WIHS celebrated the 1976 bicentennial with great sport and special events at the Capital Center in Landover, Maryland.
Sport: The USET won the Nations Cup, a regular event at WIHS at that time, with Michael Matz riding Grande, Buddy Brown on Flying John, Dennis Murphy on Do Right, and Frank Chapot riding Coach Stop. The team, coached by Bertalan de Nemethy, defeated Belgium, Canada, and Ireland.
Rodney Jenkins, WIHS Hall of Fame 2015, won his first of three President’s Cups riding Number One Spy, and Mary Lisa Nicholson (Leffler) at age 9, was crushing side saddle.
Parade of Breeds: Helen “Fen” Fenwick Kollock, a WIHS board member and Maryland trainer, coach, and barn owner, presented a Bicentennial Parade of Breeds celebrating American history and horse breeds. The event was so well received it was later included under Fen’s guidance at the 1978 World Championship Three-Day Event in Lexington, KY. In 2002 Fen was inducted into the WIHS Hall of Fame.
Former show president Austin Kiplinger famously rode into the ring outfitted as General George Washington, and greeted
guests, including US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.
In attendance at the 1976 WIHS was an 11-year-old boy, RJ Stansbury, from Hagerstown, Maryland, whose mother recorded the event on 8mm film.
He kindly shared with us some of the videos of Rodney Jenkins and Idle Dice, Scrimshaw and Michael Hunter, the ‘streaker,’ a general warm up, and side saddle.
As RJ recalls: “Of course seeing the famous ‘streaker’ at WIHS was a surprise,” he said. “I don’t think we ever knew who it was though there were rumors. No doubt that ‘tradition’ stopped a long time ago.
“I’m a history professor now at Roberts Wesleyan University in Rochester, NY, and I also coach the IHSA Hunt Seat team at Nazareth University.
“As a junior, I showed mostly in MD and VA, and did my last year with Judy Richter riding with her for the medal finals in 1982 before I went pro riding and training. I rode professionally at Four Seasons Farm in NJ, Leo Conroy Stables, and at Ralph Caristo’s Glenview Stables.”
(Below left: RJ Stansbury)
