gone to heaven,” Priscilla laughed.

 

Though Priscilla’s parents couldn’t afford riding lessons, this didn’t stop her from taking every chance she could get to be around a horse. “I went to every single horse show I could. The Farmington Horse Show wasn’t far from me, so I would work and volunteer no matter how young I was,” Priscilla said. “I enjoyed every single minute of it and I never gave up my dream of riding.”

 

In 1971, Priscilla became the first woman to graduate from Colgate University in Hamilton, New York after the university became fully coeducational. While pursuing her degree in English, Priscilla began taking riding lessons when she could afford them. After graduation, she moved back to West Hartford to work in theater costuming for the Hartford Stage Company.

 

“I became very good friends with some of my coworkers who were from Ireland,” Priscilla said.

“My boyfriend and I were doing some construction work on the side, and we were invited to help renovate an old Irish estate southwest of Dublin. They gave us two plane tickets, a camper to live in and a car. Of course there are horses everywhere in Ireland, and I knew this was exactly where I wanted to be.”

 

Balancing Riding and Business

Priscilla’s working trip to Ireland turned into a five-year stay filled with equine adventures. Priscilla signed up for jumping lessons and joined two hunt clubs, the NAAS Harriers and the Kildare Hounds. “Everybody offered me horses to ride,” Priscilla said. “Eventually I found a hot little mare to purchase for myself. Her sire was named Joshua, so I named her after the song ‘Joshua Gone Barbados’—I called her Barbada.”

 

With the young Barbada, Priscilla realized one of her childhood dreams: competing in a horse show. “We went to the Dublin Horse Show for my first show ever. We entered the Light-Weight 5-Year-Old Mare division and finished as the reserve champions,” Priscilla said. Priscilla was soon invited to take lessons with show jumping legend Iris Kellet, and learn the ropes of eventing under Patrick Connolly-Carews and Jackie Dougharty. “That mare would fly around the cross-country course, and she would jump anything. She even jumped over a car once!” Priscilla said.

 

After five years in Ireland, Pricilla decided it was time to return to the United States. She sold Barbada to a rider on the Irish Junior Eventing Team. Upon returning home, Priscilla obtained her real estate license and began working in real estate syndication. On a horse shopping trip with a friend, Priscilla was introduced to Lynne and Ray Little of Raylyn Farms in Frederick, Maryland.

 

“We hit it off really well,” Priscilla said. “They asked me what I did professionally, and I told them about the real estate syndication. Eventually we started talking about syndicating some horses, and I did one of the very early show jumping syndicates.”

 

One of the horses in her syndicate, a Dutch Warmblood stallion, Omen, spawned another venture for Priscilla—breeding through embryo transfers. “We worked with the University of Pennsylvania to begin their embryo transfer program,” she said. “It was really great because the mares could keep showing and we could breed very good horses. One of the horses we bred was Laurel, who ended up on the United States team.”

 

In 1990, Priscilla moved to Palm City, Florida, to work on real estate development for a client in Martin County. “We worked together for a couple of years until I decided to go out on my own,” she said. “I started in commercial real estate and moved into residential equestrian properties, which was the beginning of a nice, lucrative career since we weren’t too far away from Wellington.” Six years after moving, Priscilla met her husband, John Moffitt, while kayaking down the Loxahatchee River, and the two were married in 2001.

 

Sailing the World and Learning Dressage

Since her first excursion to Ireland all those years ago, Priscilla felt compelled to see more of the world. “Every year for 10 years, I went scuba diving on a boat in the Sea of Cortez,” Priscilla said. “I met a couple, Mike and Lauren Farley, who became my best friends. I helped them start a small boutique hotel, Danzante, south of Loretto on the Baja Peninsula. My husband helped with the financial aspects, and it became one of the top-rated small eco resorts.”

 

After years of balancing her business with riding, Priscilla decided it was time to sell her horse and share John’s dream of sailing around the world. After six months of sailing to Europe, Priscilla found herself in Ireland again faced with the fact that she just can’t live without horses in her life. “I told my husband I just can’t do this without having a horse,” Priscilla said.

