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Friday, June 22 2018 / Published in Weekly Feature

Ryan Beckett: Always Up for a Challenge – Hiking, Biking, Riding and Learning from Real Estate to Reality TV

Ryan Beckett

By Britney Grover

Portraits by Isabel J. Kurek

Though he laughingly refers to himself with the age-old adage “jack of all trades, master of none,” Ryan Beckett’s affinity for stepping out of his comfort zone has given him a list of impressive, if eclectic, accomplishments. A successful Wellington realtor, Ryan has also competed in an Ironman triathalon, sailed from New York to Florida, completed a ranger training course for counter-poaching in Mozambique, hiked to Mt. Everest base camp and summited Everest’s sister peak, biked from Florida to California for charity, participated in ABC’s “The Bachelorette” and “Bachelor in Paradise,” and is now working on a doctorate in business administration — just to name a few highlights.

One of the items on Ryan’s bucket list was to be on a “reality TV series” and he accomplished that as part of the cast of ABC’s “The Bachelorette” and “Bachelor in Paradise.”

Embracing a Culture

Despite loving animals from a young age, Ryan didn’t have much involvement with any growing up. “I grew up in Boca Raton, Florida, having nothing to do with horses,” he said. “I almost even made fun of my friends that lived in Wellington because I was a beach baby, and Wellington was known as horse country suburbs.”

Instead, Ryan grew up playing various sports with an interest in finance and real estate. It took a combination of circumstances to get him to Wellington and, in turn, horses. After graduating from Florida State University with a dual major in real estate and finance, his lacrosse coach recommended him into the Palm Beach Polo Club in 2005 to work with Palm Beach Polo Realty. “I went there and it stuck,” Ryan said. “I became friends with a lot of people, and before I knew it some of my best friends were top trainers. They said, ‘Ryan, if you’re going to be in the business, we need to get you on a horse.’ Equestrians like Elizabeth Plummer, Robert Coluccio, Richard Cunkle and Kim Stewart have all been gracious enough to help me learn, enjoy and access a level of riding in a way that I would never have been able to without them — but their friendship is what I appreciate the most.”

Ryan began riding, and found he enjoyed it. “I’ve always been an animal lover; I even get choked up at ‘The Lion King,’” he said. “Horses were never a planned landing spot for me, it just kind of happened, but I really enjoy operating around and being friends with other animal lovers. It fit well, and I enjoy the demographic of the horse world. It’s like I tell my friends who aren’t in the horse world: Wellington is such a high level of sport, everyone’s so passionate about it, it’s almost like being immersed in another language and culture. That’s how it all started.”

Like horses, residential real estate wasn’t exactly what Ryan had in mind. Like horses, Wellington fortuitously guided him into it. “I had this perception of a realtor as that cheesy guy with the nametag and the magnet on the side of a car, face on a park bench. So I thought, based on my education background and everything, that I would be more into commercial real estate, in a suit and working more on commercial properties and stuff like that.”

Don Langdon was running Palm Beach Polo Realty when Ryan joined on, and quickly became his mentor — instilling in him the importance and professionalism of the type of real estate they were doing. Ryan honed his skills with Palm Beach Polo for seven years, and then set out to expand his horizons. He co-founded a Sotheby’s franchise in Wellington, and then sold his interest in 2015 so that he could take on the professional challenge of starting his very own brokerage — all the while seeking out his next personal challenge.

Ryan grew up on the beach but after meeting equestrians, many who became his best friends, he began riding and found he loved the culture of Wellington, Florida.

Growing Through Doing

Focusing on just one thing has never been one of Ryan’s strong suits. “I grew up in a very jock family, all boys, mom was an athlete, dad was an athlete, and I was always playing some kind of sport — swimming, baseball, lacrosse, all those were big parts of my life. I’ve always loved playing different kinds of sports — I played lacrosse in college, and I got really into triathlons. Triathlons were fun for me because it wasn’t just running, it wasn’t just cycling, it wasn’t just swimming; it was a few disciplines that I could rotate and it was good to keep my interest and always be challenged.”

Starting out with small distance triathlons turned into international distances, then to a half-Ironman, and ultimately to a full Ironman. “A recurring theme is that I always like being put outside of my comfort zone, because I truly believe that’s how you grow as a person,” Ryan said.

True to that theme, he’s “a big bucket-list guy,” and he’s already got quite a chunk of that list checked off. He was slated for the reality TV series “Survivor,” but when he was bumped from the cast at the last minute he didn’t let that keep him from utilizing his free summer. Instead, he and show jumper Dani Goldstein went on a cross-country bike ride from Florida to California in the name of Danny & Ron’s Rescue, a 35-day endeavor.

