In a lifetime around horses, many were treasured family and teachers of an uncommon kind. Usually the best of them had something that made them "undesirable" and a hard sell...
I was emailed by the United States Equestrian Federation last week with an inquiry. Someone had filed a complaint into my amateur status and they were asking for a rebuttal....
Today, for the first time in my life as a riding instructor, I asked my students to consider what should be the most fundamental question: What does your horse need...
For all its trolls, filth, and downright strangeness, the Internet does, on occasion, attempt to be a fairly happy place. Case in point: social media's latest dance craze, the Running...
Having been a lifelong owner and exhibitor of Arabian horses, I always seem to find myself in the position of being the resident “question/answerer” about the breed among friends and...
“Sorry Mom.” Those were the first words that came out of a young girl’s mouth after her Pre-Short Stirrup classes at the horse show this weekend “That’s okay, but…” the...
I've gone on at length about the reasons people don't usually choose grooming as their lifelong career. But then, why do I recommend it to every horse lover I know? Why...
[caption id="attachment_6237" align="alignleft" width="329"] Paige (seated) and Payton Leach with Igloo at the Riding Academy of Salinas, CA.[/caption] He isn't a famous show horse, he never won a race, he...
I can't be the only one who acts on silly, hair-brained impulses. After all, some ancient human had the silly, hair-brained impulse to hop on a horse in the first...
You know you showed ponies back in the day if... 1. You wore a nameplate bracelet with your pony’s show name. 2. The Pony Finals changed location every year. 3. Every...
People watching you. people evaluating you. YOU in the spotlight. This type of fear is a common performance fear. For some, it’s intense and debilitating. For others, an occasional nuisance. So what can...
Lots of little girls grow up dreaming of pretty white ponies and blue ribbons to hang on their walls. Not Addyson. At just five years old, Addyson declared her intention to work...
I made one of the hardest decisions of my life last week. My own personal "Sophie’s Choice"—choosing between two beings that I considered sons—with no real perfect answer. I sold...
There was a time in history when being dubbed an “outlaw” was tantamount to a death sentence. An outlaw was someone whose non-conformist, anti-authoritarian and, frankly, criminal behavior set them...
There has been another tragic death in the equestrian community, a life taken doing what she loved—this time an Australian eventer. I didn’t know this young woman personally, but I know who she likely was at...
During his 15 years as part of the Massachusetts Mounted Police Force, Elliot was respected as much by his fellow officers as he was the people of Boston, young and...
When I feel let down by friendships, the misunderstandings and absence and one-sidedness, this is where I go. When I feel like my children are suffocating me—the crying and the...
Let’s get one thing straight. There is a serious difference between being “poor” in the real world and being “poor” in the horse world. [caption id="attachment_4047" align="alignleft" width="377"] Waiting to course...
