On page 73 of Saratoga Living‘s new Summer Issue, there’s a crossword puzzle, entitled “Switch Back.” Below is the answer key—or for some of you, the world’s greatest cheat. sheet.
ACROSS
1. ACLS
5. PLOD
9. SPOT
13. DRIP
14. ALIBI
15. TEVA
16. DOME
17. NOTIF
18. ARES
19. SPACTOTHEFUTURE
22. SYD
23. ESE
24. BAE
27. IEP
29. GRE
30. STI
33. ALVIN
35. OBOE
37. NEAR
38. SPACGROUNDCHECK
41. TIDE
42. ELSE
43. OLDIE
44. ENE
45. MDS
46. RAN
48. YTD
49. SAC
50. PEA
52. SPACCOUNTRYSKIS
61. CARE
62. ADORE
63. PITA
64. UPON
65. TONIS
66. ELEM
67. MADE
68. SNOG
29. NOME
DOWN 1. ADDS
2. CROP
3. LIMA
4. SPECS
5. PLOT
6. LITH
7. OBIE
8. DIFFERED
9. STATE
10. PERU
11. OVER
12. TASE
14. ANODE
20. TYING
21. USE
24. BASTE
25. ALPIN
26. EVADE
28. POOLS
29. GONER
30. SEEDY
31. TACIT
32. IRKED
34. ICE
36. BUS
37. NHL
39. REDCOATS
40. CONEY
45. MAC
47. APRES
49. SCENE
51. ASPEN
52. SCUM
53. PAPA
54. AROD
55. UDON
56. NONO
57. IRIS
58. KILO
59. ITEM
60. SAME
When South Glens Falls native Tom Davis was 19, he started his first dog-walking business. “Everyone else is going off to college and living their best life,” Davis says. “I was picking up dog poop and getting paid $15 for a walk.” That grunt work paid off, though: Davis is now an internationally known dog trainer who sells out seminars around the world, boasts half a million YouTube subscribers, and just opened a second Saratoga County location for his Upstate Canine Academy. And, oh yeah, he’s trained dogs for YouTuber Logan Paul, musician Drew Taggart from The Chainsmokers and NFL quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
While Davis says there’s not really a big break that proves a dog trainer has “made it,” like getting signed to a label for a singer, this may be the closest thing to it: On Wednesday, March 23, Davis appeared in Today show segment celebrating National Puppy Day. “I have an opportunity to go on and work with three different puppies and go over some very important tips for new dog owners,” Davis said beforehand. “I’m going to be live on one of the biggest outlets in the country with dogs I’ve never met before. The goal is, theoretically speaking, to go in and work with these three puppies and show the dogs’ owners and the 4-5 million people that are going to be watching how to be a better dog owner at any stage of life.”
If you’ve never heard of Davis before, you may be wondering how he went from small-town dog-walker to working in the governor’s mansion (he trained dogs for New York Governor Andrew Cuomo before he resigned). “It’s not all luck,” he says. “It’s really just working really hard, developing my craft and educating. I specialize in teaching dog owners what the problem is, and nine times out of 10, it’s them.” That means Davis is one of very few people who can go into Patrick Mahomes’ home and tell him what to do. “Working with different types of celebrities in Hollywood or in other places—these people have everybody and anybody at their disposal.” Davis says. “The fact that they hire me, trust me, want to work with me is some sort of a validity that maybe I am doing the right thing. Maybe I am better than the average Joe Shmoe in their neighborhood.”
“The biggest thing was social media,” Davis says when asked how he grew his company. “I basically started an Instagram when Instagram started to become popular.”
And while Davis does travel the country training pooches for the rich and famous, he’s kept Upstate New York as his home base. He currently lives in Saratoga, works out of Clifton Park, and recently opened a second location—a 15,000-square-foot training facility in Halfmoon, where he not only trains dogs, but also produces his popular podcasts and videos. “The majority of our clients are from out of state,'” he says of the new facility, “so it’s become a popular destination for many dog owners from all around the country, which is very cool.”
To watch Davis’ National Puppy day segment, click here.
