Riding High

One of the most-known programs at Centenary is Equine Studies. Students come from all over the United States and the world to join one of the best riding programs in the country.

It all started in the 1920’s, when three new programs were offered to students—social work, gerontology, and equine studies. Riding was the last of these three, but it quickly drew the largest number of students. For many years, horseback riding was offered as one of the “skills courses” in physical education. Students would ride on the front lawn of the campus in two double class periods a week.

At this time there were still horse stables in Hackettstown. A man named Jack Santoris owned a “dude ranch” in nearby Budd Lake, a very popular summer resort destination where vacationers from the cities would come to relax at hotels, beaches, casinos, and dance halls. The ranch was a place where novice riders could explore the local trails. After Labor Day, the tourists would be gone, and Jack would bring his horses to Hackettstown for the rest of the year for use by Centenary students. After World War Two, the stables were gone, and tourists were now coming to Budd Lake year round. The president and college trustees discussed building an equestrian center where the Lackland Center now stands, but the available campus land was small, and they worried the neighbors would object.

But the riding program continued, utilizing local horse farms, including the facility at Panther Valley. In 1972, a contract was signed with North Jersey Training Farm on Schooley’s Mountain. The program continued to grow rapidly. In the fall of 1973, the Curriculum Committee voted to introduce a 2-year Equine Studies major, also called the “Horsemaster Program.” It soon outgrew the Training Farm. The following year the college purchased the Foxview Equestrian Center, also known as Filly Hill Farm, about 20 minutes from campus. It was formally dedicated in 1982. In the meantime, the Equestrian Center was temporarily moved to Finisterre Farm in Washington Township in the summer of 1978. The farm is gone now, the pastures becoming a housing development.

My own equine story started with a blind date in the summer of 1976. My best friend married right out of high school, and his new wife was a Centenary student. She commuted to campus with another student, Andra Lynne Harris. The first time I saw her was a portrait in the 1976 Hack—the Centenary yearbook. I took a chance and asked her out, and soon I was in love. She owned her own horse, so my 44-year journey in the horse world began. This included intercollegiate horse shows on the weekends. For the next three years, we would leave her house in my Datsun pickup truck at 2 or 3am to drive to horse farms in Pennsylvania, where she would ride while I did my college work (I was studying part-time) or slept in the back of the truck. Most shows lasted until dark, sometimes longer.

During the week, after my shift at the printing plant where I worked full time and then some, I would drive out to Finisterre Farm to watch her practice. It was there where I first met Ralph Gillis.

Mr. Gillis came to Centenary in 1978 to lead the equine program. Horses were his life and passion. He coached winning riding teams at Dartmouth and Colby-Sawyer College, as well as owning a horse farm of his own in New Hampshire. Ralph was a strong leader and outstanding teacher. While Andra rode, I would sit in Ralph’s office and we would chat, becoming fast friends. Under his leadership, the Centenary equine program quickly became one of the best in the nation.

In May of 1979, Centenary qualified, for the second consecutive year, for a trip to the Champion Intercollegiate Horse Show in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The evening before the competition, a lavish dinner reception was held for all participants. It was said that Ralph and his wife were having a wonderful time. Then, unexpectedly, tragedy struck. Ralph felt ill and returned to his hotel room. There he had a massive heart attack, collapsing to the floor. Suddenly, he was gone.

The students were devastated when they heard the news. The next morning, a team meeting was held. They were unsure of how they would proceed. Some were still very upset and felt they could not go on. One rider said, “He was like a father to us. He got things done and was always there to encourage us. I can’t believe he’s gone.”

They talked about going home. Then one of the team captains, Kerry O’Connell, rose to speak. She said she was sure Mr. Gillis would want them to compete. Inspired by Kerry’s words, every team member chose to ride that day in his honor.

I knew Ralph well, and he would have insisted they all compete that day. And compete they did! Centenary student Lindsay Clark won the coveted Cacchione Cup as the top hunter seat rider of the year. Stephanie Siegel was the 1979 High Point Rider. The team took home the National Hunt Seat title. Centenary won both the Cup and the high team championship in the same year.

A memorial service was held in the Whitney Chapel on May 8, 1979, a few days before the end of the spring semester, when students would leave for the summer.

The Bachelor of Science in Equine Studies started in 1976. In 2008, Kerry O’Connell returned to Centenary as an adjunct instructor and equine team coach.

In 2012, the 1979 Equestrian Team was inducted into the Centenary Athletics Hall of Fame.