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Monday, February 27 2017 / Published in Weekly Feature

Acadia National Park — Celebrating 100 Years with the Acadia Centennial Carriage Drive

 

Fifteen four-in-hand teams took part in the Acadia Centennial Carriage Drive.

By Britney Grover

The year was 1916. Charlie Chaplain signed his first film contract. The kingdom of Poland was founded. John D. Rockefeller became the world’s first billionaire. The first supermarket, the Piggly Wiggly, opened in Tennessee. Half a million Ford Model Ts were produced and sold for $345 each; automobiles were quickly replacing horse-drawn vehicles on American roadways. In a world bursting with innovation and modernization, there were some whose vision included maintaining the simple and beautiful luxuries in life. On July 8, 1916, George B. Dorr succeeded in gaining federal protection for the Sieur de Monts National Monument, which would eventually become Acadia National Park.

A four-in-hand team taking part in the amazing weekend.
Photo by Bradley Spragg

Sharing George Dorr’s vision, John D. Rockefeller Jr. worked with him to plan and develop carriage roads, the Park Loop Road, gatehouses, and other iconic buildings on Acadia land, including 10,000 acres Rockefeller donated. Now, the Acadia carriage roads span 45 miles and are maintained in old-fashioned beauty by Friends of Acadia. To celebrate 100 years in 2016, Friends of Acadia hosted the Centennial Carriage Drive, a weekend of carriage driving, dining, and camaraderie. “What better way to celebrate the Centennial?” said Gail Clark, who chaired the event. “The reason John D. Rockefeller Jr. built these roads was for horses and carriages — no cars go on these roads.” As a summer Maine resident, it was Gail’s idea that sparked the drive as part of the centennial celebration.

A four-in-hand team driving on the well-maintained gravel roads in Acadia National Park.
Photo by Bradley Spragg

All of the park’s Wildwood Stables was reserved for four days last September for the four-in-hand and pairs that participated in this one-of-a-kind event. With men dressed in appropriate jackets and ties and the women donning hats, whips had the choice of three marked routes each day, each two-and-a-half to three hours long, with an area for a picnic lunch provided by Friends of Acadia on each route. Bob Bell, the President of Sidelines, described the ride as going back in time. The pomp and circumstances of fine champagne served when the horses had a break was just the beginning of the day. After driving from 10:30 to around 2:00 each day, evenings were occupied by incredible cocktail parties and dinners around the island.

Gail and her husband, Percy Hamilton Clark III, better known as Ham, hosted the Welcome Cocktail Buffet at their summer home, Gulls Way, on Somes Sound in Northeast Harbor, Maine. “It was magnificent,” said Gail. There were 15 four-in-hand for the four-day weekend, 80 horses in total, with 4 to 6 guests per carriage. Around 150 people attended the party including whips, guests, and the coachmen or grooms. “The people own the carriages; these are not public carriages. Many of these people who own the carriages also have a professional who helps them with it, and each carriage has two coachmen in the back. Anytime they stop, the coachmen would get out and go to hold the horses’ heads so they don’t walk away.”

Ted Eayrs and Mary Dennis pose in front of one of the carriages during the weekend.

Friday night’s cocktails and dinner were hosted by Lynne Wheat at her lovely home called Mainstay in Northeast Harbor, Maine.  On Saturday, the third night, everyone gathered at Martha Stewart’s Seal Harbor house, Skylands, for a lobster bake. “It was held at the carriage house, and Martha has these gorgeous carriages in there,” Gail said. Bob Bell, who is a friend of Martha Stewart’s, and Bradley Spragg, Sidelines Publisher, stayed in Martha’s guest house for the long weekend.

Gorgeous scenery on well-maintained roads are part of the joy of Acadia National Park.
Photo by Bradley Spragg

The dinner on Sunday was hosted by the 101-year-old David Rockefeller, Sr. in honor of his great coaching friend Frolic Weymouth, who passed away earlier in 2016. “It was impressive,” Gail said of the seasoned man hosting the dinner party. “It was a sight to see, unbelievable.” David himself even took part in the carriage drive celebrating the park one year younger than he was. The same year, David donated 1,000 acres to the Land & Garden Preserve, including private carriage trails which were used during the carriage drive.

101-year-old David Rockefeller, Sr. took part in the carriage drive and hosted a dinner during the event.

“The Acadia National Park Centennial Carriage Drive was a tremendous success!” raved Bob Bell. “The Rockefeller Roads are one of the most important parts of the park. They make it accessible to far many more people on safe gravel roads for biking, walking, and driving than other parks. With the 100th year anniversary, top drivers and incredible carriages drove the Rockefeller roads together for four full days. The four dinner parties had speeches all of which included how important Friends of Acadia is to the park and to the carriage roads. There were many toasts to the organizers for such a spectacular event with so many beautiful antique carriages celebrating our past!

Martha Stewart not only took part in the festivities but hosted a lobster bake at her home Skylands.
Photo by Bradley Spragg

“Everyone enjoyed being entertained by the sounds of the coaching horn,” Bob continued. “Everything was well thought out and extremely organized. Gail Clark, Lynne Wheat, Martha Stewart and David Rockefeller Sr. all did an outstanding job of hosting all the participants each evening for dinner. This was hospitality beyond the call of duty, and they pulled it off better than anyone. The drive was fantastic, the weather was perfect, and I can personally say everyone truly loved their visit to Acadia.”

If you are planning a trip to Maine and Acadia National Park, visit acadiamagic.com or nps.gov. To learn more about Friends of Acadia, visit friendsofacadia.org.

