Robin Greenwood: A Passion for Ponies

By Kim Gatto

Portraits by Pam Jensen

For Robin Greenwood, there is nothing quite like a pony with a great disposition and a small child on top of it. And she should know—the Southern Pines, North Carolina, based trainer has long been regarded as one of the premier breeders and trainers of pony hunters in the nation.

In a career spanning several decades, Robin has guided countless ponies and their young riders to tricolors at indoors and at Pony Finals. Her farm, Grand Central (GC) Ponies, boasts a long line of famous alumni, including diminutive legends such as Jetsetter, Espresso, Gayfield’s Blue Nile, One More Rainbeau, Center Field, and Yes It’s True—just to name a few. Over the years, Robin’s students have won many prestigious classes such as the USEF Pony Medal Finals and the WIHS Pony Medal Finals. Some of her former clients—now adults—have gone on to become Grand Prix riders; others are popular teachers and trainers. Among the many accomplished riders who grew up under Robin’s watchful eye are Georgina Bloomberg, Ashley Baker and Caroline

Passarelli.

At GC Ponies—named for her beloved amateur hunter, Grand Central—Robin continues to coach a handful of serious young riders and their mounts. Through the years, GC students have become well-known not only for their talents, but also collectively for their work ethic, positive attitude and genuine horsemanship skills. Robin would not have it any other way.

“Watching these kids grow and succeed with their ponies is incredibly fulfilling,” Robin said. “And it is so much more than just the showing. These kids truly want to be involved with the animals, taking care of them whenever they can. The goal is that they become great horsewomen. If they do, I have succeeded.”

Early Years

Long before she turned her focus to ponies, Robin fell deeply in love with horses. As the daughter of a horse-loving mother, she began taking lessons near her home in Grand Rapids, Michigan, at the age of 6. “I rode once a week and competed in the little in-house horse shows they had at the barn,” Robin said. When she was 12, her parents gifted her a grade Quarter Horse gelding that cost $500; his name was Toby. “We didn’t really know much, but we tried,” Robin said. “We summered on Cape Cod in Massachusetts and brought Toby with us.”

When her parents subsequently divorced, Robin and her brothers stayed on Cape Cod year-round with their mother. “I didn’t have a trainer at that time,” Robin said. “I did some showing, but, to be honest, I was not very good. I mostly stopped at jumps or fell off. But there was a wonderful horseman named Donald Manchester who taught me so much about horsemanship and equine care. I did a lot of work at the barn and learned many valuable skills—cleaning stalls, clipping, braiding and things like that.”

By the time she was 16, Robin had become serious enough about riding to move on to a more talented mount. “My mother and I traveled to Canada to look at a horse at Jimmy Day’s,” she said. “His name was Talisman. He was a nice Thoroughbred—a bright chestnut with four white socks and a blaze—and we ended up buying him. When I tried him out, he seemed quiet and simple. But when the shipper arrived to drop him off at our boarding farm, he told me to be careful because Talisman was ‘the craziest horse’ he had ever been around.”

Realizing that Talisman was likely more horse than she had bargained for, Robin convinced her mother to allow her to ride with noted trainer Ronnie Mutch at his Nimrod Farm in Connecticut. “I needed help, and my mother agreed. We would drive down to Ronnie’s every Friday after school and come home on Monday,” Robin said. “I didn’t have much experience, so we started out doing the maiden and novice classes. But back then, you went right into the 3’6” Junior Hunters. We were not terribly successful, but Talisman was quite a nice horse and we eventually qualified for the Medal and Maclay.”

High Spirited

The following year, a new horse—a stunning liver chestnut with a white stripe on his face—arrived at Nimrod Farm, sent from the sale barn of David Hopper. “Ronnie was sure this horse would be the next champion of the world,” Robin said. “I went home and told my mother, and for my high school graduation that year, I received a halter with his name on it.”

The horse, named Academy Award, or Oscar around the barn, proved to be as high-spirited as Talisman. “Ronnie showed him in

the green conformation hunters and then moved up to the preliminary jumpers,” Robin said. “He was pretty crazy. He once broke out of his stall at Branchville and started running around the show grounds. Ronnie ended up sending him back to the racetrack with Rodney Jenkins, but he couldn’t stay there because he was too wild. Rodney’s trainer had given him an ultimatum: Either get the horse out of the barn or all of Rodney’s horses would have to leave.”

