Sea-Aire, Inc.

Bowery Earns U.S. Equestrian Team Honor

Years of hard work are paying off for native Long Island rider Laura Bowery, who has made the East End her home for the past five years. Bowery, 30, scored an important win in the fourth United States Equestrian Team Pan Am Games selection trial in Lexington, Kentucky on May 19 aboard Mr. and Mrs. Joe DiMenna's imported French mare Altesse du Boele and, in the process, jumped from 26th to 16th place on the USET's show jumping computer list.

​

Bowery learned last week that as a result of her improved ranking, she is to receive a training grant from the USET, which includes funding for Bowery to join a USET-sponsored tour for developing riders of some of Europe's top show jumping venues this summer under the guidance of Chef d'Equipe Katie Monahan Prudent. The tour which departs for Europe on June 26, includes stops in Belgium, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Hungary, and will get underway after riders spend a week training at Prudent's farm in France. Bowery will travel to Europe with three DiMenna-owned jumpers, Altesse du Boele, Aiglefin and Gandini Sky Boy.

​

Bowery went to the selection trials in Lexington with Aiglefin, an 8-year-old stallion she has ridden since last year, and Altesse du Boele, acquired by DiMenna in France only two months ago. Both horses are Selle Français.

​

"I know the stallion a lot better, since I've been riding him for a while, and during the first week of the trials he was going quite well," she said. "The second week, he seemed tired. I had no expectations for the mare and, in fact, the morning of the fourth trial, she scored 12 faults and I was disappointed."

​

Bowery considered withdrawing the Altesse from the competition. "I hadn't been riding her that long, and I felt I needed more time to figure her out," she said. "I was thinking of not going back with her, but my coach, George Morris, convinced me to stay in it for the experience."

​

Morris is glowing in his praise of Bowery's abilities. "I can't say enough about her talent. She is an excellent rider. She is as good as anybody in the ring--and I mean anybody!" he emphasized. "Laura is new to this elite level of competition, and this tour is a wonderful opportunity for her to gain invaluable international experience."

​

Bowery and her sister Jennifer, now 31, began riding as young children in Huntington, where they grew up. "I think we inherited our love of animals, and especially horses, from our father. He was a real animal lover. He first took us to rider at a farm that belonged to a friend of his when we were about 4 or 5 years old," Bowery recalled.

​

Her father passed away when she was 8; her mother, a flight attendant, remained supportive of her children's "passionate" interest in riding, and the two girls continued taking lessons, competing in the junior divisions at horse shows under the tutelage of Virginia Rice at Rice Farms in Huntington. With finances always tight, the sisters worked hard to pay their way. "We did a lot of stall mucking," Bowery said. "I rode whatever I could get my hands on."

​

Early on, Laura was bitten by the jumper bug. "I had ridden some hunters, and I did the equitation too, but when I began to learn about riding jumpers, I knew that was what I wanted to do!" she said. When she got out of juniors, Bowery spent a year working for grand prix rider, Margie Goldstein: "Working for Margie was a great experience. To get to ride some really top horses, even if it was just on the flat, was very educational."

​

When she returned to Long Island, Bowery began a collaboration with Ms. Rice's son, Patrick Rice, now manager and trainer at Sag Pond Farm in Sagaponack. Under the Haverhill banner, Rice and Bowery trained some of Long Island's top riders and horses for nearly 10 years. During that time, they moved operations east from Brookville to Bridgehampton, and the DiMennas became clients.

​

"They asked me to find some horses for them, and that worked out really well," she said. "After a time, we discussed the goals I had set for myself as a rider, and they agreed to help me in achieving them."

​

Two horses, Lucky Luke, purchased for Bowery to ride by Nadine Balfort, and Ideal 22, bought by the DiMennas, "really got me on my way," recounted Bowery. "They were exactly what I needed at the time. They were big, powerful horses, with great experience, scope, and ability. With them I got to do the Olympic trials, the Hampton Classic, the big grand prixs in Florida."

​

The DiMennas "have been wonderful to ride for," says Bowery. "They have been so supportive. When I proved myself a little bit, every year getting better, they helped me to move to the next level."

​

Not actively looking for another horse, Bowery "sort of stumbled upon Aiglefin." She had been asked to evaluate the stallion, whose owners were in financial difficulty, and were planning to sell some horses.

"I had noticed him in the modified division in Florida last year, but not because he was going well-he was always distracted; he'd go into the ring with his head up and whinnying, and the boy who rode him was really small," she recalled. But after Bowery rode Aiglefin, she knew he was special, and persuaded the DiMennas to purchase him.

​

Horse and rider clicked, and the pair have been steadily improving together. "Getting to the next level has been all about him," said Bowery.

​

Highlights last year included placing fifth in Saturday's featured $25,000 Sally Hansen Grand Prix at the Hampton Classic. This year, consistent placings in the top grand prixs in Florida, including a fifth-place finish in the $100,000 World Cup Qualifier in West Palm Beach, earned Aiglefin and Bowery a spot in the lineup at the American Invitational at Tampa Stadium, and have resulted in her steady climb in the rankings.

​

Eight-year-old Altesse du Boele, purchased in March, had competed only lightly with Bowery prior to the Pan Am trials. Bowery entered the trials with Europe in mind, and also because she was eager to jump the challenging courses she knew would be set by top-class course designer, Richard Jeffries, at such a major competition. "Jumping those types of courses lets you know what kind of horses you have." she said. "They were beautiful, technical, scopey. I just loved riding his courses."

​

Bowery presently supervises the training of approximately 20 horses. In the near future, she plans to compete at Devon and Ox Ridge before departing for Europe. Her long-term goals include maintaining her ranking, and preparing for next year's Olympic trials. To that end, the DiMennas have recently purchased Gandini Sky Boy, a 9-year-old Grand Prix-level Hanoverian stallion from the stable of two-time World Cup winner Rodrigo Pessoa of Brazil.

​

Jennifer and Laura have remained close and Laura is quick to attribute much of the credit of her own success to her sister's managerial skills behind the scenes at Sea-Aire, Inc., based in Bridgehampton. "She is a great horsewoman, she really prepares the horses very, very well." 💠