Bridlewood Farm: Aiken, South Carolina
Jenna Weiner and City Limits: Photo: Shawn McMillenBy Celeste Karpf
“She’s a great student. She works really hard on her riding and she’s very dedicated,” says trainer John Abbott of Jenna Weiner, his riding student for two years this August. John trains hunter jumper riders at Bridlewood Farm, which he has recently relocated to the horse district in Aiken, SC. John has been riding for over forty years. He has enjoyed showing in the Aiken area for many years and is grateful for the opportunity to make the move.
John began riding at the age of 10 in the western discipline while growing up in Michigan. He was introduced to hunter/jumper riding at 12 years old and was drawn to pursue further training. During his junior years John rode his horse Narrow Escape under the instruction of Kay Richardson-Hartman, a long list for the Olympics in the late 1960s. He competed in dressage and hunter/jumper at Motor City and othershows in the Michigan circuit as well as the USEF.
Jenna Weiner and City Limits: Photo: Shawn McMillenWhen John moved to Atlanta in 1976 for college, he continued his training with Karen Kerby of Pleasant Hill Farm, Kathy Whiteside and Frank Gomboly at the Atlanta Equestrian Center. John began his professional career in 1984 and began teaching as well. “My true passion is to teach people and have them learn to have a good relationship with their horses. It’s important for them to have a good time showing and enjoying their animals,” he says. John has taught many riders to championship levels at the GHJA and USEF horse shows.
John continued his training aboard “Untouchable” with Kathy Kusner, a 1960 Olympian. He has also ridden with Debbie Connor, a 15-year USET team member and Joe Fargis, a 1984 Olympic medalist. John has earned many year-end championships in Georgia and in the USEF including in 2005. He is currently working with eight-year-old Dutch Warmblood Conversation Peace owned by Donna and Bernie Ragland out of Atlanta. Conversation Peace was a 2008 first year green working hunter and is currently a second year green working hunter.
This past year was especially memorable for John’s student Jenna Weiner. Jenna’s 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood City Limits won Classic Company Horse of the year for 2008. Jenna currently attends Emory University in Georgia where she is a sophomore majoring in psychology with a minor in educational studies. She brought City Limits to Bridlewood Farm in 2007 and began training with John while in her freshman year. Jenna, 20, of Miami, FL, first started riding at six years old. At an early age Jenna was driven to work with horses, although her family was unfamiliar with the horse industry beforehand. She competed in local shows and trained in Wellington where she first bought City Limits at Ashland Farm. “I love it all,” Jenna says about riding. “I stay really late at the barn to help do chores. Even mucking stalls is like meditation for me.”
Jenna hopes to become a professional and has moved up to the adult level this year. Although she adores City Limits, Jenna has recently put him up for sale in order to find a horse that will continue to advance with her riding skills. “I’m selling him because he is the quintessential hunter and will never be able to do jumper. He has a nice slow lope, which is perfect for hunter,” explains Jenna. “It breaks my heart to give him up. He’s just a wonderful horse. He loads himself on the trailer and he can just get off at a show and go win. He doesn’t need any warm up.
Everywhere I go everyone falls in love with him, he’s the sweetest horse.” Jenna feels that she might move on to more jumper competitions or move up to the amateur owners. “Honestly as long as I’m riding I really don’t care what I do,” she says. “He’s a nice, very pleasant horse to work with,” says John of City Limits. “He’s very easy at the horse shows and a great horse to start on.” City Limits currently resides at Bridlewood Farm in Aiken.
John says some upcoming shows are the June Classic Company Horse Show in Atlanta and then Charleston in July. Next they will be off to a Progressive Show Jumping Competition in Blowing Rock, NC, for August. “Jenna just continues to grow. She’s a great sportswoman, when she wins that’s great! But when she doesn’t win she learns from her experience and she smiles and just goes onto her next horse show, which is really nice to work with,” says John.
“It’s on my mind all the time,” says Jenna of her love for riding. “I sleep, eat, and dream horses. It just makes me really happy being at the barn, there’s no place I’d rather be.” Jenna plans to one day become a professional rider and trainer and says that John has been very supportive and helpful in reaching her life goals.
To contact Bridlewood Farm call 770-309-2210 or email John at Joway@bellsouth.net.