This week’s warm weather certainly has spring fever a-swirling. And the anticipation for sun dress and khaki short season is made all the stronger by the recent news that a few favorite Saratoga fundraisers are coming back. That’s right: Derby Day festivities, black-tie events and not one, but two Saratoga Living soirées are already on the books for this spring. And that’s not all—in a press conference at The Horseshoe earlier today, Saratoga Chamber of Commerce President Todd Shimkus eluded to two super-secret, all-new events coming this June. While we’ll have to wait to find out more about those, we can get all amped up right now for these 12 already-scheduled shindigs:
May 17 The Spring Luncheon The Flower & Fruit Mission of Saratoga Hospital Hall of Springs
And last, but by no means least, yours truly is throwing two big-time, springtime bashes! First, join Saratoga Living and Andrea Zappone at Overdress to Impress!, an over-the-top, fashion-forward Monday night event at Salt & Char on April 4. Then, psychic medium Tracy Fluty is back by popular demand. We’ll be hosting our second Cocktails & Clairvoyancegroup reading with her at the Gideon Putnam on May 19. Tickets go on sale April 2…See you there!
Black Maria didn’t exactly set the racing world on fire when she made her career debut at Saratoga on August 5, 1925. In a 5½-furlong maiden event, the Kentucky-bred daughter of standout sire Black Toney was never a factor, finishing last in the field of 10. After being defeated twice more at the Spa in the next 10 days, Black Maria broke her maiden on her fourth attempt. She was then trounced in the Hopeful Stakes, finishing ninth, to conclude her 2-year-old summer at Saratoga with a lone victory in five outings. However, there would be better days ahead for Black Maria…much better.
After a four-length victory in the 1926 Kentucky Oaks, Black Maria returned to Saratoga, finishing second in the Alabama Stakes, first in the Saratoga Sales Stakes, and third to Hall of Famer Crusader in the Huron Handicap. That fall, she won two stakes at Belmont, the Aqueduct Handicap, and the October Handicap at Jamaica. At the close of that season, Black Maria was regarded as the top 3-year-old mare in America, having won or placed in 15 of 17 starts that year and with earnings of $56,380 to top all sophomore fillies.
Black Maria’s 4-year-old season went largely the same way. The mare was first or second in 12 of her 15 races—including a victory against males in the prestigious Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont—and topped the older filly and mare division with earnings of $39,839. But in 1928, her final season, Black Maria struggled to return to her best form, winning only once in her first five outings. Her sixth race, however, was the inaugural edition of the Whitney Handicap at the Spa, in which she went up against 1927 Belmont Stakes winner Chance Shot and Kentucky Derby winner Whiskery. After jockeying for first with Whiskery early on, Black Maria took the lead in the stretch. But Chance Shot was closing in. “For a moment it looked as if Chance Shot would pass ahead to the victory,” The New York Times reported. “However, Black Maria had something left.” At the finish, it was Black Maria by three-quarters of a length in front of Chance Shot.
The Whitney was Black Maria’s final victory. Although she won only twice as a 5-year-old, she was again regarded as champion mare for 1928, thanks to her Whitney win. At the time of her retirement in late 1928, Black Maria had won 18 races—14 of them stakes, and many of them at the place her legendary racing career kicked off: Saratoga.
Track Fact: A female horse aged three years or younger is called a filly. A female horse aged four years or older is called a mare.
Joe Bunk has wanted a bar in his home for so long that his in-laws gave him a “Joe’s Bar” coaster set as a wedding present. But he didn’t want to buy a bar—he wanted to build a bar. “I’ve always been the type of person who likes to take things apart and put them back together,” says the Saratogian. “I’m very goal oriented, and I wanted to put some time and energy and thought into it.” And so, even before COVID halted restaurant-dining, bar-hopping and out-of-home social gathering, Bunk got to work constructing his very own Caroline street-worthy home bar…on a budget.
While he sourced the salvaged granite bar top, galvanized metal base and copper trough from local construction material retailers, just about everything else that went into the project was something Bunk already had on hand. The floor behind the bar is an old cabinet top; the foot rail is made in part out of an old barbell; the sink was one Bunk nabbed from an old kitchen he dismantled when working in property management; the corner liquor cabinet was one his father built; décor came from Bunk’s existing personal collection of beer memorabilia; a light fixture was given to him by a neighbor who had recently downsized his classic car garage. “Mike Roohan, the owner of Granite & Marble Works, did the tap hole,” Bunk says. “That was part of the deal—I said, ‘You can do the granite in my kitchen as long as you drill a hole in my bar top.’”
