Sean Smith

2 months ago | hagerty.com | Stefan Lombard |Sean Smith

Horsepower was always a part of Lexy Barlow’s life. Her first taste of it was a thousand pounds, had four legs, and was fueled by hay. From a young age, Lexy was a competitive show jumper at a very high level. She picked it up from her dad. “He was a championship show jumper,” says her Uncle Joey. “He put her on a horse, and she trained to jump. She also worked at a stable in Westport, Connecticut. The man she worked for was a taskmaster and very strict.

Nov 12, 2024 | hagerty.com | Stefan Lombard |Sean Smith

Peter Krause arrived at the 42nd running of the Lime Rock Historics with an untested race car he bought from Facebook Marketplace. The little Fiat X1/9 had not turned a lap in anger for years—just a few laps during the “Test and Tune” day ahead of the event. And yet, the 65-year-old Krause went on to win all four of his races, against some excellent drivers and more powerful cars. How did he do that? For that, we have to go back a bit. . . “I was a nerd, a geek, when I was a kid,” Krause says.

Sep 11, 2024 | hagerty.com | Stefan Lombard |Sean Smith

Labor Day weekend. It marks the end of summer, the end of fun, and perhaps a certain dread of the cold months ahead. At Lime Rock Park, however, it means something else, and the folks there had no plans to go quietly into fall. Instead, they were kicking out the jams one more time and tearing it up at the 42nd running of the Lime Rock Historic Festival. The late Jim Vaill opened Lime Rock in 1957 in Connecticut’s Litchfield County on the site of a sand and gravel quarry owned by his father.

Aug 30, 2024 | hagerty.com | Stefan Lombard |Sean Smith

There is a road in Bennington County, Vermont, called Skyline Drive. It starts at 800 feet above sea level and runs 5.2 miles over switchbacks, straights, and never-ending climbs until, finally, you arrive at the summit of Mount Equinox, elevation 3848 feet. The view is spectacular, with wide-open vistas of every other state around. Over a weekend in August, however, a select group of folks don’t have the time to take in the sights on their way to the top.

Jul 2, 2024 | hagerty.com | Stefan Lombard |Sean Smith

It is generally accepted that you gravitate toward the cars that were new as you grew up. So, logically, 35-year-old Orrie Simko should be digging on cars of the early ’90s. Not a chance. Simko is an old soul; his vehicles of choice come from 1910 to the 1930s. Some might sneak into the ’50s, but that’s pushing it. He has had a love affair with these early cars since he was a little kid.