Stony Hill Stables Foundation’s Benefit Was A Highlight During The Rainy Weekend

On Saturday, June 20th, the Stony Hill Stable Foundation held its annual summer benefit. A large, fired up crowd gathered at Stony Hill Stable in Amagansett for the event, despite the rain clouds lurking overhead.

Maureen Bluedorn, President of the Foundation, said that she was really proud of the way everyone performed, even with the inclement weather. “The event went very well in spite of the rain,” Bluedorn noted. “People had a great time, it was very Hamptons.” When the rain did begin to fall during the second to last performance, it did not seem to matter to anyone. The crowd still supplied smiles and cheers.

The first performance came from John Paul Jimenez, who is the head of the Hunter Jumper Program at Stony Hill. He can jump up to an impressive four feet and the crowd’s reactions showed their awe.

After that, the Pony Drill team performed with Peter Pan as the theme.

“I was really impressed with the whole way that all of the riders stuck together,” said Leanne Pascula, an attendee of the event, who came to support one of the riders in the first pony drill team. “It was a lot of fun. Everybody was sticking it out through the rain, which was great showing support for the riders. The money is going to a good cause, so it was nice to be a part of.”

Following that, attendees were treated to a Dressage Pas de Deux by Wick Hotckiss and Stephanie Brown-Beamer, performing together to Bruno Mars’ “Uptown Funk.”

The second Pony Drill team was next, with a performance to Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off.” The horses became a little spooked by all of the umbrellas during this performance, but it did not bother the young riders, who were in complete control.

“It’s such an accomplishment that the girls were able to ride the horses even though the horses were afraid,” Bluedorn said. “Those kids were terrific.”

And finally, the performances culminated with barrel racing by Lianne Miller, who raced around the barrels gracefully, like the rain did not even affect her.

Ashley Lynott has been at Stony Hill for two years and was in charge of conducting the Pony Drill teams. She said that all of the kids love this event and everyone wants to be involved. 20 children participated in the benefit this year, 10 scholarship students and 10 non-scholarships students. Ages ranged from 7-years-old to 15-years-old.

The annual benefit show is the only form of fundraising that the foundation does. Their scholarship program is for local residents who want to learn about horses and equestrian skills. Many of the children who receive these scholarships continue on in their training because they become very passionate about it.

“It is nice that this is turning into an on-going community program,” shared Bluedorn. “We are so appreciative of the community who comes out to support this.”

For more information, visit www.stonyhillstables.com.