Thoroughly Traditional

The East Coast’s premiere steeplechase race hits 96 years old, and promises a fall spectacle like no other

by Laura D.C. Kolnoski • Photos by Amessé Photography

Colloquially known as “The Hunt,” the 96th Far Hills Race Meeting, a steeplechase event scheduled for Saturday, October 15, will fill picturesque Moorland Farm in Far Hills with an enthusiastic audience of more than 35,000.

Steeped in tradition and equestrian pageantry, the day of races, around a two-mile grass track with jumping fences, has grown and improved over time, with organizers striving to maximize the experience for riders, thoroughbred horses, spectators, and community members. A major fund-raiser, it has raised over $18 million for its primary beneficiary—Somerset Health, now part of Barnabas Health. The massive undertaking requires some 400 volunteers, state and local police, EMS and fire personnel, riders from the U.S. and beyond, a Vendors Village, hospitality tents, and gourmet tailgating so elaborate that it has been featured in Martha Stewart Living.

Who makes this equestrian extravaganza happen? For the last 25 years, the humble men in charge are Chairman Guy Torsilieri, who along with his “right-hand man,” Co-Chairman Ron Kennedy (founder and president of consulting engineering
and land planning firm Gladstone Design), along with a
hard-working volunteer committee, marshal the necessary
forces. The two friends—local businessmen long involved in
the community—quickly credit other groups and individuals
involved.

“Ron is the heart and soul of this operation, I couldn’t do it
without him,” Torsilieri said. “We work with all sides of the
industry, local community groups, the hospital, and our
sponsors. He’s automated tickets and has maps for everything.
Methodical and analytical, he makes me look good. My
brother Dean, who’s been involved for 20 years, works with
Ron on logistics and takes care of all turf issues.”
Torsilieri, who grew up in Far Hills, got involved at the
urging of long-time race organizers. His father Carl, a former
Far Hills mayor, started the family landscape contracting business (Torsilieri Inc., of Gladstone)
after leaving the Navy. Guy and his
brothers, Marc and Dean, joined the
firm (which now employs about 75 people)
after college. The business is best
known as the company that finds, cuts,
transports, erects, and dismantles the
Rockefeller Center Christmas tree for
the past 34 years (scouting for this
year’s tree began in August). That
exposure, along with the expertise and
heavy equipment involved in the
gargantuan project, led to jobs moving
fine and often large art pieces, including
those of Jeff Koons and other recognizable
names Torsilieri couldn’t reveal. He
and his team removed this summer’s
public art installation “Van Gogh’s Ear”
from the Fifth Avenue entrance to the
Channel Gardens at Rockefeller Center
the night before being interviewed for
this article.

“[The race] is a fun, interesting
challenge,” said Torsilieri, who now
lives in Whitehouse with his wife,
Beverly, and two sons. The whole family
gets involved in the Far Hills Race
Meeting, which takes place on the same
site where Torsilieri played football and
tennis and rode horses as a youth. Once
recruited for the Far Hills Race
Meeting in the 1970s, his early jobs
included tending stables, installing
fencing, mowing, and setting up
parking. Slowly reeled into joining the
race committee, Torsilieri enlisted
Kennedy in much the same way in
1990.

“Guy asked me to do something
small,” recalled Kennedy, who had no
previous equestrian background. Now, “I
do it all except the race itself—traffic
control, parking, tickets, and crowd
control.” He also oversees volunteers
from the hospital, who assist with the car
raffle, parking, and checking tickets.

The hospital’s Steeplechase Cancer
Center, on the Robert Wood Johnson
Somerset campus, was built in 2007 and
named in honor of the Far Hills Race
Meeting Association.

“Guy has a vision and a passion for
making the event the best it can possibly
be, and always better for the steeplechase
community, local residents, and guests,”
Kennedy said. “He’s never satisfied with
the status quo. Throughout our long
relationship, we’ve complement each
other well and focus on accomplishing
our objectives.”

Founded in Montclair in 1870, the
event was first known as the Essex Hunt.
In 1916, it moved from its original site
to the Grant B. Schley estate (the
Moorland Farm today). Eventually
becoming the Far Hills Race Meeting,
the equine spectacle has been continually
run (except during World War II) on the
same 230-acre site, half of which is in
Far Hills, half in Bedminster. It offers
some of the richest purses in America
and is host of the The Grand National
steeplechase, the most prestigious
contest of its kind in the U.S. This year’s
purse is $700,000, while The Grand
National purse is up to $350,000,
Torsilieri pointed out.

In the heart of Somerset County’s
bucolic horse country, the area is
historically home to the country estates
of wealthy New Yorkers, pharmaceutical
giants, former governors Christine Todd
Whitman and Tom Kean, and perhaps
its most famous resident, Jacqueline
Kennedy Onassis—all past race attendees.
(Legend has it, incidentally, that the
term “steeplechase” harkens back to its
Irish origins, where horsemen would
race to landmarks such as church
steeples.)

The primary sponsor is the Open
Road Auto Group and its CEO, W. Rod
Ryan, whom Torsilieri called, “an
incredible supporter who loves the area
and the event, and takes great pride in
it.” Open Road is among myriad
sponsors who erect upscale

“Entertainment tents” at the race, a
popular draw that starts at $5,000 and
tops out at $25,000, and entry into the
exclusive Chairman’s Pavillion, directly
on the rail, is $750 per person. Adding to
the ambiance, hay bales can be acquired
to decorate a tent or tailgate space. Plans
were underway at press time for the
newest additions—food trucks and a
fashion component.

Peapack-Gladstone Bank is also a
major sponsor.

At the Far Hills Race, attendees strut
their fashionable equestrian stuff, adding
to the festive Octoberfest atmosphere.
Rolls Royce cars, caviar, champagne, raw
bars, ice sculptures, and elaborate
decorations permeate the venue.
Torsilieri is working on transmitting the
event around the world too, indicating
that there is interest in the United
Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, and
elsewhere.

“It’s been a huge metamorphosis,” Torsilieri said, adding
that Far Hills is considered the best of the 35 meets along
the East Coast. “It gets increasingly successful, and we’re not
done yet. In the 1960s, there were only a handful of people.
Growth took off in the late 1970s when we started improving
the turf and maintaining the property better, making it
more user-friendly. The years have become a blur. It has
taken on a life of its own.” His most memorable year was
2001, five weeks after the 9/11 attacks, when the committee
had to consult with the prosecutor’s office, state police,
SWAT teams, and other security personnel.

“Half way through an a cappella version of the national
anthem, the public address system went out,” he recounted.
“Everyone looked at each other, then there was a slow
groundswell as all 35,000-plus spectators picked up where the
PA failed. Thinking about it still gives me chills.”

Before this year’s event occurs, Torsilieri is already planning
for the future. He hopes to bring back the popular Music at
Moorland “friend-raising” event, which ran for 13 years and
brought in $1 million for the Somerset Health Foundation.
He’s also seeking ways to make the expensive concert more
economically viable, perhaps by moving it to a venue complete
with its own stage and sound system. His organization has also
teamed with the Gladstone Equestrian Organization to bring
the Essex Horse Trials to Moorland next June and hopes to
bring more equestrian activities to the site.

General admission tickets can be purchased in advance
through October 14 for $100 (parking is $30). On event day,
general admission is $200 at the site. New Jersey Transit runs
extra trains for attendees.

“It’s about community engagement and involvement,” Kennedy said. “It brings the community together; for me that’s the most exciting part.”