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...
On Thursday last week, the usually placid surface of summertime Lake Michigan, gurgled and rose with life. Big waves wrestled awake by the storm the night before. The other swimmers...
This day, pre-pandemic, would have been the eve of the XXXII Olympic Summer Games. The world's best athletes would have descended upon Japan to take up the hope, the heartbreak, the glory...
When I was three months old, I was adopted from Peru by a single Canadian mother. I’m 31 now. I don’t speak any Spanish. I know nothing about my birth...
Life is weird right now. Which I know is probably the understatement of the century. But despite all the current weirdness (or maybe because of it), I've discovered there’s a...
I’m sure we’ve all seen Hamilton or at least heard the soundtrack enough times now to feel like we know a whole lot about Revolutionary War-era history. I love that...
I love Pride Month. Ever since my very first Pride event many years ago (in NYC, because go big or go home, right?) I have lived to witness the special...