These days, Joe’s Bar is the perfect place for Bunk’s family and friends to dig into a takeout dinner, play a round of darts or foosball, or catch a football game. It’s also become the practice site for Get Loose, a band Bunk formed after learning how to play base guitar when he went back to college for his graduate degree in his 50s. And while Bunk certainly enjoyed the process of building Joe’s Bar, there was no hesitation when I asked him what his favorite part was: “Opening night.”
Chad Dorrough and Chris McCarthy, owners of best-kept-Saratoga-secret The Hideaway at Saratoga Lake Golf Club, aren’t hiding away any longer. The restaurateur duo have announced a brand-new restaurant called Iron’s Edge, which they plan to open at Ballston Spa Country Club this April. “Iron’s Edge will be very much a sister restaurant, but we don’t want to duplicate The Hideaway,” says Dorrough. “You’ll see some of The Hideaway’s staple menu items, but it’ll have its own unique menu.” Since 2019, The Hideaway has been serving an array of soups, salads, sandwiches and Italian-inspired entrées—plus all sorts of boozy concoctions, wine and craft beer—to golfers and non-golfing foodies alike. The new restaurant will replace Mangino’s Fairway Grill at Ballston Spa Country Club and, like
The Hideaway, be open to non-golfers as well.
“The trick to running a restaurant at a golf course, we’ve learned, is to go in and figure out what the golfers want first and then add your restaurant concept around that,” Dorrough says. “They’re there every day, so your target market should be them. We’ve been pretty fortunate to do that at The Hideaway, and now we have the opportunity to do the same thing in Ballston Spa.”
Benedict Arnold: Hero Betrayed is a must-see visual tour de force that breathes new life into the story of one of American history’s most controversial figures. After decades of tireless research and years of logistical planning and filming, the efforts of Capital Regionites Chris Stearns, Tom Mercer and Anthony Vertucci, as well as executive producer and chief historian James Kirby Martin, have resulted in a timeless tribute to Benedict Arnold’s enduring historical legacy. Featuring live re-enactments at historical sites in the Saratoga region, commentary from renowned historians, and impeccable cinematography, the film is truly epic in scale. It is narrated by Martin Sheen and stars Band of Brothers actor Peter O’Meara as Benedict Arnold himself.
Writer and producer Tom Mercer first became interested in Arnold’s story as a child growing up in Saratoga. “When I saw the Boot Monument that was supposed to be a tribute to Benedict Arnold at Saratoga National Historical Park,” he says, “it deeply intrigued me.” After Mercer learned more about American history during his college years, he realized that many historians saw Arnold from a different perspective than he did. “It became a mission of mine to improve Benedict Arnold’s reputation,” says Mercer. “I believe this film presents a more accurate and unbiased reflection of his life and historical contributions.”
From the very beginning, the Saratoga community stepped up to help make the documentary happen. “From the Adirondack Trust Company supporting us early on,” says director Chris Stearns, a Niskayuna native, “to the State Troopers flying us over the Saratoga Battlefield in a helicopter, the film was truly a community effort.” Saratoga’s Universal Preservation Hall hosted the premiere of the feature film with two special screenings in November 2021. The movie is now available to stream on Prime Video, iTunes, Vudu, Roku and Vimeo.
“Here in Saratoga, our regional history is somewhat downplayed because it’s so intertwined with Benedict Arnold,” Mercer says. “By bringing his story forward, it helps restore our region’s rightful place in history. It also reframes the narrative of what the Saratoga region contributed to the founding of the nation.”
Saratoga-born director Josh Greenbaum is working on an R-rated, talking-dog film starring actors Jamie Foxx, Will Forte and Will Ferrell.
