HIS & HERS
HERS: Is there a job in your past that was never included on
your résumé?
HIS: When I was 15 years old, my brother, Victor, and I got a
big lesson from my father on what it was to work. He enlisted
us with a newspaper street kiosk that was about a block
and a half from our house. We did very, very early morning
deliveries of this paper in the buildings around our area.
We would wake up at 3:30 in the morning. Victor and I
would go down to this kiosk that was owned by an old
man, and a truck would come and deliver all of the newspapers
in separate sections. We would have to basically in
one hour put all of the sections together – entertainment,
sports, news, business, all of that together. We’d build a
little trolley, and each one of us, in a separate direction,
would go with a list and keys, and we’d go through the
different buildings and go in the elevators and deliver the
newspapers to different apartments.
By the time we were done, it was about 6:30 or 7 o’clock in
the morning. We’d go back, get a shower, and get ready
to get picked up to go to school.
We did that for about eight months, and by eight months,
we were both crying that we didn’t want to do it anymore.
We were really, really exhausted, but once our dad taught
us that lesson of hard work, he said, “Okay, you don’t have
to go anymore.”
HERS: How old were you when you got your first paying job
and what was it?
HIS: That was my first job when I was 15 years old. I don’t
remember what the pay was, but it wasn’t a lot.
SOLID AS A ROCK:
Max Amaya
& Stonehenge Stables
HERS: What do you remember about your first horse or
pony?
HIS: I remember my first horse was an 11-year-old chestnut
horse in Argentina. I loved him. His name was “No Problem.”
He used to jump in the children’s jumpers, but he did
have a stop to him. I often joked with my friends that there
were more than “No Problems,” there were a lot of problems!
He was a pretty horse, and I would care for him partially
myself. Every day after school, I would go and brush
him and make sure he was clean. Now looking back a little
bit with some memories that I have, I remember him always
being extremely fat for the standards that I have today. I
just remember him being round and very shiny, and probably
I overfed him a lot!
HERS:What do you like best in a horse? What do you like
best in a person?
HIS: To be quite honest, it goes hand-in-hand. I think what
I like best in a horse is the same as what I like in a person,
it’s good character, honesty, and a good attitude to do
their best. I think when you put all of that together, you can
have a pretty good chance at succeeding at everything
that you do. There will always be some horses and people
that have more talent than others, but hard work, good attitude,
Lifestyle
honesty, and good character get you a long way.
HERS:Best pet you’ve ever had and why?
HIS: For sure by far is Poncho, my little dachshund. He’s
EQUINE basically like a little human. He’s very polite. He’s quite correct.
He’s incredibly well-mannered. His eyes are so expressive.
Every time you look at him, you can read through his
eyes what he’s feeling or trying to tell you.
30 www.EliteEquestrianMagazine.com with L.A. Sokolowski
The prehistoric circle known as Stonehenge has been
called the most mysterious place on Earth, but in the
grand prix world there’s no mystery behind who has
built one of the leading show jumping training programs
in America. At his Stonehenge Farm facilities
in Colts Neck, NJ and Wellington, FL, Max Amaya still
focuses as intently as when he opened in 2006 on traditional
equitation principles that build foundations
as enduring as any Neolithic monument. Powerhouse
paired with Sarah Becker and B&B Saddlery’s “once in
a lifetime” Irish Sport Horse, Church Road (aka Goldie)
this grandson of an Argentine Cavalry rider started
his international tutelage under such North American
greats as Mario Deslauriers, Joe Fargis, and Frank and
Stacia Klein Madden of Beacon Hill Stables. Today, the
Nations Cup and Pan American Games veteran holds
the record as the highest-placed Argentine rider in
World Equestrian Games (Aachen) history while guiding
Stonehenge Stables award-winning students like Maddy
Darst, Brianne Goutal, TJ O’Mara and Jessica Springsteen
in building their own rock-solid riding careers.
Max Amaya heading to the ring at the
Winter Equestrian Festival with student,
Raleigh Hiler. Photo by Jump Media
Max Amaya and his dog, Poncho.
Photo by Jump Media
/www.EliteEquestrianMagazine.com