New Horse Riding Barn Business Takes the Reins in Easton

EASTON, CT — Connecticut is horse country, make no mistake.

There are nearly 450 horse farms in Connecticut according to lifestyle website EquineNow, and nearly 200 of those also provide lessons. Compare those stats to New Mexico's (413 and 73, respectively), and the Nutmeg State isn't too shabby in the equine sports and education department.

That's what Charlotte Nagle, co-owner of N & C Equestrian horse barn in Easton, figured out pretty quickly when she came to Connecticut from England in 2001.

Nagle, the product of a middle class family but "obsessed with horses," studied them at university in the UK. There, equestrian sports are pretty much the exclusive bailiwick of the upper class, Nagle says, and she was impressed by how egalitarian the whole industry was here.

N & C Equestrian has just moved from Norwalk to Easton, where the business rents fields and stalls on about five acres at 422 Sport Hill Road. Nagle and her business partner Alicia Coviello train 14 horses there, along with the people who want to learn to ride them.

Grooms, and Grit

Lessons can begin as early as the very first time a client sits atop a horse up through what Nagle calls the "horse triathlon" of dressage, cross-country and show jumping.

The experiences and expectations of horse owners in Connecticut cover a full spectrum, Nagle says. These range from the "top of the sport," the members of extremely exclusive clubs who "have $100,000 horses, and they get on their horses that are already ready for them (at the club), and they ride around, and hand them back to their grooms," to the more blue collar backyard barn owners who are very hands-on with their horse's care.

Paige Carney and Alibi (Kiera Finnerty)

Nagle says her clients are midway between those extremes. They don't typically own their own horses when they begin their lessons, but pay for half-hour riding lessons until they learn the reins. She says her operation is different from comparable enterprises in Fairfield County as it is "more hands on." N & C Equestrian riders will become just as knowledgeable on how to take care of a horse, as they will be experienced riding them, she says.

Once Nagle's clients reach a certain level of proficiency, she will suggest they start to go "eventing." By that time, they would be leasing or owning a horse of their own.

And there's no shortage of Connecticut Horse Show Association events in the area, Nagle said. She'll also bring her riders into New York for shows and events as well.

Tally-Ho!

Some of the events are fox hunts, which Nagle describes as "incredibly fun."

A group of people bring their horses and meet in a different location every week. The hunt organizers bring out the hounds, the hounds get a scent, are unleashed, "and you chase them around the countryside."

The fast-paced cavort has riders and their rides "at the mercy of the scent," Nagle said. Hunt organizers have placed jumps along fence lines, ensuring challenging leaps over obstacles but also minimizing the down time otherwise required to open a gate. Riders jump through the fields, to get in and out of the fields, "which is exciting," Nagle assured Patch. Hunt organizers ensure they have rights to ride on neighboring lands, in case the wild hunt gets a bit too wild.

What happens to the fox?

"Absolutely nothing," Nagle said. "In my 25 years of fox hunting, I have never, ever, seen anyone actually catch the fox."

She explained that catching the fox is not the point of the fox hunt. It used to be one of the prime means to control the fox population, but that population is no longer in need of culling. In the unlikely event the hounds get too close to their surprisingly fast and resourceful prey, organizers will call them off.

"People at fox hunts love foxes," Nagel explained.

The new business in Easton is picking up, Nagle said, now that residents have figured out what's there. The lands have been private about the last 10 years.

Nagel says the horse facility is always very welcoming of folks who just come in wanting to see what it's all about, or just want to pet a horse.

"We want to be a part of the community."