Strays
Directed byJosh Greenbaum
Release Date: 2023
With a star-studded cast that includes celebrated Hollywood icons such as Will Ferrell, Jamie Foxx and Will Forte, Strays is shaping up to be a humorous and moving addition to director Josh Greenbaum’s cinematic résumé. Born and raised in Saratoga, Greenbaum fondly recalls attending concerts at SPAC with his father in his younger years. “He took me to see Eric Clapton for my first live concert,” says Greenbaum. “It was a really fun experience.” Greenbaum’s father also introduced him to classic films such as Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Breaking Away, which directly influenced his creative trajectory.
After graduating from Cornell University, Greenbaum eventually landed in Los Angeles, where he began a fruitful career in the film industry. Over the next 15 years, Greenbaum went on to work as a writer, editor, producer and director for multiple high-profile network television shows and films, such as the Hulu documentary series Behind the Mask and Fox’s New Girl, eventually directing 2021’s well-received feature comedy Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar. Greenbaum’s newest creative undertaking, Strays, chronicles the story of a stray dog who teams up with several other dogs to exact revenge upon his former owner. By making use of novel live filming techniques, Greenbaum and his production team were able to bring the story to life in evocative and fascinating ways. “When I first read the script, I was incredibly excited,” Greenbaum says. “The film is an R-rated, talking dog movie, but it’s not animated—we used real dogs. Strays is a comedy, but I think audiences will be surprised about how emotionally honest it is. The film has a lot of heart, and it was incredible to watch the trainers work with the dogs on the film set.” Strays is expected to be released in 2023.
As Greenbaum moves forward with his career in the film industry, he remains grateful for the life lessons that he learned during his childhood in Saratoga. “My mother was an English professor at Skidmore College, and she helped me to grow as a writer. Growing up in Saratoga, I was also able to develop a real sense of community and group effort throughout the course of my youth. I was captain of the soccer and lacrosse teams at Saratoga Springs High School during my senior year, which helped me to improve the communication and teamwork skills that I use in all of my creative collaborations today.”
Saratogian Spencer Sherry with the cursed toy monkey from his upcoming Stephen King film adaptation.
The Monkey
Written and Directed bySpencer Sherry
Release Date: TBA
The tale of how Spencer Sherry’s upcoming feature film came into being has more exciting twists and turns than some bestselling horror novels. Born just north of Oneonta, Sherry moved to the Saratoga area in 2017 after working in the film industry as a production assistant in New York City. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, Sherry channeled his artistic passion into writing an adapted screenplay for his favorite Stephen King short story, “The Monkey.” Sherry originally intended to submit the screenplay for The Monkey to King’s “Dollar Baby” program, through which the acclaimed author grants independent and student filmmakers the license to adapt his stories for $1, with the understanding that they cannot commercially profit off them. Unfortunately, Sherry encountered a disappointing roadblock when he realized that “The Monkey” was not
on the list of short stories that were originally approved for the program.
After shelving the story for a full year due to frustration and disillusionment, Sherry decided to take a bold risk. He reached out to King’s agent in 2021 to ask if King would consider extending the Dollar Baby program’s selection of stories to include “The Monkey.” Surprisingly, he got the response he was praying for: yes. After receiving approval from the agent, Sherry joined forces with Capital Region–based filmmaker Joe Gietl.The pair are currently in the process of scouting locations for the project, and plan to begin shooting the film in May. They are also actively fundraising and looking for producers with whom to collaborate.
As a die-hard fan of King’s books, Sherry has refocused the scope and storyline of “The Monkey,” creating a project that draws heavily on the original story and its plot elements. “The story is a great example of everything that I love about storytelling,” says Sherry. “The cymbal-clapping monkey brings death in the film, but the fear of it comes from our wrestling with inevitability in our everyday lives.” Sherry adds that he is incredibly excited to work with professionals in the Saratoga and Capital Region on this project. “It’s important to me to make this film in Upstate New York because the people who make films up here possess a real love and drive for filmmaking,” he says. “The projects I’ve seen come out of this area are incredibly personal and sincere, and I admire everyone I’ve met in the local film industry.”
