Elizabeth and her family
have been involved in promoting, breeding, training, showing, and owning Morgan horses
since purchasing their first broodmare and gelding from Jerald and Anne Ashby in the fall
of 1977. Growing up, Elizabeth had the pleasure of assisting her father, Dr. G. Harvey
Barrett, with his Veterinary Practice, while learning the fine art of music and culture
from her mother, Dr. Barbara S. Barrett, a professional musician and teacher. The
Barrett's moved to the lower Hudson valley region from upstate NY in the fall of 1972. At
that time, a recent Cornell graduate, Harvey was an equine enthusiast. Soon he befriended
many local breeders of Morgan horses, "his personal favorite," to begin their
breeding farm. Barbara practically grew up on her uncle's milk farm which had a team or
two of draft horse she learned to ride on as a young girl. In her teens, Barbara showed
with the honorary Jackson and Perk sons Stables and Bill Brooks of Hobby Knowles
Farms, riding 5 gated Saddlebreds and Tennessee Walkers at all the big fairs. She would
eventually work enough hours to bring home her very own weanling Tennessee Walker, which
would join the Morgan horses at Bethany Hill Farm. You could say horses have been handed
down the generations in this family.
The first foal to be born unto Bethany Hill Farm was Ashwood April Luv. April
would later go on to not only steal the Barrett's hearts but the hearts of many an
onlooker at any show she graced. April was trained and loved by the incomparable Morgan
trainer and breeder, Fred Herrick and the Saddleback Farm crew. Elizabeth and April could
be seen in walk-trot, lead-line, in-hand, trail-classes, parades, western pleasure, saddle
seat equitation, pleasure saddle, driving, costume class, or even sharing a pb and j
sandwich. Thoughout the years, more horses where purchased and foaled. Beginning at nine
years old, Elizabeth took lessons with a local hunter/jumper trainer, Marty Ingles. A few
years later, while April Luv was in foal, Elizabeth would take one of the
farm's 5 yr old mares, Arlene, and train her to do hunters. After only 6
months doing hunters, Liz took her first fall from a jump and it was back to saddle seat.
Elizabeth had her 15'2 hand Morgan mare, Ashwood Minuet, and 14'2 hand stallion, Bethany
Deacon, showing Amateur English Pleasure and Open Park Saddle at all the class A-rated
east coast Morgan shows. She showed under the guidance of Richard Boul'e, and in later
years, Ben and Jackie Qua.
In her early teen years Elizabeth would pursue home training a few of her Morgans as
hunters under the careful guidance of Sue Allen a predominant jumping instructor.
Sue's articles and photography have been published in Horseman, Horseplay, The
Chronicle of the Horse, Horse and Horseman and other sources. Elizabeth first
learned free lounging techniques, centered riding and jumping. With this foundation,
Elizabeth has successfully trained from yearlings up to saddle horses for pleasure as well
as show.
In 1995, Elizabeth moved to Fairfax, Virginia to pursue her B.S. in Psychology at George
Mason University. Elizabeth had removed herself for a number of years from the horse
industry but seemed to be missing an inaugural part of her life. In 1996, Elizabeth met
Susan Martin and her daughter, Jessica, during the New England Regional Morgan Horse Show.
Elizabeth soon began working for their Morgan training barn and continued to do so on and
off for a number of years. In her attempt to pursue her love of Jumping, in 1998,
Elizabeth befriended Mike and Ave Rowe, of Rowe Sport Horses, in Arcola, VA. Mike is a
predominant Hunter Breeder and trainer of hunter/jumpers in Northern Virginia (2-time
winner of the AHSA Grand Champion Hunter Breeding/Handler Award). Being a 9th generation
huntsman, she pursued hunting to hound and jumpers under his aid. Elizabeth worked, rode
and showed jumpers in Mike's barn for three years, in a working student position.
After graduating from George Mason in 1998, Elizabeth began working for America Online as
a Corporate Administrative Assistant. During a corporate downsizing in 2000, Elizabeth
found her sites back in NY, on her family's Morgan Horse breeding farm. Returning
home, she took on a whole new role as Manager, which also included duties of breeder,
trainer and handler. Not one to keep still long, Elizabeth also took on a full time
position as an exercise rider for the Thoroughbred breeding and training facility,
Buttonwood Farm, in Rhinebeck, NY. After 8 months of backing coming two year old race
prospects, she decided to go back to hunters. Under the guidance of Leah Karovic
and Cosimo Napolitano, she successful campaigned a 16'1 dapple gray Trekaner mare,
Demusica, in the 3' Hunter Division in the 2001 show season.
Throughout the years Bethany Hill Farm has gone through many changes, but one consistency
is the Lippitt and Cornwalis bloodlines of their Morgan breeding program. Recently, the
farm has relied on its home-bred stallion, Bethany Genesis, for that need. Genesis spent
most of his years in the back yard enjoying a life of leisure until 2002. That show
season, Elizabeth took on yet another path, showing the stallion in Carriage
Driving. They completed in a light show schedule, but spent many hours in the
carriage studying under the watchful eye of Bill Broe of A Horse Drawn
Affair. Genesis and Elizabeth had their show début at the 28th Annual Lippitt
Country Show and the pair did very well receiving seconds all around.
Today, Elizabeth is teh director of High Knoll Equestrian Center in Rochester, NH. She is
a graduate of John Jay College of Criminal Justice, having earned her Masters in Forensic
Psychology. With a busy breeding shed at home, foals being born in the
spring, lessons to give, and horse shows on the horizon, Elizabeth welcomes her work
with Sterling with much anticipation. |
Competing in the Hunters, HITS, Ellensville, 2001
Driving Bethany Genesis, her Morgan Stallion,
2002
Adult Amateur Hunter at River Run Equestrian
Club in Brewster, NY
On Demusica after winning the Adult Amateur
Hunter at Coker Farm, NY
Bethany Genesis, at Lippitt Morgan Club
Show
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