Ronnie’s veterinarian, Dr. Joseph Heissan, suggested removing the horse’s thyroid, as he had been involved in a study with broodmares at Cornell that showed that the removal had a calming effect on some animals. “Oscar had this surgery and came back much quieter,” Robin said.

The horse returned to the show ring with Ronnie in the saddle. “I was watching him do the working hunters at Monmouth one day and I could tell things were not going well,” Robin said. “Ronnie came out of the ring and said he was never sitting on the horse again. I was a timid amateur rider, but I asked if I could show him in the next class and he agreed. I went in and jumped around without Ronnie and had the time of my life. Oscar became one of my amateur horses and won a ton of classes, including being champion at Ox Ridge. He was a really special horse.”

Over the next few years, Robin stepped away from riding while she earned a bachelor’s degree at Smith College in Northhampton, Massachusetts. The horses remained at Nimrod Farm. “One summer before I graduated, I went with my mom to Lake Placid to watch Talisman show,” Robin said. “On the ferry ride home, after watching the show all day, I told my mom that I missed riding. Without blinking an eye, she told me to go down to Ronnie’s because he had two horses for me to try.”

Horse of a Lifetime

It was there that she met her horse of a lifetime: Grand Central, a 15.3-hand plain chestnut gelding with a tiny star on his forehead. “He was aggressive in his stall, but he always went into the ring and tried his heart out,” Robin said. “I hadn’t ridden in a few years, but ended up showing him at the end of that summer and then through the winter on the local circuit. We ended up winning the Amateur Owner Championship at Devon the next year. He was such a good horse.”

Sadly, Grand Central died of colic one month after returning home from Devon. At that time, few veterinary hospitals performed colic surgery and there was not enough time to transport him to the nearest clinic. “It was completely devastating,” Robin said. “He was definitely a horse of a lifetime to me. And he was only 8 years old.”

After the tragic loss of Grand Central, Robin was fortunate to be partnered with another special liver chestnut gelding, Twentieth Century Limited, aka Florida. “He was another incredibly special animal,” Robin said. “To this day I would tell you he was as good of a mover as any horse competing today. I think he lost three hacks in his entire career. But he could be sensitive and needed a soft ride.” Together, Robin and Florida won numerous tricolors, culminating in the Horse of the Year award for amateur owner hunters in 1976. “We sold him and got him back four years later, and kept him for the rest of his life,” Robin said.

In 1977, after competing successfully in the amateur divisions for several years, Robin opted to become a professional. She began teaching at Coach House Stables in Rye, New York, eventually moving to Old Salem Farm. In 1987, she opened her own business. “Grand Central was definitely a horse of a lifetime to me. So when I opened my own business, I chose to name it Grand Central Stables in his honor. I felt it was an appropriate way to begin.”

Top Pony Trainer

It was around this time that Robin’s destiny as a top pony trainer began to emerge. “One of my first clients was Jessica Newman,” Robin said. “She was only 8 years old when I began teaching her—she really gave me my start. Jessica had a small pony, Gayfield’s Blue Nile, and then purchased a lovely medium by the name of Asia Minor. She was reserve champion at Pony Finals in 1987 when it was held on the huge, rolling outside course at Fairfield. That was the first Pony Finals tricolor for Grand Central Stables.”

Jessica’s victory set the stage for a string of consecutive wins for the farm. “Jennifer Miller and Special Effects won the championship at Harrisburg. Then Georgina and Emma Bloomberg came along—they won endless awards with Jetsetter, one of my all-time favorite ponies. Victoria Grauer rode Espresso to Grand Champion Pony Hunter honors at Devon and Best Child Rider on a Pony. Ashley Baker showed Hillcrest Night Light, Llandefalle Lady Slipper and Glenmore Trix to many championships, and Ashley also won the USEF Pony Medal Finals on Trix. She also showed our own homebred, One More Rainbeau, and was Champion Small Pony Hunter the last year that ponies were held at the National Horse Show at The Meadowlands,” Robin said. “I have been so fortunate to have had the honor of training so many great ponies and kids over the years.”

The birth of Robin’s first daughter, Karen, in 1995 led her to rethink her priorities, as the constant travel to horse shows was difficult with a baby in tow. “I retired from training and showing in 1997 when Karen was a toddler,” Robin said. After the birth of her second daughter, Laura, Robin turned her interest to breeding and raising green ponies, a career that would offer her more time at home to spend with her growing family.