Saratoga native Angela Sheil’s short film was shot in Sedgwick, ME, in September 2021. (Kiki Vassilakis)
The DoubleWalker
Written, producedand Directed byAngela Sheil
Release Date: May 2022
Saratoga-born filmmaker Angela Sheil’s debut short film, The DoubleWalker, is a visually-arresting psychological thriller that serves as a profound testament to the power of artistic vulnerability. The film tells the story of a grief-stricken young woman named Grace, who returns to her childhood home only to discover that she may have inherited a sinister family curse.
Sheil found the inspiration for the film during a stressful semester at Academy of Art University in San Francisco. “One evening, I dreamt of a world in which everyone had a clone,” she says. “Each clone was hunting for their ‘original’ and intending to kill them and take their place. I woke up sweating, grabbed a pen and scrap paper off my nightstand, and the dream exploded onto the back of a utility bill. I knew instantly that the dream was a ‘death-of-self’ message. I needed to shed the person I was and start taking care of the woman I wanted to become. Part of that transformation involved manifesting that message onto film.”
Just two days after the dream, Sheil completed the first draft of the script. In the years that followed, she continued to refine the script, and returned to the Capital Region from the west coast. After arriving in Troy in 2016, Sheil connected with the Collar City–based film production company Chromoscope Pictures. She has since collaborated with them on a number of music videos, for which she has served as an actor, producer, gaffer and director. During COVID-19, Sheil emptied out her savings to bring the script of The DoubleWalker to life, assembling a talented cast and crew from New York City, Los Angeles, Portland, ME, and the Capital Region. The DoubleWalker was shot in September 2021 in Sedgwick, ME, on protected land surrounding the only warm-water cove on the state’s coast.
After filming for The DoubleWalker was complete, Sheil started a fundraising campaign to ensure that all financial requirements for post-production were met. As the filmmaker looks forward to premiering The DoubleWalker in May, she’s excited to share her creative vision with the world. “The further I go down my path as a filmmaker, the more I realize what’s most important to me is vulnerability,” she says. “Transforming the joy and pain of what it is to be human and what it means to be vulnerable—that’s the kind of filmmaking I am interested in.”
It was about 10 years ago that Betsy Seplowitz first began doodling nature-inspired mandala designs as a way to decrease stress. It was about six years ago that she began volunteering for the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York’s BackPack Program, which provides meals to nearly 7,000 food-insecure school children across 22 counties. But it wasn’t until more recently that the Ballston Spa native realized she could marry her two passions to help even more local kids.
“One in six kids in our area does not have consistent, reliable access to healthy food,” Seplowitz says. “A little over two years ago an idea sparked in my thoughts—could I do something with my drawings that would bring awareness to food insecurity and help provide meals for kids? That was the start of Nourish.”
Every mandala on Nourish’s merchandise is hand-drawn by Seplowitz without stencils.
Seplowitz, who herself has a 15-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter, launched Nourish Designs, a brand of merchandise featuring her original mandala drawings, online and through in-person events in 2019. Despite the pandemic, business boomed, as a spotlight was shone on the number of children who rely on free, in-school breakfast and lunch programs as their only source of nourishing meals. In November 2021, Seplowitz opened a storefront in Downtown Ballston Spa, where each of her wares—everything from hoodies to stationery—is marked with both a price and the number of meals the purchase of the item will provide. The purchase of a T-shirt, for example, provides 12 meals to children in need.
“Since we started in November 2019, Nourish has been able to provide funding for over 82,000 meals,” Seplowitz says. “One meal at a time, together with our customers, we are making a difference.”
Leyla Kiosse’s vision for The Yard Hatchet House & Bar sprung from her contempt for winter. “I do not enjoy the cold, snow or winter sports in general, so living in Upstate New York during the winter months is tough for me,” says the owner of the Albany hotspot (pun intended). “I wanted to figure out a way to enjoy the things we love about summer—greenspace, outdoor activities, hanging out in the backyard—even during the winter.” So in January 2020, two months before COVID hit and eventually sparked a hot new market for private spaces like her greenhouses, Kiosse opened The Yard. Her slightly-ahead-of-its-time bar boasts ax-throwing, eight indoor lawn games, Boozy Moo! (Kiosse’s brand of alcohol-infused ice cream)—and those greenhouses, three very-Instagrammable private party spots that customers can rent for a picture-perfect night on the town.
