Horsin' Around

THEY didn't yell "Charge!" but they might as well have. Instead, they giggled six students and their mounts attacking the hill behind the rings of Morton Farm, Dartmouth's equestrian center. The riders had done so well and the weather was so crisply enjoyable that Mary Bacon, the director of Dartmouth's riding program, dismissed them from their ring work and led them on a trail ride up the hill. It was an ideal practice site for these beginning equestrians' most recently acquired skill: the canter. After their ascent, all collected themselves and their horses and walked sedately down the hill, as per Bacon's instruction. (These novices would have recreated the tumble of the light brigade had they descended cantering.) Once the troops assembled themselves at the hill's base, they raced up again giggling.

Former Dartmouth trustee William H. Morton '32 and his wife Peggy knew that the 178 acres of their Charolais cattle farm in Etna was ideally suited for joyful trail rides such as the one witnessed above. Professional horsemen Denny Emerson '63 and Read Perkins '5l informed the Mortons that their property could challenge more serious cross-country equestrians as well, So the Mortons' cattle ranch became Dartmouth's horse farm, complete with indoor ring, in 1979.

The executive officer in the dean's office, John Bryant, coordinated the transformation. Acres of field equal tons of hay equal pounds of horseflesh equal wheelbarrow loads of fertilizer an equation for which Bryant, a sailing enthusiast, had to learn the conversion factors. Another calculation involved the number of mounts to the number of riders (a one-to-one correspondence exists between a horse and its tack). After attaching dollar signs to all his facts and figures, and determining that an income-producing stable of Dartmouth's very own would not have a significant impact on the College budget, the trustees okayed the equestrian facility.

Bryant handed over the reins of his assignment to Bacon, who previously headed riding at Smith College. Mary and her husband John, a 1971 Dartmouth graduate, brought along their menage of horses and dogs, and what with the flock of chickens and the pack of pigs and the clowder of cats, old Mother Dartmouth now has a farm (if not a zoo) as well as a stable. Students have stampeded the place since last September.

Some riders already fly over fences, but most start with groundwork at Morton Farm. Tacking up a horse and getting into the saddle can task you even before the ride commences. One male beginner was overwhelmed not by these preliminaries but by the proximity in which they placed him to a powerful athletic animal: He passed out in the stall. The horse didn't mind the company in his bedding he went on eating his hay.

Hay is for horses: 200 tons' worth in fact. A third of the acreage is cultivated under the supervision of the farm's manager, Francis Isabelle. A Charolais cattleman by profession and at heart, Isabelle continued at the farm even though the two cattle barns were converted to horse stables. What does Isie think of the change? He just noted that those aren't cattle barns any more and what is in them sure isn't cattle.

Though definitely not cows, the Dartmouth horses possess personalities. Ballina babysits beginners. Bonds exhibits temper tantrums. Ed hates little kids and short people. Friday moves like an arthritic. Gambler rushes if given the chance. Gay Centennial just is huge. Hopi Rain dances about. Shiloh is quiet and reserved. And Wylie impatiently throws his head around. All have admirers who forgive their faults and ply them with Thayer apples and carrots.

Bacon doesn't mind that the students have their favorites among the Dartmouth herd. In fact, she would like to increase the selection from which the riders can choose. Wanted: school horses. Sound, versatile, and reliable. Good home guaranteed. Home life at Morton Farm includes room and board, plus valet service from the three grooms. Feed, water, and hay is handdelivered. A morning rubdown precedes the horses' afternoon workouts. Daily play in the pasture is scheduled for them, too.

Sometimes the horses forget that pasture playtime doesn't extend to work on the trail. After finishing their uphill cavalry charge, the riding students found the going a bit tough. The horses acted like horses: They decided to forage the hilltop, ignoring the fact that they carried riders. "Get their heads up," Bacon encouraged as most tugged futilely at the reins of their grazing mounts. Since horses can pull much harder than people, she briefed her students as to the best way to overcome this stubborn situation: move the horses on. Only one equine pulled the lawnmower routine: He proved that he could eat and run at the same time. The rest were content to have gobs of grass coming out of their foamy green mouths as they acquiesced and carried their riders into the woods. This time the horses giggled, too.

At the Morton Farm

Marsha Belford '78 became president ofBoots and Saddles in her freshman yearand was a member of the riding team forfour years. She currently lives in Hanover.