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From wrestling at Locust Valley to Pro skijoring By WIll SHEElINE wsheeline@liherald.com
Courtesy Pro Skijor
Bryan Coll, formerly of Bayville, on skis at left, is in his third competitive season on the Pro Skijor circuit.
Bryan Coll did not grow up dreaming of a career in skijoring. His early athletic focus was on more familiar pursuits, including wrestling. But years after growing up in Bayville and graduating from Locust Valley High School in 2016, Coll has emerged as one of the newest professional competitors in a sport that blends alpine skiing, rodeo and equestrian teamwork. Now 28, Coll is competing in the Pro Skijor Frontier Tour, a six-event series in Utah, Montana and Idaho. The sport pairs a skier with, most often, a horse and rider, which pull the skier at high speeds through a snow-packed course lined with gates, jumps and rings to grab for points. “I always loved competing,” Coll said. “But I didn’t reach the Olympic caliber to compete with wrestling, and I always loved skiing.” At Locust Valley High, wrestling dominated Coll’s Continued on Page 6
At Tribute and Honor Awards, the focus is on veterans By RoKSANA AMID ramid@liherald.com
Planning is underway for the fifth annual Tribute and Honor Awards ceremony, with organizers encouraging community members, businesses and organizations to support the event through ticket purchases and sponsorships ahead of the celebration at the Crescent Beach Club in Bayville. Hosted by the Tribute and Honor Foundation, the annual ceremony has become a North Shore tradition, drawing supporters from Glen Cove and across Long Island to recognize veterans and those who serve
military families. This year’s event on Feb. 7 carries added significance, marking both the foundation’s fifth anniversary and the nation’s 250th birthday. “It is a significant year in that it is our fifth year of the celebration of our awards ceremony, and it is also the 250th anniversary of our nation,” Gaitley Stevenson-Mathews, a co-founder of the foundation and its president, said. “Granted, for us it’s kind of a young history, but it’s still a milestone for the foundation, being that we just began back in 2021.” Founded as a grass-roots n o n p ro f i t , t h e fo u n d at i o n works year-round to celebrate
and support veterans and military families. Locally, the organization is known for co-sponsoring the Glen Cove Salutes Military Tribute Banner Prog ram at Morgan Memorial Park, helping install the veterans monument on Vinnie’s Island, and administering the Ben Farnan Scholarship Prog ram for g raduating high school seniors entering the U.S. military. “We began as a very grassroots organization. We had no idea that we would be where we are now,” Stevenson-Mathews said. “The response of the community has emboldened us to move forward, and we feel so
fortunate to be able to grow and serve not only Glen Cove, but Long Island in a significant way.” This year’s honorees represent multiple generations of service, from World War II remembrance to modern-day veteran advocacy. Philip Como, a Vietnam War Marine Corps veteran and long-
time civic leader in Sea Cliff, will receive the Leadership Award. Reflecting on how veterans were treated after the Vietnam War, Como said, “There’s still a part of me that remembers 1971, when being a veteran wasn’t cool. I’m very happy the country kind of decided that it wasn’t the warriors that were Continued on Page 12