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Horses that usually appear in the Hampton Classic could be headed for the slaughterhouse because of the pandemic, insiders fear. A top trainer and a stable-owner tell Page Six that at this time of year city dwellers are usually heading out to the Hamptons, where they lease so-called “school horses” or “schoolies” for their kids …
Horses that usually appear in the Hampton Classic could be headed for the slaughterhouse because of the pandemic, insiders fear.
A top trainer and a stable-owner tell Page Six that at this time of year city dwellers are usually heading out to the Hamptons, where they lease so-called “school horses” or “schoolies” for their kids for the horse show season that culminates in the famed Bridgehampton show.
But without the income from lessons and leases, trainers out East are already desperately struggling to feed the horses — and if they can’t afford to keep them, they’ll have to sell them to dealers who’ll likely sell them on for meat. Deborah Flynn, owner of Grouse Ridge Farm in Medford, New York, tells us that it costs $500-600 a month just to feed a horse, and with the high rent for stables out East, it can cost $2000 a month in total to have a horse there.
Flynn says she’s been taking donations of money and feed — and dipping into her own savings — to fill a barn with supplies that local trainers can take for their horses, but demand far outstrips supply. Flynn, who’s helped broker deals for horses for Bruce Springsteen and Burt Reynolds, among others, “I started getting phone calls from people saying, ‘We’re desperate — we need more hay.’ I’ve been a constant search to get more donations.”
Trainer Patty Messina-Tanzarella of Michel Palacci’s Skye Acres in Patchogue told us, “People are going to end up having to sell the horses cheap, and they’re going to end up in the wrong place. They’re going to end up at auction and going to the slaughterhouse.” Flynn added, “It’s a tragedy. These horses have served children their whole lives.”
Flynn has set up a Facebook fundraising page at “Deborah G’s Pets/Animal Fundraiser” to raise money for more feed. She told us she’d originally aimed to raise $50,000, but she now believes she’ll need to find far more.
