Earlier this month, my husband Don and I drove to Dickerson, Maryland to Bert Lytle’s farm. He builds jumps and in fact, was the primary jump builder for last year’s World Equestrian Games in Kentucky. We had a gift certificate from our clients for some poles, which we had received as part of a barn-family Christmas present. So we drove our trailer to his farm to take a look at the poles and whatever used jumps he might have available. When we arrived, Bert told us he was leaving for Aiken, South Carolina in another couple of days, so now was the time to “make a deal” on some new poles and some used jumps. Bert also supplies the jumps for the Syracuse Invitational (sadly no more, as of this year….), so he has a ton of jumps stored in various sheds and tractor trailers.
Bert was great to work with, and we came away with a lot more than we expected. We had gone there expecting to pick up about 10 unpainted poles. We came away with 12 painted/striped poles, a roll top, a pair of column wing standards, two planks and a picket gate! Bert even let me go in some trailers to see the WEG jumps up close (which, by the way, are for sale, I am happy to share his contact info if you’re interested in buying one or more). These were the jumps that Hickstead, HH Robozo and Sapphire jumped! It was so cool to be up close to the jumps I saw on TV. And the craftsmanship was AMAZING! Beautifully constructed and painted, they truly were works of art.
So now we have some fantastic new jumps for our ring! They are a bright addition to our indoor arena during these cold winter days. Thank you to our clients who contributed toward the purchase. Thanks also to Bert Lytle for being so great to work with. We hope everyone enjoys the new jumps as much as we do!
