 The Hudson Riding Club, or the “HRC” as it is known, is a Swiss horseback riding club located in Northern New Jersey, but it draws riders from the entire New York City area. It rides weekly and organizes regular social events, as well as rides abroad. Founded in 1901, the Hudson Riding Club can look back on a rich history of tradition and of promoting the art of horsemanship and friendship amongst its members and their families.
Last June, both riders and non-riders went for a one-week trip to the Alentejo Estate Ride in Portugal. This was in the interior of the country, East of Lisbon. Everybody participated in a day trip to the Atlantic Ocean, a tour of Alter do Chao,  one of two national Lusitano stud farms, and watched a Portuguese bull fight. The riders rode from one estate to the next on superb horses, while the non-riders took sightseeing tours to local points of interest. The
HRC stayed on the estates and country inns, enjoying gracious hospitality and great meals. Another highlight were the fantastic lunch picnics in the countryside under the Portuguese cork trees. We could count the total number of cars we saw in seven days on just two hands. The HRC season begins in October and runs until June. The rides take place at the Essex Equestrian Center in West Orange, New Jersey, a short distance from Manhattan. As this is in a hall, riding is possible throughout the winter season.  The club practices English horsemanship. The riding master is a trained Swiss cavalry horseman and the riders perform simple formation activities. The members meet one evening per week for one hour riding. The HCR has several Swiss traditions. The open fire Raclette party is held in early November in Morristown, NJ and in December, Santa Claus pays a visit to a cocktail and dinner party. At the end of the riding season a Closing Party honors special riding achievers.
All interested in the “King of sports and the sport of kings” are invited to contact the Hudson Riding Club through it’s web-site
www.hudsonridingclub.com (President or Riding Master) or e-mail at
secretary@hudsonridingclub.com.
Alex Maier, Secretary
973 984 9660
Reprinted with permission from the Swiss Review Magazine, March,
2006, Vol. No. 1. The Swiss Review (aka. Schweizer Revue), a five
language publication for the Swiss Abroad, can be found on the web at www.revue.ch.
The preceding article may be requested in print or found on the web at http://www.revue.ch/.
See also a scanned copy of this article here.
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