Olympic Equestrian Eric Horgan Holds Clinic At Willow Creek Farm

By ANDY HUTCHISON

Published: Nov 14, 2008 12:00 am

SOUTHBURY â For three days this November, avid equestrians can ride amidst the pastoral setting and luxurious grounds of Willow Creek Farm in Southbury while training with renowned Irish Olympic Event Team equestrian Eric Horgan. Clinic dates are Friday November 21 through Sunday November 23.

Horgan, whose credentials span more than 30 years of world-class competitive and training experience â including multiple European, World Championship and Olympic events â will share his knowledge, wisdom and love of the sport. This three-day equestrian event will offer insight to riders of all levels to develop their skills and refine their communication with their horses to improve performance.

A member of Irelandâs Olympic Three-Day Event team at Montreal in 1976, Horgan has competed at other major international events including the 1990 World Equestrian Games in Stockholm, 1992 Burghley International Three-Day Event and the world-renowned Badminton Horse Trials. He was the bronze medalist at the 1989 European Three-Day Event Championships and is a two-time winner of the Punchestown (Ireland) International Three-Day Event.Â

Willow Creek Farm is a premier 53-acre facility boasting an 80 x 200 indoor ring with TravelRight footing along with new 24-stall barn. It offers a 15-acre cross country/grand prix course, designed and built by Eric Bull, and a 1/3 mile galloping track around the duck pond.

There will be fine artists and craftspeople offering their unique creations. Clinic attendees will also have the opportunity to dine with Horgan in the Hunt Room at the close of the clinic.

To sign up for the clinic, call Willow Creek Farm at 203-405-2500, ext 108, or email Farm Manager Amie Kersey-Loring at: amie@willowcreekct.com. Willow Creek Farm is located at 522 North Georges Hill Road, Southbury, CT 06488.

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It seems a lot of the discussion around the flagpole focuses on vilifying drivers who pass on the right, but the real issue is being overlooked. If Chapter 248 Section 14-251 were enforced, we wouldn’t see this problem to begin with. That statute prohibits stopping in the middle of a roadway to yield to cross traffic—as so often happens with cars waiting to turn from Church Hill. When vehicles stop illegally in the travel lane, they effectively create a blockage. Other drivers then either sit through unnecessary delays or carefully pass around them on the right, which is fully permitted when the vehicle ahead is “illegally parked” in the roadway. Instead of punishing drivers reacting to the obstruction, enforcement should focus on the cause: vehicles unlawfully stopping and backing up traffic in the first place. If that behavior were addressed, the need to “go around” would largely disappear.

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John, you raise an important point — these situations are tragic, complicated, and often far less clear-cut than the headlines make them seem. In the Fredericksburg case, the full facts still aren’t publicly known, and like so many of these stories, there’s conflicting information. It was apparently the back door at 3 a.m. — was it justified to use deadly force? We don’t know yet. What we do know is that the homeowner has been charged, and as you rightly noted, that is very serious. But this is also where perspective matters. These cases are quickly sensationalized in the news and on social media, yet when the dust settles, the outcomes are rarely publicized. People forget that in our system, you are innocent until proven guilty. Try to find much coverage of the convication in the case of the Fairfield Realtor vehicle homicide, or updates on the woman who shot her husband a couple of Christmases ago, or even the pedestrian death in Sandy Hook a year or so back. The follow-through simply isn’t there, and public opinion is often shaped only by the first round of headlines. At the end of the day, these situations remind us how split-second decisions in the middle of the night can change lives forever — which is exactly why the right to protect one’s property, home and family is so fiercely debated, and lucky constitutionally protected.

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First the low hanging fruit. Dave; it was a joke, please get over it. You are the only person in Newtown that thought I really wanted to build a stadium on 6 Commence Rd. Now on to Alex. You might not appreciate my writing style or my selection of words, but let's not loose sight of the fact that by responding to my letter in the manner that you did, you have removed any doubt whatsoever that you have no idea of the quantifiable benefits you are dismissing not only for the town, but also for protesters. Either you stopped listening at the word "ordinance" or you never started.. Your constitutional rights to assemble were never in question and would actually be strengthened and there would be literally no impediments. We could even title it "The Alex Villamil Ordinance" if you want. It could be your legacy and actually show Newtown your willingness to work in a bipartisan way for the betterment of the town. Businesses would be protected. Traffic wouldn't be interrupted. The town would save hundreds of thousands of dollars in police overtime. And maybe most importantly, the town could prevent another tragedy while mitigating legal risk in the event something terrible happens at a protest. Nothing bad could never happen in Newtown right? All that could be accomplished by a simple, non-intrusive ordinance unless all the detriments to our town are intentional in order to bring more attention to your cause. Alex, this was not me throwing a temper tantrum. Believe me, you will know it if that happens. I am just putting Newtown first. From that perspective, if you think critically, the regulation is necessary. It makes sense logically, rationally, and is reasonable. There is absolutely no down side. None. I would be willing to sit down with you to see if we could come to some type of compromise if you want. Let me know. You would be amazed how much you can accomplish when there is dialogue amongst neighbors.

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Olympic Equestrian Eric Horgan Holds Clinic At Willow Creek Farm

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