The “Barbie World” greenhouse was designed by Ashley Salvadore, who won Kiosse’s “Pimp the Greenhouse” competition.
“My greenhouses were a pre-COVID idea, although COVID accelerated the need for them and forced me to think about how I could make them more appealing,” Kiosse says. “Initially I thought about a basic space for outdoor seating in the winter, but then I realized that in a world of utter deprivation, people were really craving experiences.” So Kiosse christened her greenhouses with themes, designing last winter’s spaces, as well as two of this year’s (“Under the Sea” and an Alice-worthy “Wonderland”), herself. To complete the “experience,” each reservation includes an exclusive cocktail menu that Kiosse created for that greenhouse’s theme. For the 2021-22 season’s third greenhouse, she turned to social media to throw a “Pimp the Greenhouse” competition last fall, which called on those who “have what it takes” to submit mood boards for the greenhouse theme they’d like to bring to fruition. Then, The Yard’s Instagram followers voted on their favorite theme, and the winner (Ashley Salvadore) received a budget to turn her idea (“Barbie World”) into a reality.
“The community loves the greenhouses,” Kiosse says of the cozy, heated structures. “They’re very popular, especially in the height of winter. The first season we ran the greenhouses they sold out every weekend two weeks in advance.” This year, greenhouse season runs through mid-May. That means, yes: You still have time to book your unforgettable Friday-night Barbie bash.
Darcie Burroughs escaped the craziness of New York City life for the peaceful backwoods of the Adirondack Park before it reached peak pandemic-era coolness. “Every time I came up here it was just so chill and quiet,” the New Jersey native says of Edinburg, the northern Saratoga County/southern Adirondack Park town where her long-distance boyfriend, Mark, who worked for a commercial contractor, lived. “So I decided to make the move. At the time I was working for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit and my boss—this was pre-COVID—worked it out that I could work remotely, which was sweet.”
Five years later in July 2020, as the rest of the city was planning their mass migration upstate, Darcie cut ties with NYC for good. Mark, whom by then she’d married, owned a sawmilling side gig, and the couple decided to strike out on their own with Steel Pines, a now-thriving custom construction and sawmill business. Mark serves as contractor and sawmill guru, and Darcie mans the books, marketing and social media. “It’s nice to give back to where you’re living and keep everything local,” says Mark, who grew up in Glenville. “Working on the commercial end for 18 years, no one cares where you’re getting your wood from. You could order it from Mexico, and they’re like, ‘Whatever—just get it there on time.’ But with Steel Pines, we use local, natural resources. We’ll go take trees from a client’s land, bring it back to our mill, and build their house from it.”
A pine slab turned bathroom countertop.
That process is what Mark and Darcie call “from tree to home.” To make it happen, a logging company comes in, clears a client’s lot, and brings the usable wood directly to Steel Pines. Mark then uses his sawmill to cut the logs into slabs of any size, dry them, and then utilize them in the construction of the client’s home. “The idea is to keep our footprint small, which is what we love about those types of projects,” Darcie says. “It’s like how a hunter wants to—hopefully—use all of the deer. They’re going to eat the heart and they’re going to skin the hide and they’re going to freeze everything.” That hunter analogy also applies to the way the Burroughs actually mill their wood: Any bad cuts of wood are used to make lumber drying racks or to heat their or their neighbor’s home.
Of course, some Steel Pines clients don’t own an entire wooded lot, or need an entire house built. These customers can still expect their project—whether it’s a live-edge mantelpiece or beam-work renovation—to be completed with local wood; 85 percent of the logs that Steel Pines uses come from within a 50-mile radius of the Burroughs’ home. “We do a lot with local loggers and tree guys,” Mark says. “It keeps everybody close and keeps the money flowing around here.” It also helped keep the money flowing into Steel Pines last summer, which saw lumber prices reach historic highs. When big box stores and lumber yards hiked up their prices due to an increase in demand, the Burroughs saw a bump in sales for rough-cut lumber from their community, as they were able to offer a local product for a better price.
“There’s so much heart and soul behind these residential builds because the money is coming from homeowners’ pocketbooks, not a commercial corporation,” Darcie says. “Our work is a showpiece for them to talk about and tell the story: ‘This came from here.’”
