30 Years, Three Important Equestrians

With a fair amount of modesty, Margie Hutchison says she's a professional equestrian because, "It came easy to me." But talk to Margie for .04 seconds and you realize her accomplishments are a result of years of hard work, diligence and dedication to the horses in her care and the students in her training program.

In 1971 while studying at Skidmore College, Margie happened upon an ad for a "mother's helper" at a horse farm in Old Chatham. For two summers she worked for Kay and Tom Martin, caring for horses, shuffling kids to Pony Club and totally immersing herself in the local horse community. Soon she met and eventually married William Hutchison, and they built what are now Asco Farm and Chatham Equestrian Center in Chatham Center where they focused on. driving, western and saddle seat riding.

To look at Margie you know she was made to ride. Tall, slim, with an elegant posture, she's magic to watch in the saddle. "When we lived in Minnesota we were backyard riders," Margie says about her early days. "My sister had a magnificent Palomino, then one day a spotted pony appeared for my other sister. When she outgrew the pony he became mine and I was hooked."

Though Margie's mother was an accomplished saddle seat competitor in Minnesota, it was Margie's Dad, a corporate businessman, who took control of her riding career when they moved to New Jersey and eventually North Salem, NY. With success on the mind, her father raised the bar for Margie and set out to buy her a "real " horse for her to ride. As Margie recalls the scene, "It was like an arranged marriage. The horse just showed up. I hadn't seen it or ridden it." Unfortunately the horse went lame inside a year. In her teens she struggled on a mare named "Giggles" that stopped at fences, but competed at the coveted Maclay Equitation Finals held at Madison Square garden on a leased horse "Caddilac Jack" who took her the distance to finish fifth.