It proved to be a lucrative decision, as Grand Central Ponies has produced many bona fide champions through the years. The first, Center Field, was 2010 USEF HOTY Grand Champion Pony Hunter and won both the USEF Pony Medal Finals and the Washington Medal Finals. He also won numerous championships at indoors with various young riders—he is still the only pony to have won the USEF Medal Finals with two different riders, Lucy Deslauriers in 2012 and Ada Catherine Hays in 2017. Other champions bred or raised by GC Ponies include RosMel’s Millennium, RosMel’s Sun Fairy, RosMel’s Stellar, Yes I Am, Yes It’s True and Keepsake, among others. “I would say that I see a pony we bred and raised at a horse show pretty much every month,” Robin said. “It’s such a rewarding feeling.”

By 2010, Robin found herself at a crossroads in her career. “I was at a really difficult point in my life in general. I felt like everything was falling apart,” Robin said. “I hadn’t been teaching at all; I had just been breeding and raising ponies for years, but I decided that I wanted to start teaching again. I needed a new beginning of sorts.”

As fate would have it, Robin’s first student after returning to training was exactly what she needed: an 8-year-old by the name of Caroline Passarelli. Caroline came with a pony of her own—a small mare called Little Black Pearl—and a huge amount of talent. “Not only was this kid talented,” Robin said, “but she also had the best attitude. Nothing bothered her—she just was a breath of fresh air. Her pony could be tough; the mare would bolt and Caroline would just laugh. Caroline was a hard worker, but she knew how to have fun. To this day, Caroline and her mother and sisters are like family to me.”

Moving to Southern Pines

The Passarelli family didn’t live close by, but trailered to Grand Central Farm for lessons with Robin. When Robin opted to relocate her operation to Southern Pines, Pearl split her time between Robin’s farm and the Passarellis’ home in High Falls, New York. During this time, Caroline became like another treasured daughter to Robin.

“I taught Caroline for the next three years and she became like a member of my family. Besides her own pony, she would also ride the ponies that I had, including the young and green ponies. We would go to the shows together and she would be her own groom,” Robin said. “I have so many great memories from working with her. I remember once, when we were driving from Lake Placid to the Devon show grounds, Caroline decided to empty the dog’s water bowl out the window and the bowl just flew away. It was hilarious—we just had so many fun times together.”

Under Robin’s tutelage, Caroline achieved a tremendous amount of success at the horse shows with Pearl, including winning the Small Pony Championship at Harrisburg when the pony was 21 years old. “Once she aged out, it wasn’t feasible for her to keep making the trip to Southern Pines, so she went to Heritage. In fact, she’s now a trainer there,” Robin said. “We still keep in touch. Recently I was having trouble with a pony at Washington, and Caroline got on and gave the pony a wonderful school. We have such an incredible relationship to this day—it’s been such a blessing in my life.”

Nowadays, Robin has a much smaller, boutique operation, but continues to teach and train young riders. “I have a much smaller barn with four boarders and three or four kids that I teach off property,” Robin said. “I’m very happy having a dedicated group of kids that are interested in learning and showing. The kids range in age from 7 to 16. I also love finding nice ponies to bring along or lease; I have quite a stable of leased ponies around the country, including Astro Boy and Bye For Now. My goal is to continue teaching for as long as I can.”

Since being in Southern Pines, riders Erica Felder with Our Song and Timeless, Elle Gibbs with Astro Boy and Nominee, Ada Catherine Hays and Center Field, Emily Grace Swinson with Duncan’s Mill MacDougal, Emily Keefe with Etch A Sketch, and Anna Tyler with Nominee have won Zone 3 high score awards 11 times, and GC ponies earned championship ribbons at Devon, indoors, Pony Derby Finals, Pony Finals, and Pony Medal Finals. “We also had a huge assist bringing in, training and showing green ponies from Liza and Celia Cram from Aiken, South Carolina,” Robin said.

The ponies—and their riders—continue to bring Robin a great sense of fulfillment. “Anything with the ponies is fulfilling,” she said. “I love watching the green ponies learn, bringing them along to horse shows, and watching them succeed. Part of the appeal of ponies to me is that people tend to give them a bad rap and label them as ‘bratty.’ But I will tell you this—I’ve never stood at the in-gate with a small kid atop a pony and had a concern that that pony wasn’t going to go in and jump around a course for that child. These ponies give their all, and for that I am very grateful.”

For more information, visit www.hunterponies.com

Photos by Pam Jensen, www.pamjensenphotography.com