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Horse is where the heart is
(Published November 3, 2003)

By CARRIE DEVORAH
Staff Writer

He doesn’t have the name recognition in the horse world of a McClain Ward or a Kevin Babington. Yet. He is only 4 years old.

If Northwest Washington resident Bryce Lewis has his way, he will become a name to reckon with in the horse world. Someday, when he grows up. And when he can afford a sport that requires passion, talent and a benefactor.

Once a year outside MCI Center, sports central for the District’s professional basketball Wizards and Mystics, a downtown street is taken over by quadrapeds, whinnying, neighing -- leaving horse "apples" on the ground as they clip-clop to and from temporary stalls erected at the foot of office buildings. An undeniable odor permeates the air. Circulars plastered all over D.C. walls, Metro and elsewhere advertising "The horses are coming! The horses are coming!" become obsolete. The horses have arrived.

The show was in town for a week, when Bryce saw his first horse. Lisa Lewis had been looking for "an afternoon something" to occupy her pint-sized powerhouse when a friend offered tickets to the Saturday show of the Washington International Horse Show, a first in a lifetime opportunity for her.

Lewis showed up early, with her son in tow. Bryce was in horse heaven, standing at MCI Center’s temporary horse haven, stalls nestled week long amongst Sixth and F streets’ business buildings and retail outlets. "If only I had known about this sooner," she said.

"I want to ride that horse and that horse and that horse. Put me up on the horse, Mommy," Bryce called to his mother, pointing at the white horse, the brown horse, the gray horse and the black one walking by. Laughing, she shook her head.

He just rode his first pony. Bryce’s life was changing. Fearless, he was asking to ride a 17-hand (68 inches at the withers) horse. Less than an hour earlier, "horse" had not been part of their conversations. Her son’s enthusiasm swept her up along with spectators, watching him bound from horse to fence and back again. Bryce, now, had dreams for his future.

"I want to ride a horse when I get big," he said.

Lisa Lewis’ life was changing, too. She fed a carrot, off the palm of her hand, to a horse. The only horses Lewis saw when she was growing up were under mounted cops, she said. Here, she was touching one.

A bay horse passed enroute to the stalls. Bryce raced by. His bravado vaporized, upon realizing how tall the horse next to him was. The horse looked down. Bryce looked up. One pudgy 4-year-old finger touched the horse. Gingerly. The biggest smile exploded across his face with glee. "I touched it," he said. The horse seemed to smiled, too.

So, now you know. The reason the world-class Washington International Horse Show (WIHS) comes to town is to light up faces of children, like Bryce.

When the WIHS was asked to renew its prior venue on a per-year basis, the WHIS Board of Trustees, led by board President Sheila Crump Johnson, instead negotiated a five-year contract with downtown Washington’s MCI Center. The lease, which began with the 2002 show, assures the show will remain at the state-of-the-art facility until at least 2006.

"It is important for our sport to have a high visibility, year-end indoor show packed with spectators, and important for our riders to gain experience in the type of arena that European riders are accustomed to," Johnson said. "If we want U.S. riders to win on a world-class level, then we need to provide them with a world-class venue to compete in at home."

New York’s loss is the District’s gain. They lost at playing hardball with Johnson. "No" is not a part of her vocabulary.

"We were delighted with the number one ranking we received in the recent poll of top riders that measured opinions on footing, security and atmosphere," continued Johnson, "and by the positive feedback we have received from exhibitors in general."

Olympic equestrian rider McLain Ward said WHIS is "as big a crowd as you would see at any European show."

Fellow competitive rider Mark Leone expressed equal enthusiasm. "I think it’s fantastic to be here in the city," he said. "They're bringing in huge audiences. ...It’s first rate."

Johnson said she got involved in the equine circuit the old-fashioned way. Johnson is a horse mom. Her daughter, Paige, is a rarity in competitive show jumping. A natural beauty, she is a woman of color. More traditionally, people of color in the horse world are males participating as support staff. Paige, one of the top U.S. junior riders, is also a woman of privilege. Show jumping is an expensive sport. Two private trainers work with Paige to hone riding skills on her string of million-dollar horses.

