UPCOMINGEVENTS
Trace Pace/Pleasure Drive
September 26 at Audrey Cooper’s farm. This is an optimum-time event for all skill levels using trails and ½ mile track. Whips can choose to drive for pleasure and not be timed.
The fee is $25 for non-members – to be used as a membership fee if they want to participate (for insurance purposes). All turnouts will be accepted. Helmets are required. Must provide proof of rabis and negative Coggins.
There are also dressage and cones courses for those who want to practice those for fun.
Rain date Sept 27.
RSVP required: reenieromeo@gmail.com
Batavia Downs Racing/Dinner
Saturday, October 17.
Lindsay will help with collection of money. More info to come.
Christmas Tea Cookie Exchange
Dec 12 at 1:00 PM
Reenie will try to book the Ogden Farmer’s Library.
The NDS Board will outline our 2027 calendar beforehand and present it at the exchange.
RECENTEVENTS
CT Show
Our first CT show was held June 21 at Avon Driving Park.
The Combined Trial (CT) event had three phases: dressage, cones, and pace.
September 26, 2026 NDS Trace Pace and Pleasure Drive
Starting at 10:00 am AudreyCooper’sFarm 279E.ManitouRdHilton,NY.14468
RSVPreenieromeo@gmail.comRainDateSeptember27
Bringalawnchair.
The judge was Megan Boss.
In the VSE Training B class, Patricia Fulkerson won first place with her VSE, Kash. Lindsay LaBella won the VSE Prelim B class with Tuna with Jess Clark taking second with Moon Pie. Teresa Jackson took first with Echo in the Horse Prelim B class, with Brenda Lester taking second with Waywatcher.
Everyone agreed the venue was perfect for our needs. There was a screen room for our secretaries and raised judge’s room overlooking the fenced arena. The arena, the area for the cones course, and the trailer parking area were all in the infield of the track. The park, built in 1836, offers the oldest ¾ mile trotting track in the country. The large trees throughout the property added comforting shade.
Lots of volunteers came out and enjoyed a beautiful day with horses.
For those who missed our annual pleasure show, don’t worry, volunteer to help plan it, and it will be back next year.
The Granger Homestead andCarriage Museum TourThirteen of us enjoyed a fascinating look back at history. Our tour guide, Dawn Ziegler, has long been our NDS treasurer. The wealth of knowledge she presented was wonderful.
| August | 6-9 23 20-23 | Orleton (Stockbridge, MA) NDSGrangerHomesteadandCarriageMuseumtour–Dawn GMHA CDE Prelim & Interm Championships (VT) |
| September | 5-6 | GVRDC CT & DT (Geneseo) |
| 9 | NDS Board mtg 7 PM via Zoom | |
| 15-20 | Tryon CDE (NC) | |
| 26 | NDSTracePace/PleasureDr/CrossCountry–Audrey’sFarm–Mary/Reenie | |
| October | 1-4 | Garden State CDE (NJ) |
| 14 | NDS Board mtg 7 PM via Zoom | |
| 17 | NDSNightattheRaces–BataviaDowns– | |
| Nov | 11 | NDS Board mtg 7 PM via Zoom |
| Dec | 12 | ChristmasTeaCookieExchange1PMOgdenFarmer’sLibrary |
In Memoriam
John P. Barrow
Western New York horseman John Barrow passed away on July 25,
2026 at age 86, after a lengthy illness.
At age eleven, John was jogging horses for his father in Rochester,
New York. At eighteen, he made his first start at Vernon Downs with a marenamed Frisco Sue Heck.
A couple years later, he and Ben Webster, both twenty years old,
werefeaturedinalocalnewspaperas“amongthemostpromisingofthetrack’snewsulkypilots,”asratedbyveteranhorsemenatBataviaDowns.
John enjoyed training and driving success on the western New York circuit during the 1960’s with horses like For Zeno, Sleek Hanover, and Katie Lou.
In the early 1970’s he married his wife,
Elma, gaveupracing, andmoved to Florida where he
was employed in property management.
While most people retire from western New York to Florida, John
flipped the script and moved back to western New York from Florida withElma when they retired. Before long he was back in the racing business,owning and training Don’t Tell Elma (1:51.2, $150,143), Who Told Elma(1:57, $39,697), Manvincible (1:54.1, $63,986) and Tinker Taxi (1:55.1,
$78,425), among others. Between 2006 and 2021 he had 309 starters and was on the board 103 times, with an UTRS of .410 in 2017 and .433 in 2018.
Johnhadagreatsenseofhumor,twinklingblueeyesandacheerysmileforeveryone,fromthesecuritygate,shedrow,andraceoffice.Hefussedoverhishorsesandwasveryfondofthem,ashewasofhiscats.
Johnissurvived byhissistersRoberta Potter,Charlene Norter,and FrancisHafner;hisstepson GaryColburn,and grand-daughterTanya
Griepp;great-grandsonBenjaminMetzger;andmanyniecesandnephews.HewaspredeceasedbyhissistersAnnMarieBernerandConstanceManfreda;andhisveryclosefriendsGaryGregoryandDaleVidler.
John was a friend to NDS and enjoyed outbidding people at the annual banquet. I will always remember his fierce love for his cat, Puppy. He will be missed.