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Menlo Charity Horse Show Handy Hunter Class Receives Generous Donation from Diane Carney of Telluride Farm

Written by: Alden Corrigan
Client: PhelpsSports.com
Release Date: 2009-07-29

Atherton, CA-July 29, 2009-The Menlo Charity Horse Show could never have predicted that one phone call placed to Diane Carney two years ago would have resulted in the donation of a set of jumps for their $5,000 Handy Hunter Take Your Own Line class August 6, 2009.

This is not the first time that these jumps which made their debut in 2007 in the very first High Performance Hunter Derby class at Canterbury Farm in Hampshire, Illinois have travelled to the West coast. These are the same jumps that were used in Las Vegas for the WCHR World Cup Hunter Challenge during the FEI World Cup Finals, and then again in 2008 during the HITS Thermal Hunter Derby.

When asked why she would make such a generous donation to a horse show halfway across the country, Carney replied “Geoff Teall had given my number to a member of the horse show committee two years ago, and when we spoke, I gave her my word that I would help support the show’s efforts to move toward hosting a Hunter Derby in the future. “

“The Menlo Charity Horse Show is a special addition to the hunter industry nationally, and if working their way to a derby is the goal, I want to help them. The distance (between Illinois and California) doesn't make it easy, but if we could get the jumps to Las Vegas for the World Cup we could get them to Menlo, and we did.”

In addition to donating the jumps, Carney packed the delivery truck with fresh cut birch rails from Minnesota and Wisconsin, along with cedar boughs from Kentucky. These materials are rarely found in California, yet so reminiscent of hunt courses in other parts of the country. Carney also donated a full set of new jump cups, and absorbed the transportation costs to California as well.

The original concept for these handmade jumps began in 2007, when a group of Chicago professionals made the commitment to George Morris to hold at least one class that would bring his vision of “back to the future” to life. In order to do this, Carney enlisted the aid of jump maker Mike G. Puffer of Roscoe, Illinois. “We drew up some sketches, and the result was a course of jumps with larger than usual walls and white gates that did not require filler behind them. The original coops were identical to those found in the hunt field, but we have modified them now, so that the top of the coop detaches if necessary, to improve safety.”

When Puffer was entrusted with the original project of building the inaugural set of Derby jumps in 2007, he donated his time to Carney for the project, all 45 days, 12 hours a day, that it took to construct the jumps by hand. An impressive feat when you take into account that Puffer supplies jumps for horse shows 33 weeks a year in the Chicago area. “When Diane came along and said she wanted these natural fences, it was great because I like being creative. I took what she envisioned, and made it a reality. I’m kind of quiet, so I get my satisfaction from people liking what I do.”

28 year old Puffer has a small 30’ X 60’ workshop, but a huge storage area at Sporting Horses LLC, as well as 14 semitrailers on the road to keep up with the demand for his jumps. In addition Puffer works closely with Showplace Productions LLC in the Chicago area as well.

The generosity doesn’t end with Carney and Puffer: Bobby Murphy from Lexington, Kentucky has donated his time to design the jump placement (as this is a take your own line class), Blue Ribbon Blankets has sponsored the $5,000 class, and The Back in the Day Trophy is donated by Dr. Larry Wolford DVM.

Betsy Glikbarg, Chairwoman of the Menlo Charity Horse Show expressed her gratitude by saying “I am very excited to see Diane jumps, I understand they are gorgeous. How lucky we are to be the recipient of her amazing generosity. We just wish she could come out to Menlo to see this!”

Menlo Charity Horse Show Website: http://www.menlohorseshow.com

To contact Mike G. Puffer mikegpuffer@aol.com or to see more of his work go to: http://www.showplaceproductions.com

Follow the Menlo Charity Horse Show on:

PhelpsSports.com http://www.phelpssports.com

Equestrian Life http://www.equestrianlife.com

Photo Credit: Scott Stewart competes at the WCHR World Cup Hunter Challenge during the FEI World Cup Finals Photo By: Diana DeRosa.