Untacked

c h r o n o f h o r s e . c o m w i n t e r 2 014 65 All good ings must end even though James liked the Winter place horses to win, he almost never went to shows to watch them per- form. But "he liked the fact of them doing well," Beard said. "i had to keep in constant contact with him about the horses with their results; i was always looking for a pay phone," he recalled. "he wanted the best horses in the world, the best riders in the world, the best stable in the world. We provided it for him." While many of the top riders of the era cut their competitive teeth while riding for Winter place, and James demanded results, it wasn't a cut-throat environ- ment by any means. "ronnie was fantastic to work with," traurig said. "he did a wonderful job at managing quite a lot of dif- ferent personalities vying for top horses, which couldn't have been easy. at was an amazing job of juggling and keeping people happy. We all had a good time there together. e other side of his job was getting results for the Caine family as owners. he picked and made winners one after another." one of the famous stories about Beard involves the well-known gozzi. When he came to Winter place from the Wheelers' Cismont manor farm, Beard took him to the indoor and let each rider take a spin on him to decide who was to show him. traurig won that audi- tion. "to be able to school with so many of the other top riders was amazing," taylor said. "We used to have so much fun schooling each other. i always felt like there was a lot of camaraderie because we were kind of on the same team, riding for Winter place. And the Caines were such nice people." Beard and all the staff lived on-site at Winter place and had cookouts and social gatherings. ere might have even been the occasional episode of skinny-dip- ping in the whirlpool, but i promised i wouldn't say who told me that story. e Caine family embraced the Winter place staff, hosting riders and grooms for dinners at their beach- front house and taking them out on their boats. "We were just people," Bradley said. "my dad made a lot of money, but we weren't high society. We didn't hobnob with the hobnobbers." And while Winter place was truly a top show barn, it was also the Caine children's playground. Bradley had her horses, and her brother, Jamie, had a paved track behind the barn for his go-karts. But by 1978, James was ready to stop spending such lavish amounts of money on the horses. e economic climate had changed as well. "so we had a very nice parting," Beard said. "i sold the horses that he asked me to. We never had a harsh word about it; it was just time. All good things come to an end." e property was sold. Wicomico County now owns 377 acres of it and built Winter place park, which includes an equestrian facility, sports fields and a play- ground. e former showplace barn and indoor were converted into office space and now house Creditplus, a mortgage information services business. Beard went on to a successful career as trainer and judge. he also became active in programs like the u.s. hunter Jumper Association emerging Athletes and u.s. equestrian federation developing riders. "my time at Winter place was like a college educa- tion," he said. "i was young at the time, and a lot of the people who i had working for me were very knowl- edgeable. i think it set my path for life. i made mis- takes, but i learned a lot." PHoto Courtesy of BrADley CAine The barns of Winter Place were heated and air conditioned and had chandeliers decorating the aisles.

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