Westport, CT –  A short month and a half ago, Molly Ashe Cawley underwent serious back surgery, but this week anyone watching her ride at the Farifield County Hunt Club June Benefit Horse Show would never have guessed. In her first time out since the surgery, Ashe claimed a victory in the $5,000 New England Hunter Derby aboard her talented derby mount Kenzo, owned by Kristen Abbatiello-Neff. The win in Connecticut comes as part of a string of successes for Norfield Stables LLC, which Ashe runs alongside Chris Cawley and Timmy Kees. The week prior, Norfield Stables rider Ali Tritschler was named Best Child Rider at the Ox Ridge Hunt Club 83rd Annual Charity Horse Show.

“It was a last minute decision to do the derby,” Ashe explained. “I was in the horse show office, and Kenzo’s owner, Kristen Abbatiello-Neff, was like ‘You should do the derby tomorrow.’ I was hesitant because I’ve really only jumped six fences since I had my surgery, but somehow we wrangled it all together as quickly as we could.”

Ashe has only been back in the saddle for a few weeks following her triple lumbar discectomy and laminectomy, and Kenzo has enjoyed time off during her recovery so the hunter derby served as the perfect testing grounds for both horse and rider.

“That was my test run,” Ashe shared. “During the surgery they cut the piece of the disc off that’s sitting on the nerve, and then they scrape the bone and clean it up to try and give more room for the nerve to not be interfered with. I had that in three different places. It ended up being more than they anticipated when they got in there, but I walked out of the hospital on the same day of the surgery, which was amazing.”

Now back in the saddle and with a win under her belt with Kenzo in the hunter ring, Ashe feels prepared for her return to the jumpers as well at the Lake Placid Horse Show, June 21-25, 2013.

In addition to Ashe, Norfield Stables LLC plans to have several riders at Lake Placid next week, including Ali Tritschler. The talented young rider dominated the Junior Hunters at the Ox Ridge Hunt Club Annual Charity Horse Show, held June 11-16, with Winnetou, owned by Suave Pony LLC. In the Low Junior/Amateur Owner Jumpers, Tritschler earned top ribbons with Norfield Stable’s Velinta Palo Blanco, and in the Green Pony Hunters, she was victorious with Karen Withstandley’s Don Bosco DSS. Her success throughout the divisions firmly secured her the title of Best Child Rider.

About Norfield Stables LLC

Norfield Stables LLC is a full service hunter/jumper facility run by Molly Ashe Cawley, Chris Cawley and Timmy Kees. Ashe is an accomplished show hunter rider who joined the grand prix tour in the late ‘90s. In 1999, Ashe captured her first major grand prix victory during the $50,000 Grand Prix of Lake Placid aboard Rosewood Glen Ltd. Resolute. Since then, Ashe has won awards throughout Europe and the United States. With over 25 years experience on the “A” horse show circuit, Kees is one of the country’s most prominent hunter/equitation trainers. His riders have won the ASPCA Maclay, AHSA Medal and USET Equitation Finals a total of seven times. Kees has also trained hunters such as Holy Smoke, Watership Down, So No Wonder, Castaway and Double Cinco to championships at Devon, Harrisburg, Washington and New York. He is an USEF “R” judge and conducts clinics throughout the country. For more information please email [email protected].