Horse Riding Resources in Millbrook
Dutchess County is recognized as one of the leading equestrian areas in the world and Millbrook and the surrounding towns are crossed with hundreds of miles of interconnected riding trails. The rolling, wooded hills of the Hudson Valley region lend themselves to active trail riding and Millbrook’s vibrant equestrian community keeps real estate prices stable. The area’s many active horse farms make it a wonderful base for equestrian activities, including trail riding, eventing, polo and fox hunting. Evertson Hill is right in the middle of these activities, with the Millbrook Hunt riding across multiple trails on the property’s twenty-two acres, the Millbrook Trials a five minute horse ride away, and Fox Race Farm, a respected horse recovery facility, in close proximity. The grounds of Mashomack Polo Club are only ten minutes from the house. A little further afield, Lakeville’s Annual Open Equestrian Event is a highlight of the year.
Eventing is a sport that combines three different disciplines: dressage, stadium jumping and cross-country jumping. Dutchess County eventers can compete in numerous area competitions including the Millbrook Horse Trials, Fitch’s Corner Horse Trials and Riga Meadow Horse Trials. The Millbrook scene is family-friendly and supportive, though these are serious, well-thought-of contests: in 2009, Olympic medalist Karen O’Connor competed in the Millbrook Horse Trials, which are run as a benefit for the Dutchess Land Conservancy.
Polo’s rich history dates back to at least the first century AD in Persia, where it originated as a training exercise for cavalry. The game spread across Asia to China and India, where it was enthusiastically adopted by cavalry units of the British Army. The Calcutta Polo Club was established in 1862 and the game was imported to Britain soon thereafter. The game came to the United States at the turn of the twentieth century, popularized by luminaries such as Harry Payne Whitney, but fell into decline in North America. Fortunately a revival of interest in the sport occurred in the 1970s and the Palm Beach Polo Club built its complex of ten fields in 1978. Dutchess County was not far behind: Mashomack Polo Club, located only ten minutes from Evertson Hill, was founded in 1984.
The Millbrook Hunt is another living tradition in the area, dating to the early years of the last century. Fox hunting originated in England during the Middle Ages as a means of controlling the population of foxes, though in the United States the sport “places emphasis on the chase and not the kill,” according to the MFHA Code of Practices, and the Master of Foxhounds Association prohibits hunts to pursue the quarry for the express purpose of the kill. Members of the Millbrook Hunt founded the Dutchess Land Conservancy in 1987 to protect open land and wildlife habitats and educate the public about conservation and preservation. The two organizations jointly received the MFHA Hunting Habitat Conservation Award for 1999.
It’s likely that the first horses came to this area with the Dutch in the seventeenth century to labor on the land. With the advent of machines, the horse changed from laborer to companion. Today, many of Millbrook’s horse farms are converted dairy farms, continuing Dutchess County’s proud agricultural heritage.