Millbrook Horse Trials: The Olympians are coming!

MILLBROOK — The largest horse trials in the Tri-state area takes place this weekend at Coole Park Farm on Bangall-Amenia Road in Millbrook. Starting Thursday, Aug. 5, and running through Sunday, Aug. 8, the event encompasses all six levels, from beginner novice through advanced, with more than 450 horse-and-rider teams entered in the competition.

The Millbrook Horse Trials, which is marking its 10th anniversary at Coole Parke Farm this year, draws competitors from up and down the East Coast and Canada.

But the appeal for many of the spectators will be the opportunity to see an unusually large number of professional riders, including several Olympians, because there isn’t the usual overlap with other international events. Karen O’Connor, Leslie Law, Philip Dutton and Buck Davidson are just a few of the high-profile names registered for the event.

In the realm of horse sports, what makes eventing so interesting is that it combines three distinctly different disciplines: dressage, cross-country jumping and show jumping (also referred to as stadium jumping), performed by the same horse-and-rider team. And each of the six levels gets progressively more difficult.

According to the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) rules book, by the time a competitor is at the advanced level, their challenge will include jumping obstacles with heights of 4 feet 7 inches, spreads of 8 feet 10 inches and drops (jumping off a cliff, basically) of 6 feet 7 inches.

The cross-country course will have somewhere between 32 and 40 jumps on it. The names of the jumps can be scary for the uninitiated; coops, coffins, banks, drops, trakeners, oxers, ditches.Whatever the name, all the jumps have one thing in common: They’re big. And they’re interesting to watch. The multi-jump water complex draws the biggest crowds.   

A beginner novice rider, who may just be getting his or her boots wet in this sport, will have to negotiate jumps that are 2 foot 7 inches at their highest. These riders will go around a cross-country course with between 14 and 18 jumps. Seems more manageable by the numbers but the nerves of a first-time competitor, horse or rider, may well make those jumps seem more formidable.

The competition schedule for the Millbrook Horse Trials has dressage dominating the schedule on Thursday.

Friday will have additional dressage as well as cross-country for the lower levels. Saturday features the upper-level cross-country, while the lower levels take on the stadium course.

Sunday will culminate with show jumping for the upper levels.

This will be followed, for the first time, by an unusual competition made up of relays and games between teams of professional riders and young, local Pony Clubbers.

Dressage aficionados should come out on Wednesday afternoon, Aug. 4, and Thursday morning Aug. 5, when Oded Shimoni, an internationally recognized dressage trainer, will offer training sessions for riders short-listed to represent the United States in the World Equestrian Games at the end of September.

This is a prime opportunity for spectators to sit in on a master class.

Admission to the event for spectators is free and there will be food vendors on the show grounds. In addition, there is a trade fair with vendors selling just about anything a horse or rider would need.

For directions or more information, go to millbrookhorsetrials.com.

Tara Kelly is a volunteer for the Millbrook Horse Trials and a Lakeville Journal copy editor.

Latest News

A scenic 32-mile loop through Litchfield County

Whenever I need to get a quick but scenic bicycle ride but don’t have time to organize a group ride that involves driving to a meeting point, I just turn right out of my driveway. That begins a 32-mile loop through some of the prettiest scenery in northern Litchfield County.

I ride south on Undermountain Road (Route 41 South) into Salisbury and turn right on Main Street (Route 44 West). If I’m meeting friends, we gather at the parking area on the west side of Salisbury Town Hall where parking is never a problem.

Keep ReadingShow less
Biking Ancramdale to Copake

This is a lovely ride that loops from Ancramdale north to Copake and back. At just over 23 miles and about 1,300 feet of elevation gain, it’s a perfect route for intermediate recreational riders and takes about two hours to complete. It’s entirely on quiet roads with little traffic, winding through rolling hills, open countryside, picturesque farms and several lakes.

Along the way, you’ll pass a couple of farmstands that are worth a quick visit. There is only one hill that might be described as steep, but it is quite short — probably less than a quarter-mile.

Keep ReadingShow less
Taking on Tanglewood

Aerial view of The Shed at Tanglewood in Lenox, Mass.

Provided

Now is the perfect time to plan ahead for symphonic music this summer at Tanglewood in Lenox, Massachusetts. Here are a few highlights from the classical programming.

Saturday, July 5: Shed Opening Night at 8 p.m. Andris Nelsons conducts the Boston Symphony Orchestra as Daniil Trifonov plays piano in an All-Rachmaninoff program. The Piano Concerto No. 3 was completed in 1909 and was written specifically to be debuted in the composer’s American tour, at another time of unrest and upheaval in Russia. Trifonev is well-equipped to take on what is considered among the most technically difficult piano pieces. This program also includes Symphonic Dances, a work encapsulating many ideas and much nostalgia.

Keep ReadingShow less
James H. Fox

SHARON — James H. Fox, resident of Sharon, passed away on May 30, 2025, at Vassar Brothers Hospital.

Born in New York, New York, to Herbert Fox and Margaret Moser, James grew up in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. He spent his summers in Gaylordsville, Connecticut, where he developed a deep connection to the community.

Keep ReadingShow less