GENTRY MAGAZINE

A Passion to Ride

Champion equestrians Jill Hamilton and Nancy Thomas had a dream to share their passion for riding with others. The result is the award-winning Millennium Farm in Portola Valley. Gentry jumps in the saddle to tell the tale.

Text by Tanya Dargel
Photography by Chris Conroy

When Maryann Raab volunteered to take her daughter Andrea’s horse out to graze while Andrea was out of town, she had no idea just how much her life was about to change. Maryann had watched Andrea ride through her teen years and as an adult and had always been an enthusiastic spectator. On that sunny day in Portola Valley, however, something shifted, and she decided that she was finally going to pursue her own dream of riding.

“Millennium Farm takes pride in its approach to riding as a demanding competitive sport while creating a supportive, positive and fun environment,” says Hamilton.

“I started riding quite by accident,” said Maryann, who has now been riding for three years. “I’ve always been physically fit. I work out regularly, lift weights, take step classes and do Pilates. I run races, scuba dive, have completed a marathon, you name it but that is not enough. Riding put my body into shock.” Maryann, like many who have discovered the exhilarating world of top hunters and jumpers was searching for something more than the sunset ride on a geriatric horse along a beach trail.

Her quest brought her to Millennium Farm, a top-tier, full service barn established in 1996 by Jill Hamilton and Nancy Thomas out of a shared desire to provide expert training and care for show horses while providing personalized attention and customized programs for ambitious riders. Hamilton and Thomas provide a unique approach to riding that incorporates sophisticated equestrian knowledge and a high degree of individual attention with a level of care not often seen in a full service barn. “Millennium Farm takes pride in its approach to riding as a demanding competitive sport while creating a supportive, positive and fun environment,” says Hamilton.

Maryann credits her trainers for her rapid advancement on the competitive “A” hunter circuit. “Having the right trainer is paramount. Jill and Nancy take me through a course of jumps physically and mentally. Consider for a moment that you are trying to play golf with a wiggling club and you might have an idea of the athletic and mental challenges of competitive riding,” Raab adds. Maryann is quick to point out that although they push her to develop her skill set, safety is paramount at Millennium Farm where each rider advances in a way that is appropriate for her. Millennium Farm’s carefully crafted program for Maryann enables her to meet her athletic goals; she even participates in the bi- weekly yoga sessions that are held for adult riders at the Farm. Nancy explains that “applying innovative ways to cross train improves fitness and strength, giving our riders an advantage.”

	“Having the right trainer is paramount. Jill and Nancy take me through a course of jumps physically and mentally. Consider for a moment that you are trying to play golf with a wiggling club and you might have an idea of the athletic and mental challenges of competitive riding,” Raab adds.

Millennium Farm caters to all ages and levels of riders with the common thread being commitment to pursuing riding at a top competitive level. Millennium Farm is hidden away at the Peninsula’s premiere equestrian facility, The Portola Valley Training Center. Typically clients discover Millennium Farm through word of mouth or referral from other clients. It boasts a warm family atmosphere, catering to kids and adults of all ages. Many riders begin at age six and continue riding through high school, college and beyond.

Emily Harnden exemplifies this life long passion for riding. Twelve year old Emily had ridden and loved horses for most of her childhood and always felt that it could be more exciting than trotting around in the small ring in Golden Gate Park. When a friend who rode at Millennium Farm invited her to visit, it was love at first sight. Emily who was already a great athlete, instinctively gravitated towards the athleticism required to be a competitive rider that she saw for the first time that day. Emily had to learn a whole approach to riding and spent many hours fixing her leg position by riding without stirrups and other challenging exercises. Over the years her hard work, passion and discipline have paid off. She has earned championships at many of the top “A” shows in California. Since Emily has been riding at Millennium Farm, she has qualified for regional finals and competed in the Foxfield, Norcal and CPHA medal finals.

