Every summer growing up, Hayley Cosgrove looked forward to attending The Great New York State Fair so she could admire Morrisville’s elegant stable of Belgians. Cosgrove fondly admired the graceful draft horses as they competed in the show ring, wishing she could be right alongside them.
Thanks to a one-of-kind internship at Morrisville, Cosgrove’s dream came true last summer.
“That was just absolutely incredible to know that I’ve gone from that little kid watching in awe to actually being the one that not only was in it, but won,” said Cosgrove, who placed first in the ladies team class and second in the cart class at the fair while representing the college.
The students and their mentor
Cosgrove is one of many success stories deriving from the college’s draft horse program summer internship. Led by MSC equine manager Scott Seymour, the program readies students to show the college’s alluring draft horses competitively against the general public using a single horse and cart, four-, six- and eight-horse hitches.
Morrisville is the only college in North America that competes with a six-horse hitch. The unique hitch, which involves a team of horses harnessed to a wagon and led through a series of maneuvers by a driver and assistant, is one of the many ways that allow Seymour to continuously relive his passion.
“I love the challenge every year of how good we can be,” said Seymour ’92, who has worked with draft horses for 35 years. “I gauge my success on how my students do, how they perform and how they’re received by the public.”
His latest group of students proved how good they could be this past year, recording one of the college’s finest overall performances in the show ring. Along with Cosgrove, Nicole Chiappetta and Stephanie Zajac also became champions, even though none had ever driven before the internship. It’s an accomplishment in which Seymour takes much pride.
“It’s fun to win, but it’s also rewarding to watch the students develop and act as professionals,” said Seymour, president of the Belgian Draft Horse Youth and Education Fund, Inc.’s board of directors.
Chiappetta especially stood tall amongst professionals, being named the Amateur Four Champion at the prestigious North American Belgian Championship (NABC) 8 held at the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield, Mass., this past October.
“It was insane; I’ve never really felt something like that,” recalled Chiappetta after being announced as the winner at the NABC, an event held every four years at host sites alternating between the United States and Canada. “It was so rewarding to know that my hard work had paid off.”
Her accomplishments grew from countless hours she put in the past two years, as her successful stint in the internship in 2015 helped her become a student-assistant trainer with Seymour last summer. She remains in charge of the barn this summer, working with the latest cohort of interns entering the hands-on, 12-week internship.
The internship
In May, Seymour begins internships with three freshmen selected from his introductory equine courses. The interns, most of whom have never been involved with the driving horse world, are then each assigned a team of Belgians before learning how to train and condition them for the show ring. Driving skills and show-ring etiquette are also part of the lessons they learn from Seymour, an award-winning driver who still competes with the six-horse hitch and judges numerous draft shows.
The work-filled days begin at 7 a.m. and consist of cleaning stalls, feeding, walking, driving and washing the towering horses at the college’s draft horse barn, which houses about a dozen Belgians. It also includes learning how to harness the Belgians to the college’s wagon, which is made of ash and cherry lumber cut from MSC land and built by students, staff and faculty.
During show competitions, of which MSC competes at several throughout the summer, the workday grows even longer to accommodate the travel and preparation of the hitch using the college’s 30-year-old patent leather harness, six show horses and two spares. Although participants may only be in the show ring for 15 minutes, preparation could take as much as six hours, with the six competing Belgians being bathed, groomed and harnessed while having their foretops braided and hooves polished. The crew also robes in fancy attire, as events are judged on showmanship in addition to driving.
“You’re putting on a show for the public,” said Seymour, who was instrumental in bringing back the hitch to MSC in 1999 following a four-year absence.
Zajac already had experience showing, but was especially grateful that the internship allowed her to conquer a fear. Terrified of driving, she initially had no interest in the internship. Following a few weeks in the equine lab, though, she slowly fell in love with the program and decided to apply. By summer’s end, Zajac was the Champion Youth Driver at the National Belgian Show held at the Indiana State Fair last August. It capped her “perfect summer” working with Seymour.
“He’s always working right alongside you,” Zajac said, adding that Seymour’s confidence level in his students assures them “that we know what we’re doing.”
The horses
Just as new interns rotate through the internship each year, most of the Belgians do as well. This allows the new students and new draft horses to get to know one another while learning side-by-side, a key aspect to how the group will fare.
“You’re learning while they’re learning too,” Chiappetta said. “We had an amazing group of horses that were so athletic. They were just like us. They wanted to win.”
Finding the right draft horses is another challenge Seymour embarks on each year. Using the vast industry network he has built, he travels across the country to search for Belgians with the right conformation, attitude and ability to be “a 2,000-pound athlete.”
He found all those traits in Lor-Rob Pilot. Known as a showoff, the one-ton docile giant took home numerous awards last season with Seymour’s guidance, including Grand Champion at The Great New York State Fair and Reserve Grand Champion Gelding at the NABC 8, the National Belgian Show and the Ohio State Fair Draft Horse Show.
The alumni
Pilot comes from a long line of horses made available through Mark Barie ’96, who regularly supplies Seymour with Belgians he breeds at Lor-Rob Dairy Farms. “I like to put our horses in good hands where they can become successful,” said Barie, president of the Belgian Draft Horse Corporation of America’s board of directors.
“The program at Morrisville is unique,” added Barie, who also assists Seymour and his students at various shows. “It builds a lot of character through teamwork, travel and working with the public. Those are traits you can’t learn every day, so it’s a great opportunity for the students.”
Other alumni still help with the program as well. Dusty Bezek ’08 still likes to chat with Seymour about the industry while now competing against him and MSC students, including at the NABC 8 where he took home Reserve Champion as a six-horse hitch driver. Bezek, who worked with the college’s hitch for two years while at MSC, credits Seymour’s ability to stay current in the field as a big reason for the program’s success.
“He has stayed up with the times and keeps an open mind,” said Bezek, of Rockbottom Farms. “You have to be relevant with the students to have them want to put the work in.”
Former draft horse barn intern Marc Wirasnik also attended the NABC 8, serving as a calming presence while assisting Chiappetta during her championship drive. It was one of the many occasions Wirasnik used personal time to help Seymour and his interns, as he knows the rigors of a show day after three years working with the hitch as a student while still competing today.
“You’re showing against the best in the draft industry and Scott can help get you to the top,” said Wirasnik, who hopes to have his own six-horse hitch someday. “That’s the reason Scott works you so hard. If you put time into the hitch, you’ll get the reward out of it.”
That passion Seymour and his former students share is now instilled in Chiappetta, Cosgrove and Zajac, as all three want to remain involved with the program through the rest of their college days and beyond as they pursue various MSC equine degrees.
“I finally found a place where I felt really comfortable,” Cosgrove said. “When I walk into the draft barn now, I am home.”
