01907_Fall_2019

26 | 01907
FALL 2019 | 27
Chloe Smith of Swampscott
rides her 11-year-old Warmblood,
Frankie, at Pine Tree Equestrian
Center in Beverly Farms.
PHOTOS | SPENSER HASAK
WILD ABOUT HORSES
CHLOE SMITH IS GALLOPING TOWARD A STABLE CAREER
with the muck tubs, "but I also get to feed
and brush the horses. … and I get lots of
hugs." She said she is responsible for half of
the costs, with her parents paying the rest.
After two years at Swampscott High
School, Smith switched to TECCA, an
online high school that allowed her to
spend more time at Pine Tree, training and
taking care of horses. "I was motivated to
get my school work done, so I could come
to the barn. Through the entire school year,
I was able to ride horses every day," she says.
"When I was at Swampscott High, I could
come here only on Sundays."
Chloe has always loved being around
horses. "I was turned on to horses at age
five," she says. "I'd visit my grandma
(Ramona Young) in Florida and go to
summer camp, where I'd get to ride all the
time. Every year I'd plead with my parents,
'Can I please go to summer camp again?' "
Before Frankie arrived on the scene,
Chloe rode a big Arabian named Beemer,
and stable horses Duke, Cecil and Calypso;
the latter two are still at Pine Tree, where
they frolicked in a field and playfully
nuzzled during our visit.
Frankie has a competitive background,
says Chloe. He excels at English events,
such as dressage and show jumping.
"Frankie is a great jumper," she says.
He's also "very low-key with a goofball
personality, a go-with-the-flow guy. Give
him carrots and he's happy."
Just then, Frankie moves closer to Chloe,
stares at her and stands on one leg. "He's
doing what I call 'the Flamingo.' He lifts
his leg to beg for treats."
"I WANT TO
HAVE A BARN
OF MY OWN
SOME DAY.
I'M SERIOUS ABOUT
IT. HAVING THAT
BUSINESS DEGREE IS
VERY IMPORTANT."
— CHLOE SMITH
"I want to have a barn of my own some
day. I'm serious about it. Having that
business degree is very important," says
Chloe, who adds that neither of her parents
are riders. "But they always come to see me
ride (in competitions). They support that I
do it."
BY BILL BROTHERTON
hloe Smith pulls a carrot
from her pocket and offers it to
11-year-old Frankie, her new
horse and best buddy.
He's a handsome fellow, this brown-andwhite
Warmblood Paint gelding who stands
16.2 hands tall (one hand is equal to four
inches).
"He's very photogenic," says Chloe,
rubbing Frankie's chin one sunny July
morning at Pine Tree stables in Beverly
Farms. She and Frankie are still getting
acquainted. It's been only three weeks since
Chloe and her parents, Jim and Abbe Smith
of Puritan Road, brought Frankie here from
Dover, N.H.
Frankie will be joining Chloe at Sweet
Briar College in Virginia, where she's a
freshman. A member of the equestrian
team, she's pursuing a business degree and
working toward her barn management
certification. "Frankie will be a snowbird,"
she says, with a smile. The two will return to
Pine Tree during summer break.
Chloe's worked here for a decade. She
says the equestrian center's owner, Sue
Denoncour, is wonderful, allowing her
and several other young women to work
in the barn to offset the cost of boarding,
instruction and the like. Chloe has to deal
725 Summer St. #2, Lynn, MA 01905
Telephone: 781-913-8461
Email: ALEX@privatejewelsfitness.com
www.privatejewelsfitness.com