 

“I brought back a hunter from Ireland that my good friend had bred,” she said. “I thought I’d have some fun hunting when I was in Florida, but it just wasn’t enough for me to do.” In the meantime, dressage trainer Heather Bender had relocated from California to Florida.

 

“I sold a property to Heather in Palm City. I told her if she bought the farm, then I’d come to take lessons. It was more than a sales pitch—I was really serious, and that started my journey with dressage,” Priscilla said. “I went off sailing again and then received a text about a mare that came into Heather’s barn, a warmblood named Amara.”

 

Bred in Florida, the spicy mare was just Priscilla’s type and required a rider who could handle a horse who didn’t like to keep all four legs on the ground. Together, Priscilla and Heather developed Amara through the levels, and in-between sailing to faraway lands, Priscilla earned her USDF Bronze medal.

 

“When Amara was 14, she started struggling with lameness and wasn’t able to work at the upper levels anymore,” Priscilla said. “I knew I wasn’t getting any younger, and I had this dream to ride the Grand Prix.” Priscilla was hopeful she could learn on Zairo Interagro, an investment horse she had purchased as a 5-year-old that Heather trained to Grand Prix, but unfortunately Zairo passed away from melanoma, and Priscilla found herself back at square one with a big dream and without a horse to ride.

 

Future Accomplishments Ahead

Still clinging to her Grand Prix dreams, Priscilla held up hope that she would find a suitable horse. Enter Diacono Interagro, a Lusitano gelding who is blind in one eye, became available for sale in Wellington. “Heather asked if I wanted to come down and take a look at him,” Priscilla said. “She tried him out first and told me how lovely he was. I sat on him and fell in love.”

 

Starting together at Fourth Level, Priscilla and Diacono, known at home as Connor, worked up to Prix St. Georges and Intermediate I. “I earned my Silver medal with him, and Heather kept training him when I was away traveling with my husband,” she said. “She took him to Intermediate II last summer and in November he showed in—and won—his first Grand Prix.”

 

With the COVID-19 pandemic pumping the brakes on international travel plans, Priscilla and her husband decided to sell their sailboat after 18 years and take up RVing. Previously spending time sailing Europe and Asia, exploring North America has been a thrilling new adventure for the pair. It has also freed more time for Priscilla to dedicate to dressage.

 

“It’s so nice, at my age, to still have fun and be able to compete with everybody. In Wellington, you’re competing with all the very good professionals, very good horses and great amateurs as well. It’s been fun to be there and still be competitive,” Priscilla said. “Heather has been so patient taking me up the levels. I love dressage because that is all you can think about when you are riding. It’s so precise that you can’t think of anything else, and it keeps me fit!”

 

Based out of her own Quiet Place Stables, a five-acre farm in Palm City, Priscilla believes she has found the perfect recipe for balancing her many endeavors. “I have four stalls, a nice dressage arena, and my wonderful barn manager who is also Heather’s assistant. She has her horse here, takes care of Connor and manages my boarders,” Priscilla said. “When I’m gone, everything keeps running smoothly, and when I’m home I can focus on my training.”

 

With her Gold medal on the horizon and new goals for traveling, Priscilla and her husband haven’t found a reason to slow down. “We both continue to do a small amount of business, and I call myself a ‘concierge realtor’ assisting my equestrian friends,” Priscilla said. “It is a privilege to do what I do, and I’m so grateful for all of the wonderful experiences.”

 

Photos by Melissa Fuller, msfullerphotography.com

 

 

Double D Trailers Info

Tagged under: Colgate University in Hamilton, Jackie Dougharty, Kildare Hounds, melissa fuller, priscilla baldwin, ruby tevis, wellington

What you can read next

Catherine Haddad Staller: Trailblazing International Success
Finding and Developing Hunter-Jumpers
Peter Brant

Download Sidelines Digital now from your favorite app store!

Sidelines Magazine - Apple store   Sidelines Magazine - Google Play store   Sidelines Magazine - Amazon store
Update iOS app. Re-download Google Play and Amazon app.

