Smithtown Is Horse Country And The Horsewomen Of Smithtown LOVE IT!!!

Linda Henninger’s horse JoeyBy Stacey Altherr

For some women, an enjoyable day might mean some shopping and lunch with friends. For horse lovers, it’s a day of mucking the stall, filling water and grain buckets, and laying down hay. Although, admittedly, both involve shoe purchases.

All over Smithtown, women are owning, leasing, and caring for horses, both in their own yards as well as in borrowed barns.

There is no real tally, but the bucolic parklands and the larger lot sizes, as well as the town’s lenient codes for keeping horses on private property, makes Smithtown an easier place to own and ride horses. And there are places to ride as well. Blydenburgh Park, a county park on Veteran’s Highway in Smithtown, allows for extensive bridle paths and practice ring (with permit) as does Sunken Meadow State Park, and it is not unusual to see horseback riders clopping along the streets.

Linda Henninger and JoeyFor Linda Henninger, a Fort Salonga resident, her love of horses started at nine years old, and as a teen, she worked in barns for riding time. But as an adult, raising a family and obligations meant she took a 30-year break from riding.

“I was dating, and about three years ago, I went horseback riding on a date,” three years ago, she said. “I forgot how much I loved it.”

The date may not have been a great success, but she had a new love. She started riding at a nearby barn, and met Joey, who is now a 9-year-old gelding.*

“I fell in love with him,” she says. “And I bought him.”

Keeping a horse is expensive, but many of the women who keep them, either on their property or at a nearby barn, find ways to make it work.  

“You can go to one that has indoor arena, or show barns,” she says. “There are lots of options. Some lease out the horse for a day or two a week to hep pay the bills.”

Costs for leasing a barn for a horse can be expensive; anywhere from $600 to more than $2,000 a month, although Henninger says the average is about $1,000.

Caring for a horse can be expensive; feeding, housing, and the vet bills. For those who compete, the cost can be even higher.

Kristen Latuga, 39, a special education math teacher in Brentwood, moved to Smithtown ten years ago, spurred Kristen Latuga’s horses Miracolo, meaning Miracle, and Presiosa, meaning precious.by her desire to keep her horses, Miracolo and Preziosa, on her property. Sometimes, she will trailer them to Blydenburgh County Park for a ride. She has other horses and a pony she keeps at a friend’s property. Latuga rides either in her backyard or with her neighbor, who also has a horse.

“It’s expensive, it’s time consuming, but at the same time, it’s the most rewarding experience,” she says. “Smithtown is quite amazing. Nobody knows how many barns there are, but there’s a ton. It’s a real horse community.”

Smithtown’s town codes are quite horse-friendly, allowing for one horse per half-acre, two horses per three-quarters acre and three horses per acre.

Sally Lynch, who lives in and owns a small tack shop in St. James, and who is also the President of Old Field Farm, a not-for-profit in nearby Brookhaven Town where many residents of Smithtown ride, says she is always Joey in the snowsurprised by the residents who come in and say they have horses. Lynch says a survey done around 1997 showed horse owning as a billion-dollar business. Old Field Farm holds horse shows with less entry fees than some of the larger ones- think Bridgehampton Horse Show – and doesn’t charge spectators. Many horse people who ride there come from Smithtown, she says.

“You drive down streets in Smithtown and you see the cozy little barns in people’s backyards, and it’s wonderful.”

But the one problem is where to ride.

“What is sorely needed is new equestrian centers,” Lynch says. “How can the open space benefit the public?”

Many are hoping the town includes some of the old Gyrodyne property for equestrian purposes. Lynch believes, with the popularity at the Old Field Farm, it could bring a lot of money from both riders and spectators to the recreational spot. 

Horsewoman Nettie LiburtNettie Liburt, 46, was just about born to be a horsewoman. She was two years old when she would ride a horse of a neighbor in Orient. She says she learned to ride in her friend’s backyard in Orient as well, and in college, she rode for the equestrian team. After working in broadcasting, she decided to follow her heart, and studied animal science focusing on equine exercise psychology. She now works for Buckeye Nutrition, a feed company for horses.

Liburt’s current horse is at a private barn in Nissequogue on the waterfront.

“My horse has a much fancier address than I do,” she says with a laugh.

While riding can be a solitary activity, social circles emerge. 

“You put a couple of horse people in the room, and they will talk about horses non-stop,” she says. Nettie Liburt rides one of her horses she keeps in her property

  While horse care can be expensive, there are ways to ease the burden. Many lease their horses a few days a week for other riders who don’t want to own a horse but want to ride. Others take on second jobs. But it’s clear that the love of horses in Smithtown is here to stay.

“You need to do things you love, right?” says Henninger. “It’s a real passion for people who love their horses.”

*Edited to gelding from stallion