Ryan’s chance to cross “reality TV series” off his bucket list came later when he got a call to appear on “The Bachelorette.” “There were a lot of reasons not to do it, but I try not to be so worried about failing or care so much about what everyone thinks, and just have more experiences in my life. I knew that it would be a unique, wild ride, and that in fact it was. The best thing that came out of it was I made some of the best friends that I have, even though I didn’t end up engaged — and maybe that was a win,” he added with a laugh.

Ryan and Dani Goldstein went on a cross-country bike ride from Florida to California in the name of Danny & Ron’s Rescue, a 35-day endeavor.

When he finished with “The Bachelorette,” Ryan was happy he did it — and determined he’d never do anything like it again. “It was kind of like when I went skydiving,” he said. “I was like Well that was good, but I’m not going to keep skydiving. I just wanted to do it to do it. It was the same thing with ‘The Bachelorette.’ I thought, That was intense, stressful but a great experience. I’m glad I did it; upward and onward.’”

But when producers called about “Bachelor in Paradise,” Ryan’s adventurous personality ultimately won out. “Both times I had trepidation about doing the shows, and I had these epiphanies last minute, in the 11th hour of making the decision, that on your deathbed you regret more things that you didn’t do than things that you did do. I believe in putting yourself out there, and not taking yourself too seriously. So I went for it again, and again I had a blast; it was great.”

Ryan, showing off two pups available for adoption, has a big heart and regularly volunteers his time to help people and animals.

Giving Back & Moving Forward
In addition to his adventurous side, Ryan also has a big heart — and the two sometimes work in tandem, like in his cross-country ride for charity. Most recently, Ryan has become an advocate for counter-poaching with the GEOS Foundation. Instead of simply fundraising from the sidelines, Ryan once again got in on the action to prevent poaching of rhinos and other animals in Mozambique. “We went through full ranger training for two weeks — we slept in the bush for three days, got live ammunition training and got to see what these rangers really do in terms of the difficulty, how they live and the whole experience. We had a phenomenally successful ‘friendraiser’ at the end of WEF, which was graciously hosted by the Gochman family at their gorgeous farm, where we screened an informative movie shining a light on the rhino-poaching epidemic.”

Beyond animal welfare charities, Ryan also supports charities for children, including being an ambassador for Shuzz Foundation, donating shoes to children in need both foreign and within the U.S. “Often when animals or small children are in need, they’re in that position because of humans,” he said. “It’s not something that happened by mother nature; it’s not like the lion eating the zebra in Africa on the Serengeti. A lot of times it’s humans, unfortunately, that are the problem. I feel some sort of responsibility, being a human, to counter all the negative things that humans are doing.”

While he regularly volunteers his time to help people and animals, Ryan continues to chip away at his bucket list. He and Carlos Arruza hiked to Everest Base Camp and summited the Island Peak in honor of Ryan’s aunt’s father, Tenzing Norgay, the first man to summit Mt. Everest. Ryan and Carlos have been talking about planning a trip to Kilimanjaro next, but it may have to wait until Ryan is finished with his current escapade: With an MBA from Palm Beach Atlantic University, Ryan decided to pursue a doctorate in business administration at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida.

“I didn’t think I was going to get in,” he said with a laugh. “But I’m half-way through the first year and up against a deadline for a big paper. Writing these papers is one of the more challenging things I’ve ever done.”

Though he continues to ride, showing is one of the few things not on Ryan’s bucket list. “I just enjoy going to the farm and riding,” he said. “During the winter season, all my clients are in town and it’s hard for me to get out to ride, but outside of the season, I find myself riding a lot. I just go out for fun and do some jumps every once in a while, and just enjoy it for the sake of riding.”

Other side ventures include a startup tech company and fashion modeling for TV commercials and print work. “My friends say I’m the most random person ever,” Ryan admitted. “There are upsides and downsides — it’s that saying ‘jack of all trades, master of none.’ I wish there was something I was hyper-focused on, but it’s never been my personality.”

Even as it is, Ryan certainly has accomplished quite a bit — and he’s not going to stop, even if it’s one bucket-list item at a time. “I like to describe things like Everest or even my education like a marathon in that it’s fun to talk about the marathon, it’s fun to sign up for the marathon, it’s fun to train for the marathon, it’s fun to start the marathon. But once you get to mile 20 of that marathon, you’re like, What am I doing, what is wrong with me, this is hell. But soon thereafter, the accomplishment makes you go, Wow, I’m really glad I did that.

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Tagged under: britney grover, isabel j. kurek, real estate, Ryan Beckett, the batchelorette, wellington

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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! 🦄
📸Photo by Sheryl Sutherby

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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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