Follow on Instagram!

sidelines_magazine

Sidelines Magazine
Calling all trainers and professional riders! St Calling all trainers and professional riders! 

Struggling to keep up with your social media and the barn? Reel editing got you overwhelmed? Is your #Hashtag - trending audio - sponsor tagging being neglected? 

Entrigue specializes in equestrian social media and rider management! We help equestrians handle the daily posting to Instagram and Facebook, handle boosting and engagement ads, and can help trainers and barns maximize their sponsorships, keep websites up to date, and PR! Your barn is a business too and as a rider or barn your digital hoof print counts!

@entrigue_marketing 

#equestrian #sponsoredrider #socialmedia #equestrianmarketing #equestrianreels #horsesofinstagram
Yay for June! We have another great edition for yo Yay for June! We have another great edition for you all that we can't wait for you to read. Up first are Evan and Ashley Donadt a dynamic duo that has won the hearts of many! Stay tuned for many great stories like this by following us on Instagram and Facebook or subscribing to get your very own copy of Sidelines Magazine!

What happens when a horse-crazy equestrian girl meets a never-touched-a-horse-before guy? If you’re Ashley and Evan Donadt, it might just be the beginning of a happily-ever-after that includes a solid dressage program and extremely popular social media channels featuring good-natured humor and horses.

Ashley, a lifelong equestrian, began her horse experiences with the local 4-H club, progressed to lessons with the local dressage trainer when she was 10, then her own pony when she was 11. Conversely, Evan grew up in Massachusetts, without any horse experience to speak of. The odds of them meeting were fairly low, until fate landed them both in Southern California.

Evan knew from the start that spending time with Ashley meant spending time at the barn. In fact, Ashley told him straightaway, “The horses come first always; you’re going to be second!” Evan wasn’t deterred, and instead found the loophole: spending all his own free time with her at the barn.

Read Ashley and Evan's full article in this month's edition of Sidelines Magazine! You can also click the link in our bio. Don't forget to subscribe to get your very own copy delivered right to your door! Thank you Evan and Ashley for allowing us to share your story!
📸Portraits by Jeni Jo Brunner

#sidelinesmagazine #sidelines2023 #forhorsepeople #abouthorsepeople
As we head into June we wrap up our May women entr As we head into June we wrap up our May women entrepreneur, edition. We were so lucky to be able to feature so many amazing women within the Horse industry. We have one more to share with you, and if you missed any of the women entrepreneur stories head to our website for all of our past issues! Enjoy! 

Hurry Up and Wait” is a familiar saying at hunter-jumper competitions. Unlike other disciplines, where 
riders are assigned specific ride times, hunter-jumper riders typically must check in with the starter at 
the in-gate throughout the day to determine when they will show. In 2019, Emma Fass decided to put 
her computer science background to use in the show industry and created RingSide Pro to allow riders 
to be “ringside” wherever they are.
Throughout high school, Emma competed at horses shows on her horse Son Of A Sailor, aka Ernie, 
oftentimes trailering Ernie into the show for the day with her mom. “That was stressful because we 
didn’t know how the show was running until we got there. Even once we were on the show grounds, we 
struggled to find information. It’s a hike to the rings and the speakers in the barns tend to be 
unreliable,” Emma said. “I would think to myself, There’s got to be a better way.”

For more information, visit www.ringsidepro.com

Read Emma’s full story at sidelinesmagazine.com, and never miss an edition of Sidelines magazine by subscribing. 

@ringsideproinsta @emmafass 
📸Photos by Kirsten Konopnicki, kkonophoto #Sidelines #sidelines2023 #sidelinesmagazine #magazine #forhorsepeople #abouthorsepeople
The June issue of Sidelines Magazine is here!!! G The June issue of Sidelines Magazine is here!!! 
Get ready to meet the cutest, funniest and very talented equestrian couple from California - Evan Donadt and Ashley Donadt. Thanks Jeni Brunner for the great cover photo! 

Evan is a Tik Tok and social media star, along with several of their horses and ponies. So get ready to laugh, and also be inspired by their relationship and Ashley's dressage goals - she's headed to the top! You will love them and their story will make you want to follow them on social media! 