“Emily learned as much from the losses as the wins”, says Susan. “She learned that in sports, as in life, things don’t always go your way but you have to find the strength to keep going and stay committed to your goal.”

Emily’s mom, Susan, credits the life lessons Emily has learned through her riding with shaping her as an athlete, and more importantly, as a person. “Emily learned as much from the losses as the wins”, says Susan. “She learned that in sports, as in life, things don’t always go your way but you have to find the strength to keep going and stay committed to your goal.” Susan credits Jill and Nancy for keeping riding fun for Emily and helping her develop skills that helped her get into Stanford.

Emily says that riding taught her that hard work really does pay off and she says she has learned “how to make decisions quickly and confidently in an unpredictable environment”. These are skills which will serve her well in her chosen career as a doctor.” The skills, discipline and self esteem learned from riding carry over to the academic and professional world,” says Nancy, herself an Ivy League graduate. Emily, now a senior majoring in human biology at Stanford, continues to ride and show and has become a role model and mentor for younger riders at Millennium Farm like Taylor Bradley.

Taylor Bradley, a perpetually smiling twelve year old, excels at school and competitive sports. Her favorite days are the days when she gets to be at the barn with all of her friends and her pony, Pablo. Because success in this sport is ultimately about forming the right partnership between horse and rider, Millennium Farm specializes in selecting precisely the right animal for each person. When Taylor was ready for a pony of her own, an extensive search began using an exclusive network of top professionals from all over the country to locate the perfect animal.

This process began with analysis of videotapes of ponies, followed by Hamilton’s journeys to Florida, New York and Maryland in search of the right pony. Pablo (show name, Picasso) emerged as the leading candidate. The beautiful paint pony seemed to have the right athletic ability and temperament to suit Taylor. After many test rides and a comprehensive veterinary exam to ensure that Pablo was healthy and sound, Taylor’s dream came true and Pablo arrived in California.

Since Pablo’s arrival, Taylor has mastered all of the basics -- how to have the correct position and pace for courses of jumps -- and this horse and rider combination have been tremendously successful as a team, taking championships at tough shows like Pebble Beach and winning equitation classes at Indio. Taylor has learned a lot about the hard work required to be successful as a rider and is having lots of fun along the way as well.

	As Maryann, Emily and Taylor and the rest of the Millennium Farm riders will attest, riding is much more than just sitting on top of a beautiful and talented animal. It is about highly trained athletes, strength, mental toughness and bravery combined to produce one of the biggest athletic thrills imaginable.

“I love being at Millennium Farm; it’s awesome,” says Taylor as she pats her pony. “Not only do I get to ride Pablo, but I get to hang out with my friends.” Taylor stresses that her barn friends are special because all the girls are connected by their love of the animals. Modeling herself after Emily, Taylor works hard at the physical part of riding and like Emily can often be seen riding without stirrups to strengthen her lower legs. Taylor loves the focus and discipline of riding and has participated with many of the other riders in a mental edge seminar held by Jeff Greenwald.

Jeff is a leading peak performance expert who works with Millennium Farm to help riders overcome nerves and improve performance with relaxation and focus techniques. (Some of the riders have noted that these sessions help improve their performance while taking tests at school too!) As Maryann, Emily and Taylor and the rest of the Millennium Farm riders will attest, riding is much more than just sitting on top of a beautiful and talented animal. It is about highly trained athletes, strength, mental toughness and bravery combined to produce one of the biggest athletic thrills imaginable.

Millennium Farm, envisioned by Hamilton and Thomas just ten years, ago is now a thriving equestrian community. The Millennium Farm team of Jill, Nancy, and Amanda Shoemaker, who joined the team two years ago, is dedicated to helping riders achieve their goals no matter how small or large they might be. The rewards of athleticism, confidence and exhilaration that drive people to experience riding is what continues to bring riders to Millennium Farm, not simply to seek coaching, but to pursue their dreams.

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