Recreation & Lifestyle
Welcome to Recreation & Lifestyle, which includes leisure riding and other aspects of the equestrian lifestyle for you and your horse loving friends and family.
Looking for the perfect present? See the Gifts & Jewelry section. Redecorating? Find a Painting, Photograph or Sculpture in the Artwork section. Need to check out a movie or crawl up with a good book or magazine? See our Entertainment section where you will find and Books, Movies, Games, and Magazines. And don't forget about Fine Art in some specialty Museums that might surprise you.
Looking for love or a trail buddy? Riding Partners is the spot to seek other riders who share your passion. Find a place to ride with that special person in our Trail Riding section and if you need more time away, take a look at Vacations. Want to know about the next horse show or special event? Don’t miss it! Dates and locations are included in the Calendar of Events for Recreation & Lifestyle.
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by Janis Fontaine, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013
Businessman Jack Van Dell knows an opportunity when he sees one, so he opened the Wellington Equestrian Gallery and Mall in December. Tucked into the corner of the Publix’s shopping center at the intersection of Wellington Trace and Greenbriar Shores Boulevard, it’s a place where local business owners can lease space to display their work and their wares.
The cavernous room has been a Halloween store, a consignment shop, even a Hollywood Video. Now the fine jeweler has filled it with a bounty of eclectic equestrian art, fashion and furnishings. And it’s convenient too: Van Dell’s jewelry store, specializing in custom fine and equestrian pieces, is in the same plaza.
"Morgan fell in love with Scooby the pony. Morgan slurs because of the meds but somehow Desiree understood her. Morgan saw wild turkeys on her farm and asked questions about them. She helped brush Scooby; she helped take the tack on and off. She interacted with someone. She was here in reality. And I couldn't believe it. " - Danielle Frank
Here is our story. . . .
We have a very special little girl. In fact we have two wonderful daughters. Our Maddy is about to turn 12 years old. And she is vibrant; beautiful; patient; wonderful; and a great student. Our Morgan is way different than our healthy Maddy. Morgan is beautiful; shy; and wonderful however she has been diagnosed with Paranoid Schizophrenia. With that diagnosis she also has Attention Deficit Disorder; Anxiety; Night Terrors; Enuresis; Depression; Chronic Constipation; Medication induced Obesity; and Medication induced elevated cholesterol. She also exhibits signs of bipolar disorder. Quite the mouthful for a 10 year old little girl.
Our household is very different than most. We have been dealing with Morgan having a mental illness since she was 5 years old. However; we almost lost her beginning in August of 2013. I fell down our basement steps and shattered my ankle. Unfortunately; Morgan witnessed this accident. It was completely my own stupidity that it happened. I am blind as a bat without my glasses and I attempted to run down the steps to the laundry room without them on. Morgan somehow blamed herself for this accident; her psychiatrist explained it to us that she literally mentally broke inside. After I got home from the hospital we could see Morgan really was going down hill fast; her illnesses were taking over and she was disappearing in front of us. We were in the hospital several times; and on the phone with her specialists more times than any of us can count. Morgan would scream bloody murder and we couldn't figure out what was going on. She was angry; irrational; saying things like "we hated her"; "go away I can't hurt my mommy"; "stop touching me"; "No I won't do it." She would become fearful of our dogs. And she was getting violent towards us and her sister.
Denis Linehan, author of “Shadows of August” tells Equine Info Exchange about the inspiration for his book.
My uncle was the track doctor at Saratoga racecourse years ago and some of my cousins’ friends parked cars on or near Nelson Avenue, the road next to the track. It wasn't difficult to catch the bug and get caught up in all the excitement every August.
After high school I went to Hobart College, and what did my wondering eyes discover, nothing less than another racetrack, Finger Lakes, right up the road! I was hooked again. Even later another uncle allowed me to become a part owner of a small herd/collection of Standardbred harness horses that raced at Saratoga Raceway. Now, I was hooked quite badly and well aware that I had fallen head over heels in love with the sport. Teaching, along with other adventures, took me to New Jersey, close to Monmouth Park (do you see a theme or motif developing here?) where I taught Advanced Placement students in preparation for the Advance Placement English Literature exam. Each year, I would commit some of my summer adventures at the races to paper, in several edited versions, and later use the story(s) in their various forms to initiate conversation concerning the effects and affects of the tales and why some worked while others didn't.
