I know something about the business. The land alone is so expensive that in NJ the State purchased it to build a horse park for the county.
In 1979, Janet Schaafsma (click here) built the main horse barn with the indoor arena and began operating a riding and boarding facility.
It is a very expensive hobby. No one can dispute that. It has some therapeutic benefits when one rides as a casual pleasure horse, but, international competition at this level is very stressful.
The horses are expensive and if a veterinary certificate does not reveal any problems with its health, there are legal consequences, because, it is more than a matter of livestock, this is a quality of life issue, expectations of the future in a show ring that carries status. So, if she is dealing in these horses and there are problems then she hasn't been managing the barn well.
A person has to be able to afford this life style. Horse-persons in this market are usually interested in the well being of their animal. The horse has a high priority in the quality of care it receives, including pasturing and otherwise. This is not a fools game and if there is a poor reputation of selling or breeding inferior horses the stable will not sustain the community's distain.
It has to be realized, much of the horse riding sport is comprised of young people. They are sportmen and women at a young age and their mounts have to be sound. They have to be well tempered and easy schooled for competition. It is a matter of achieve for these folks. They love the sport and every aspect of it, they love their horses, but, they love to win and show off their accomplished riding skills. So, this is different from the race track, there isn't big money in it except for breeding, training and teaching. Most are invested in the sport, not the profit.
This article by the LA Times surprised me. I didn't think Ann Romney was heavily into the business end of this. I thought she was interested in the breeds and promoting the sport. I didn't expect this. It even surprises me more to realize she has a connective tissue disease and is this involved in a stressful business. Horses take a lot of vigilance. She had a family. Wow. I really didn't expect this.
It was the end of a long day (click here) in a stuffy Simi Valley office building. Ann Romney had been under oath for more than four hours, testifying in a sometimes contentious deposition about a pricey horse she sold that may or may not have been afflicted with a condition that made him unrideable.
In the airless room, Romney was getting annoyed.
"That really is — that really is irritating," she said when the opposing attorney implied she didn't know who looked after her horse in Moorpark when she was at her home in Boston. "Of course I know who was looking after my horse. You're just trying to irritate me."
It was a rare moment of pique for Ann Romney, not meant for public consumption, and one that opened a window onto the private world of the would-be first lady....
This is really different than what the Late First Lady Jacquelin Onassis Kennedy did in Bedminster, New Jersey, too. Those folks were sportsmen and women, they had their mounts for recreational purposes.
You know, I once heard Ann Romney state, about the GOP primary, "This is our time now." Meaning her and Mitt. It was their time to have the spot light. It didn't ring right with me, because, democracy is inclusive and that sounded alienating. Not only that, but, it sounded very business like. Mitt was used to saying those things to the companies he took over. It was his time and the integrity of the company as it existed before was irrelevant and a matter of nostalgia. I find it abrasive. I don't how how else to describe it. When I listen with an open mind, both of them violate my sensibilities in ways I never would expect. Well. Whatever. I've already made up my mind and to me I don't know why others haven't as well.
In the airless room, Romney was getting annoyed.
"That really is — that really is irritating," she said when the opposing attorney implied she didn't know who looked after her horse in Moorpark when she was at her home in Boston. "Of course I know who was looking after my horse. You're just trying to irritate me."
It was a rare moment of pique for Ann Romney, not meant for public consumption, and one that opened a window onto the private world of the would-be first lady....
This is really different than what the Late First Lady Jacquelin Onassis Kennedy did in Bedminster, New Jersey, too. Those folks were sportsmen and women, they had their mounts for recreational purposes.
You know, I once heard Ann Romney state, about the GOP primary, "This is our time now." Meaning her and Mitt. It was their time to have the spot light. It didn't ring right with me, because, democracy is inclusive and that sounded alienating. Not only that, but, it sounded very business like. Mitt was used to saying those things to the companies he took over. It was his time and the integrity of the company as it existed before was irrelevant and a matter of nostalgia. I find it abrasive. I don't how how else to describe it. When I listen with an open mind, both of them violate my sensibilities in ways I never would expect. Well. Whatever. I've already made up my mind and to me I don't know why others haven't as well.
