Untacked

58 ja n ua r y/ f e b r ua r y 2 015 U n tac k e d the uset, noted the civilian group had a good model to follow as best it could from the cavalry way of doing things. "ey were able to put everything together in a steady situation where horses were available under some instruction. it was an all-out effort," Burton continued. e founders of the new organization wanted to make sure the country was rep- resented internationally by the best horses and riders possible. toward that end, a permanent base was necessary, and ham- ilton farm filled the bill when the uset was able to lease it from the Brady estate and put the stable to the type of use its founder had intended. steinkraus still remembers his intro- duction to hamilton farm. "i was highly impressed and am still impressed by this facility," he said. he noted the move to the stable was "a major turning point in the career of the team. hamilton farm became a key fac- tor in the success of our teams in all three olympic disciplines." riders came from all over the country to train there. it was an impressive situa- tion for budding team members seeking to learn and make the cut for the team. morris noted that gladstone was regarded with "great respect, reverence and awe." wofford reminisced about life at the uset in the 1960s, when male team hopefuls lived in the dormitory on the sta- ble's top floor. ey alternated their time in the saddle with physical labor, including setting jumps and picking "rocks like drag- ons' teeth" out of the arena before it was converted to a sand ring, which became its footing for decades. mason phelps, now president of the national horse show, was aspiring to ride with the three-day team and got the call to come to new Jersey from California after a nationwide talent search. e eventing team was based at gladstone until 1974, when it moved to south hamilton, mass., with le goff. "my jaw dropped," phelps recalled of his arrival at the farm. "i had never seen anything like that. it was magnificent; it was an institution. ere wasn't a blade of grass out of place; there wasn't a piece of brass that wasn't constantly polished. it was intimidating. looking around the trophy room at the pictures and engraving on the trophies, it was a hall of fame, and i wanted to be in it." he recalled the group riding at glad- stone during that time included michael page, Jimmy Kohn, rick eckhardt and sally ike, noting the shared and demand- ing experience (as well as plenty of hijinks) made fast friends of those in the groups of aspirants. gladstone became the epicenter of the olympic disciplines in the united states—a home for training sessions where the country's best honed their skills. e late Jack fritz, who became a uset vice president, recalled the greet- ing he received as a new volunteer from Anne stone, the wife of uset Chairman whitney stone, one of the organization's founders and its biggest supporter. "welcome to the family," she told him. he came to know the organization as "people with a common interest, the horse, who worked together to achieve success in Maintaining the Legacy After the draining and expensive battle with USA Equestrian in the early 2000s over which organiza- tion should be horse sports' National Governing Body, the new USET Foundation had to focus on its mission to provide funding for training and field- ing international teams in the FEI disciplines. That meant there wasn't a lot of money left to put into maintenance of the Gladstone headquar- ters, which started looking rather shopworn at one point. The facility was not built with efficiency of operation in mind. It's expensive to heat, cool and keep up. But that's the price to be paid for having offices in an historic building. In 2012, there was a formal kick-off for the Gladstone Fund, with a goal of raising $3.5 million for refurbishment and upkeep of the foundation's property, looking toward the stable's 100th anni- versary in 2017. So far, the fund has accumulated $2.2 million. Even before the formal fundraising announce- ment, gifts and pledges had been coming in since 2010, with the Murphy family making a leadership gift in memory of the late USET President Vincent B. Murphy, who served from 1983 to 1989. The tack room was named in recognition of his contri- butions to the team. Another naming opportunity for a donation came in 2012 when Jane Clark, then the founda- tion's president and CEO, presided over ceremo- nies in the stable's courtyard. It was dedicated to Chapot, Morris and Steinkraus, members of the 1960 Olympic silver medal team. "Frank, George and Billy were instrumental in building the sport of show jumping in the U.S. They are our icons; they are legends, and they need to be honored," said Clark. "Their days and years with the USET centered around Gladstone. To honor them with the courtyard is perfect for them. It also highlights how important Gladstone is in the history of equestrian sport in this country." Most recently, a spectacular $1.5 million gift was given to the fund in memory of Joan Hamill, a USET trustee from 1976-1984, and her husband, noted traveler and outdoorsman Corwith "Corky" Hamill, of Wayne, Ill., by their children, Betsy Bramsen, Jonathan Hamill and Nancy Winter, who was on the eventing short list for the 1984 Olym- pics and the long list for the 1986 world champi- onships. Though there has been much sprucing up of the facility in the last few years as it puts its best foot forward, the Gladstone Fund will be applied toward such major projects as the roof and the heating and cooling system. HistorY "My jaw dropped. I had never seen anything like that. It was magnificent; it was an institution. ere wasn't a blade of grass out of place; there wasn't a piece of brass that wasn't constantly polished." —mason phelps

• Cover