We also feature hunter-jumper rider Will Baker who has a new farm near Ocala, Florida, complete with a cute donkey (and lots of amazing horses of course), equestrian artist Jan Lukens of Jan Lukens Fine Art (if you were a fan of Gem Twist you will love his paintings!), talented Texas dressage rider John Mason who has a great story, hunter-jumper rider Addison Reed who is now showing in the Grand Prix, and we catch up with the amazing Kate Egan and her larger-than-life horse and her story about how she won a car!

Former eventing groom Courtney Carson tells us about her new career, eventer Nicole Zardus shares her story of retraining racehorses for the eventing and foxhunting world, and we catch up with the very talented rider Luke Jensen who is now a professional rider for North Run's Missy Clark and John Brennan. Don't miss Luke's touching story about the horse Jamaica! 

We feature Robert Crandall in our Unbridled column, along with our great columnists who share their wisdom: eventing with Liz Halliday-Sharp - HS Eventing, dressage with George Williams, hunter-jumper with Rob Jacobs R.L. Jacobs and sports psychology with Margie Sugarman. Also enjoy the Show Time pages from The FEI World Cup Finals and the American Equestrians Got Talent competition. It's another great issue!!

Don't forget to visit our website and order a subscription - one year for $14.95 - you can't beat that! In the meantime, enjoy the June issue. Link in bio! 
#Sidelines #sidelines2023 #sidelinesmagazine #magazine #forhorsepeople #abouthorsepeople
Load More... Follow on Instagram

From Our Classifieds Ads

  • Sidelines Magazine
    Jump into Sidelines Magazine! A MUST-READ FOR PEOPLE DEDICATED TO HORSES AND THE EQUESTRIAN LIFESTYLE! • Available monthly both in print and our free app • A year's subscription is only $9.95 • Award-winning editorial, photography and design • #1 equestrian real estate magazine in the country • Covering dressage,

    [Read more]

  • Holsteiner Stallion - Lieutenant Kije
    Lieutenant Kije (Laurinn x Carolus I x Rocadero) 17'h North American Studbook Approved Holsteiner Proven Hunter & Jumper Offspring thru Derby's & Grand Prix. USEF #45986 Fresh Cooled & Frozen LFG $1200 Frozen Straws $350 per dose www.Phoenixequestriancenter.com

    [Read more]

Sidelines Articles by Email

Subscribe to Sidelines Magazine Articles by Email

RSS Sidelines Blogs: What’s Happenin’

  • Woodside Recognizes the Best in the West
  • Get More for Your Money with an Adjustable-Rate Mortgage
  • Longines Global Champions Tour of New York Returns to Governors Island

RSS Sidelines Blogs: Show World

  • Conor Swail Was the Best Bet in $15,000 CSI2* Markel Insurance Welcome at San Juan Capistrano International
  • Lillie Keenan Leads in CHF68,000 South Coast Plaza Welcome Speed at San Juan Capistrano International CSIO5*
  • McLain Ward Wins CSIO5* Longines Grand Prix at San Juan Capistrano International

Category

Recent Posts

  • June 2023 – Table of Contents

    Subscribe for just $9.95 or Order Individual Is...
  • Kayden Muller-Janssen: Equestrian Royalty to Disney Star

    By Kimberly Gatto   For every little girl ...
  • Kelly Prather: An Eventing Journey Around the World

    By Tafra Donberger   Sisters are often at ...
  • Lauren Pileggi Friga & Show The Bows: From Puppy Woes to Smiles and Bows

    By Jan Westmark Bauer   Lauren Pileggi Fri...
  • Kate at the In Gate: Busy With Photography, Riding and a New Direction

    By Jan Westmark Bauer   Kate Kosnoff, bett...

Copyright © 1987 - 2021 Sidelines Magazine
Privacy Policy · Returns & Refunds Policy · Hosting by Lucian Web Service
· Login

TOP
Get the Sidelines Scoop — your weekly look behind the scenes.Sign me up!