 

 

 

 

 

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It's #STUDSunday and today's featured stallion is. It's #STUDSunday and today's featured stallion is...

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Diarado-Diamant de Semilly- Chacco Blue
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You can find ALL of the stallions featured towards the back of the magazine in the equestrian gallery. Keep a look out EVERY Sunday for a new handsome STUD muffin🧁 and don't forget to subscribe to get your very own edition of Sidelines Magazine, the magazine for horse people, about horse people 🦄

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Annette Longenecker wasn’t just born into horses Annette Longenecker wasn’t just born into horses—in a way, she was born into her career. She grew up in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, where her parents ran a farm. Her mother taught, and her father had a jump business and then created one of the first horse show software programs: Ryegate Show Services, Inc.

Riding all her life, Annette spent many years as a groom and loved it, but knew it wasn’t what she wanted to do as a career. After she finished college, Annette’s father recruited her to help process entries at Ryegate. Since her father, Lloyd Longenecker, founded it in 1981, Ryegate has provided show management and office staff for some of the largest shows in the country. Now, Annette has taken over from her father and directed the company as it focuses on managing memberships and rankings for organizations such as the North American League, WIHS Championships and Equitation, Rolex/USEF Computer Ranking and National Medal Series (THIS NCM and Ariat NAM). Ryegate also provides scoring software for use with video walls, and production teams for hunter and jumper shows.

“Besides running Ryegate Show Services and its various organizations, I can be found in the show office, running a scoreboard or judging jumpers at most shows,” Annette said. “I love getting to wear a few different hats at the show.”

When she’s not busy at a show, Annette lives in Annville, Pennsylvania, with her “fur-baby,” Maggie Mae, and enjoys spending time with her many godchildren. Though she doesn’t currently own any horses, Annette rides when she can at Rolling Acres Farm with Patty Foster, Ashley Foster-Worthington and Mary Lisa Leffler.

Read this month unbridled with Annette Longenecker by clicking the link in our bio. Never miss a story by subscribing to Sidelines Magazine! 🦄
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A column from Liz Halliday-Sharp herself The spor A column from Liz Halliday-Sharp herself 
The sport of eventing is a demanding and mentally challenging discipline that requires a combination of physical and mental fortitude from both the rider and horse. While having a coach can be incredibly beneficial, self-coaching can also play a crucial role in a rider’s success.

I think that given the opportunity, most riders would like to be coached every day. The reality of life in the horse world, however, is that the majority of us need to absorb as much from the lessons we have on a limited basis and then practice those skills at home to improve.

When I am riding, I try to have a plan for the horses each day and focus on what I’m looking to achieve. It’s important to be aware of the steady improvements rather than trying to solve everything all at once. This is especially important when teaching horses new movements or exercises that they might struggle with, and we need to give them time to learn and understand what we are asking for.

I have a couple of quotes that I use regularly when I’m teaching, and these are mottos that I hold myself to in my daily work as well.

The first is, “If you do what you have always done, you will get what you have always gotten.” This is a quote that was said to me many years ago when I was still motor racing and I keep it in the back of my mind each day. It’s easy to get stuck doing the same thing every day with your horse and bad habits are hard to break, from both riders and horses!

This leads me to my next quote, which is, “If what you are doing isn’t working, try something else.” It really is as simple as that! Many riders I see keep asking a horse to do something the same way over and over with an ongoing negative response and they wonder why things don’t get better. In these circumstances, I recommend that the rider change something, even if it’s wrong.

Read the full article by clicking the link in our bio! Don’t forget to keep your eye out for our April subscription!
📸Photo by Alex Banks Photography
The✨April issue✨ of Sidelines Magazine is here The✨April issue✨ of Sidelines Magazine is here and we are so excited to feature three-day eventer Liz Halliday on the cover! Big thanks to photographer Melissa Fuller for the beautiful photo of Liz and Cooley Nutcracker- Liz Halliday-Sharp - HS Eventing. Liz and her horses have taken the eventing world by storm - and find out how Liz is at the top of the sport as a female eventer! As the horse world gears up for the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event 2023, it's the perfect time to enjoy our eventing issue!! We also feature eventer and woman entrepreneur Frankie Thieriot Stutes, who is not only an eventer, but also runs Athletux and FRANKIE CAMERON handbags and accessories. And don't miss our eventing story on Robert "Bobby" Costello, who will be leading the US Eventing team to the 2024 Paris Olympics- and US Equestrian has named Bobby the eventing technical advisor/chef d'equipe!! Liz, Frankie and Bobby all have GREAT stories - don't miss any of them and don't forget to get your tickets for the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day event! We are also excited to introduce you to hunter-jumper rider Casey Lorusso Smith, who is not only a talented rider but also a psychotherapist and incorporates horses into her career. If you are up for adventure, then read the story on dressage rider Priscilla Baldwin who certainly doesn't let any grass grow under her feet! We also head to the west coast to catch up with hunter-jumper trainer Jim Hagman of Elvenstar Farm, we feature beautiful art by equestrian artist Tammy Tappan, and we get to know Miranda Jones and her family. Miranda is not only an attorney who spends a lot of time in the courthouse, but she's a rider and spends lots of time riding, and is joined by her daughters also! We are excited to feature Stephanie Lightner in our Unbridled column, and don't miss our columnists George Williams, Robert R.L. Jacobs and Margie Sugarman! It's a great issue - and you can read it online, but don't forget to go to the website and order a subscription and get every issue delivered to your mailbox!! Enjoy this issue and enjoy the ride: Link in bio!!
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