Channel Archives: Opinion

Last month, we ran a series of letters to the year that was entitled, Dear 2020. This letter is from coach, color commentator and horseman of many hats Frank Madden...

"I imagine one of the reasons people cling to their hates so stubbornly is because they sense, once hate is gone, they will be forced to deal with pain." —James...

To recap the unprecedented year that was, we asked horsemen and women from all spectrums of the industry to write a holiday letter to the year 2020. This is the...

To recap the year that was, we asked horsemen and women from all spectrums of the industry to write a holiday letter to the year 2020. This is the third...

To recap the unprecedented year that was, we asked horsemen and women from all spectrums of the industry to write a holiday letter to the year 2020. This is the...

If there's one universal truth to 2020, it's that no individual will escape this year unscathed. Between the pandemic and the political unrest, social distancing and social justice, the great...

We Americans are inspired by our wild horses. We marvel at the sight of them living wild and free on our public rangelands, of stallions fighting for their family bands,...

The struggle has been real.  We are in the midst of a global pandemic, horse shows are getting cancelled or indefinitely postponed, and mayhem seems to surround us. And yet,...

Every time I sat down to finish writing this essay, I had to begin again.  The catastrophe on the page from before had blossomed into something even worse every time...

Last month, the 82nd annual Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration wrapped up in Shelbyville, IN. It’s an event that’s been brewing with controversy for more than half a century because of...

It’s 2020 and the entire world is being ravaged by a pandemic. But ok, let’s talk about top hats, again. Earlier today, Dressage Today reported that a petition signed by 150...

I know readers come here to “lose” themselves in horses; for many of you to gain some distance, some relief, from daily stress, from real-life losses great and small. I...

The first thing one learns in any decent journalism school is the first person singular pronoun, “I,” and its relative “me,” have no place in your work. The journalist is...

As a retired orthopedic surgeon, former eventer and current para dressage competitor I would like to briefly address the current COVID-19 pandemic. We in the equestrian community are truly fortunate...

Of all of the things I thought I’d be debating this fall (masks, political candidates, whether a hotdog is a sandwich), “is the word plantation racist” was not on the...

My friend Jera just got an Alaskan Malamute puppy named Winston Churchill. Sometimes I go with them on their evening walks. As owner and dog trot across the crosswalk toward...

Due to COVID-19 canceling many of the bigger events, the local horse show I rode in this summer was better attended than usual. The tiny arena heaved under the load...

While 2020 has brought a lot of bad news, eventers have something positive to celebrate: the new frangible fences on cross country courses around the USA. These frangible tables are...

When equestrians think of the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games, we tend to think about how impossibly hard the show jumping and cross country courses were. Or we think of...

Happy Monday! The international day off for equestrians everywhere. If you're looking for ideas on how to unwind, the hashtag #SelfCare has 32 million hits on Instagram alone. A scroll...