GO WITH IT, HAVE FUN & SMILE: Legacies of THE GOCHMAN FAMILY.
A love of horses was instilled in Becky Gochman at a young age. At eight years old, she sat on her first horse, and from there she spent her youth competing around the New Jersey circuits, as well as in 4-H competitions.
That love continued to flourish and as an adult, when Becky took her talents to the competitive hunter ring. Her passion for everything equine was passed down to her daughters, 13-year-old Mimi and 15-year-old Sophie.
“The most rewarding aspect of sharing this equestrian world with my girls has been to see them love the horses the way that they do,” Becky said. “They’ve had great instruction, and I feel that through all of that, they’ve really learned to not only be more competent riders, but it also helps them in other walks of life.”
In 2012, Becky and David Gochman put a name to their family’s passion and dubbed the fruits of their equestrian labor “Baxter Hill.” The farm, established as a haven for their daughters and their many happy horses, sits upon 12 acres in Grand Prix Village, adjacent to the prestigious Winter Equestrian Festival show grounds.
While the three Gochman women are the ones who spend most of their time in the tack, David is an avid supporter of their endeavors.
“David doesn’t ride, but he comes and goes from the show scene,” Becky explained. “He has really seen that the kids learn so much from their successes and their failures through riding that he acknowledges that these are all valuable life lessons. He sees his girls growing through the sport, and because of that he is very supportive. He likes to be part of it and is a great sport about it.”
The love and support of their committed parents has truly helped the Gochman daughters champion all of life’s tests thus far. Mimi and Sophie are each talented in their own unique way.
“It is a little difficult when you have kids that are so close in age, but the horse gods have made it work out somehow,” Becky joked. “Things are kept pretty even in different ways. One may be a little down, and then they move up. They each have their different strengths. As a mom, you always try to juggle that, but I’m learning that life isn’t always even or fair, and they’re going to have to learn how to deal with that themselves. They’re good friends. They’ve been able to handle competing against one another, and I think that it’s a great learning experience.”
A single piece of advice Becky and David offer their daughters?
“Always put your horse first and develop that special bond.” Becky said. “The horsemanship aspect is invaluable. I’m always like, ‘Did you bring carrots? Did you spend one-on-one time with your horse?’ It can get really crazy as they move up in levels. You don’t always have a lot of time because of competing, and balancing that with other things, like school and friends. Your mind must always be open and aware of the limitless possibilities that this sport has to teach. Go with it, have fun and smile.”
As her daughters grow and continue to thrive, Becky is taking a small step back from her own lengthy competition schedule. This season, the Gochman family is excited to introduce Farm Stand to the Winter Equestrian Festival community.
The experience is like none other that WEF has seen before and will offer a unique spread of healthy food, products and services that focus on the positive mind, body and spirit of the equestrian athlete.
“I’m getting older, and my kids are getting bigger,” Becky said. “I want to do the horses, but maybe not show the same way that I was. I want to slow my riding down a little bit. This Farm Stand concept was a good transition to focus on giving back to the community and doing something within the community that I’m very passionate about and interested in.”
The idea was established after Becky came to the realization that young people are taking control of their lifestyle choices, and more often than not, are looking for healthier options when it comes to the products they use and the food they consume.
“I’ve always been interested in good-tasting, healthy food. It has really changed my lifestyle, and I thought it’d be great if we could share some of that,” Becky said. “At Baxter Hill, we’ve put in a thriving organic garden. From that thought, we asked ourselves, ‘How can we bring some of this to the horse show?’ While you can’t grow your own food at WEF, we thought, ‘Let’s bring our own food trucks in.’ It was just a dream, and now it is really coming to reality. That’s very exciting for us.”
With the season now underway, there is no doubt that 2018 will see the Gochman family make some big strides of success, both in and out of the arena.
To learn more about Farm Stand, visit www.farmstand-pb.com.