Irish Equestrian Olympian Kevin Babington says his ability to participate in show jumping is a combination of a second income from his training school, combined with devoted owners supporting his Old World approach to horses.

Paige is fortunate to participate in this elite world. Her parents are billionaires Sheila and Robert Johnson, founders of Black Entertainment Television. The Johnsons sold their company, BET Holdings, to Viacom for $2.3 billion in stock, splitting $1.5 billion of the proceeds. Sheila Johnson lives on a 167-acre spread in Virginia horse country, 40 miles west of Washington, with her talented children.

"Children of people of wealth and celebrity can get lost. Riding gives them a focus, and it really pulls the family together," Sheila Johnson said.

It wasn’t always that way. Johnson said she lived and worked in the District before blazing the trail to the top of the equine world for D.C. youths like Bryce to follow. Johnson’s journey has taken almost 20 years. The Johnsons faced racial adversity, building their wealth in the cable industry.

"We had to get advertisers to believe that African-Americans would buy products," she said.BET and her Salamander Farms are sponsors helping Johnson face the challenge of introducing African-Americans to the experience of horses.

She is an active member of several boards, including the U.S. Equestrian Team and USA Equestrian. The Morrisville College philanthropist gave a $1 million gift to create the Sheila Crump Johnson Institute, supporting character-building initiatives through fellowships, scholarships and special programs. Some of the fellows stood alongside her, presenting the President’s Cup Grand Prix trophy, horse blanket and other awards at the Washington International Horse Show.

The Washington International Horse Show is a prestigious "by invitation only" Olympic-level equestrian jumping competition. Riders participate year long in regional shows, accumulating award points towards competing against the crème of the equine world in Gamblers Choice, the Puissance and the keynote President’s Cup.

In 2001, First Lady Laura Bush served as the 43rd annual WIHS honorary chairman. In earlier years, Patricia Nixon, Jacqueline Kennedy, Nancy Reagan, Betty Ford and Lady Bird Johnson boosted the historic show with their presence.

WIHS is patterned closely after Britain’s Olympia horse show, a hybrid combining equines with dogs, ponies and high-jumping humans. Cheryl Kincannon, wife of one of the WHIS show managers, said she travels as often as she can to London to see the Olympia show.

Her eye for excellence is noted in Olympia show format tweaked for a distinctive American flavor; Frisbee-catching border collie trials are replaced with steeplechase racing terriers; the Flying Csikos, Hungarian horsemen, are replaced with Tommy Turvey’s daring extreme riding spectacular. The miniature ponies steeplechase is Americanized with barrel racing and bull riding. Women’s sidesaddle is substituted for hack classes. The artistry of horse-with-rider dancing is a WIHS distinctive touch. The Olympia features Imber Court’s Metropolitan Mounted Police extreme riding squad. Only in America do mounted U.S. Park Police and Metropolitan Police, hoisting the U.S. flag, bring a house to its feet for a rousing fireworks extravaganza, highlighting a chorale of "The Star Spangled Banner."

The nonprofit organization’s 2003 show benefited Christopher Reeve’s Paralysis Foundation (CRPF). Johnson said Reeve, left paralyzed in 1995 after breaking two vertebrae in a Culpeper, Va., horse trials competition, is "a true inspiration to so many people." Reeve assured that "my love for horses has never diminished." A standing ovation thundered throughout the arena.

Johnson said she believes: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Recalling a critical juncture in her life, she said someone stepped forward and helped her out. Following the demise of her 33-year marriage, Johnson’s benevolence is focused on reaching out to building college communities. She is rumored to be building her own $10 million not-for-profit. Thoroughbred Rehabilitation Fund’s booth in the vendors’ mall provided flyers supporting horses to benefit "at-risk" children, like Bryce. Johnson shares their philosophy. She says horses are a good way to keep youngsters busy.

Maybe, someday, 4-year-old Bryce’s wish will come true. His dream, after all, did start with a horse show of the same four letters: W-I-H-S.