Equestrian LIVING THE LIFESTYLE

Mother, wife and executive. Philanthropist, CEO, best friend and caregiver. Women fill countless roles on a daily basis whether they are on a career track, a mother or a combination of the two. Add a passion for horses and the equestrian lifestyle to the already-complicated mix, and you have a small group of women that does whatever it takes to make it work. With Palm Beach County as the seat of the equestrian capital of the world, men, women and children come in droves for the winter to compete, socialize and stay warm. Many families balance various responsibilities that include school, work and riding, and the meticulous juggling act required to make things flow smoothly is worth it to those who see horses as not just a sport, but a lifelong lesson and passion. One such woman, Melissa Cohn, is the president and CEO of The Manhattan Mortgage Company and one of the top mortgage brokers in the country. However, since the company has an office in Palm Beach, and Cohn owns a winter home in Wellington, she puts her heels aside on a regular basis and trades them in for a pair of riding boots. As a mother of two and a successful businesswoman, being an equestrian allows her to merge all fronts. “Horses have been the glue that has held my family together through my divorces and everything else that’s gone on,” Cohn described. “It’s something that I can share with my daughters; it’s an ageless sport. I can be riding and my daughter can be riding it’s still the same sport and it’s a passion that we all share.” She continued, “Riding really teaches you a lot and it carries forth, really, into every aspect of my life. While you won’t always win, you always learn. The goal is to be humbled as an amateur, to learn from it and take the fact that even as an older person, I continue to learn with each riding experience. I take that thought to work with me, reminding myself that I’m still learning. You can never really stop learning; you can never really stop trying, and I think that riding is a basic reminder of that.” Balancing the many responsibilities that come with having a full-time career, a family and a very demanding hobby can be difficult, but Cohn has a simple solution: just do it. “I think that if you have something that is important in your life, you can find a way to make time for it. In today’s world of technology, I can have my laptop, my Blackberry and my cell phone, and people don’t know that I’m sitting by the side of the ring getting ready to ride.” For another family, the Jacobs, horses are not only a hobby they are a way of life. Several of the siblings ride and compete at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington while balancing work and other obligations. Joan and Lou Jacobs, who reside in both Wellington and East Aurora, NY, have made riding a major focus of their lives. With the addition of their children Charlotte and Louie, it is truly a family affair. “We encouraged them to ride because we love being in the barn, and Charlotte really took to it,” Joan explained. “I’m constantly telling her, ’Don’t do this just because we’re doing it,’ but she truly loves it. I think she’s got some natural talent, so she’s lucky because she has the passion for it and she’s got two parents who are passionate about it.” While Joan began her riding career aboard a backyard pony and didn’t receive any formal training until she went to college, Lou started much sooner and has refined his talent. But because of the uniqueness of equestrian competition, men and women, and oftentimes teens, compete on the same playing field, regardless of age, sex, size or body type. “It is an arena where the ladies know they can ride just as well as any man. That’s what is so great about this sport. It’s just about raw talent and being brave and being confident. It’s not about muscles or anything like that. Anyone can do it,” Joan said. Junior rider Katherine Newman, a Wellington resident, agreed with Joan. While she noted that there seem to be more teenage girls than boys who ride, it seemed to even out at the top levels. Newman, 16, won the individual gold medal at the 2007 North American Young Riders Championships in August. “There is more of a balance between the two as professionals. There’s not really a difference between riding as a woman or a man, I’ve never felt that before. It’s cool that we get to ride against guys it’s more fun that way. There aren’t really any advantages if you’re a man or a woman,” Newman notes. With parents Kathy and Gerry who are trainers in the industry, Katherine has numerous opportunities to show and ride, and perhaps make a life out of being a professional rider. The Newman’s farm, Allwyn Court, is based in Wellington. “I’m thinking about becoming a professional. I’ve been riding since before I could walk. Horses are a really big part of my life, but it’s definitely a possibility that I’ll go to college I most likely will go,” she said. Her parents have passed on their knowledge of the industry to her, who said she hopes that one day she’ll be able to do the same to her own family. “My mom has always given me advice on how to be a better rider and horsewoman. She and my dad taught me about being in the business and running my own barn. They taught me everything about caring and training for the horses, and I think I would want to pass that on to my own family some day, but we’ll see what happens.” Kim Jacobs, Joan’s sister-in-law, and her husband, Charlie, have gained valuable experience in the show world that they apply to raising their three children.