Author Archives: Rebecca Didier

We all remember our early interactions with horses or our first riding lessons, but have we ever wondered what our parents were thinking? In his memoir A Man Walks Into...

Division I collegiate riding coach Sally Batton has spent over 30-years perfecting her methods specifically designed to refine and polish riders, whatever their level. It has won her and her...

Anyone who has ridden in the hunters has wondered at one time or another why one horse pinned higher or what mistake might have kept them out of the ribbons...

Who hasn’t had a horse who’s always “in your pocket”? The one who pushes and rubs and walks super close? We tend to either love on this horse because his...

For years, Andrea Kutsch filled stadiums with spectators as she demonstrated remarkable transformations in “problem horses” using the Natural Horsemanship training methods she'd learned from leaders in the field. But...

When you ride numerous horses over the course of your life, you’re bound to experience some with, shall we say, “challenging” behaviors. It is these horses, as much as the...

Growing up in a small Maine town, Chris Lombard had never ridden a horse—never even touched one. But on one fateful night, as what he'd thought was a happy twenty-something...

We horse people often have a bucket list of equestrian adventures we’d like to have. Trying different disciplines, visiting famous farms or venues, galloping along a beach—all of these are...

For ten years, I did Pilates, loving the flexibility and tone and core strength I gained in an hour-long class that, for me, was the equivalent of meditation. Breathing, isolated...

Known for his wit, irreverence, and whip-smart observations on equestrian sport and its participants, three-time Olympian Jim Wofford's writing is as legendary as his performances in the saddle. Now he...

We riders are funny—we can accomplish amazing things (stick spring bucks, hang tight when that stride’s left out…again, teach big strong animals not to break us), and we can win...

It is very easy for those of us who are amateur riders or armchair equestrians to look at those at the top of international competition not just with admiration, but...

When it comes to hoof cracks, some are superficial and have no effect on the hoof whatsoever, while others can penetrate all the way through the wall and into the...

We hear it time and time again: Our horses are looking for a leader, and we need to be “it” in our micro-herd of two. We do our groundwork, we’re...

There aren’t many of us who will ride a horse clear across the country, but in 1982, before GPS and cell phones, Melissa Chapman did it. On her own with...

It seems that horse trainers are always trying to label a horse’s “type.” Is he a leader or follower? Social or a loner? All seriousness or a total goofball? The...

Sometimes finding the distance to a jump or seeing your spot on course is just downright frustrating. The ability flickers in and out like lights in a thunderstorm, occasionally leaving...

Most of us are hunching over keyboards and huddled in front of computer screens even more than we were before this whole pandemic thing was, well, a thing. Add a...

When Vivian Gabor, a biologist with a masters degree in Equine Science and a doctorate in Livestock Ethology, first heard about the Mustang Makeover, she was interested in working with...

Anyone who has ridden a dressage test in competition is likely familiar with the one that, from start to finish, feels like it is in fast-forward. I beat all land-speed...