Channel Archives: Opinion

With all the doom and gloom around the world these days, it’s a little too easy to get weighed down by the prospect of a lengthy quarantine. And when you’re...

Every December, I sign up for the best PPO (preferred provider organization) insurance plan I can afford because if I get chucked off a horse and need to go to...

There’s a certain malaise that has come over me lately. It manifests itself as a feeling that I no longer have control over my welfare and that of my loved...

I’m lucky to live in an area that hosts rated shows for hunter/jumper enthusiasts. I used to spend the whole year stashing pennies in my savings account, relishing the opportunity...

In 2005, I took a trip that changed my outlook on everything for the rest of my life. It was set up an as "innocent" semester abroad called Semester At...

I was raised Catholic. My father would put on his Sunday best and pull my brother and me out of bed for 8 am Mass. I was never a model...

"If you tolerate it; you are condoning it," reads a sign on the door of Murray Arena at the Okotoks Recreation Centre in Alberta. The sign refers to abuse of...

The bags are packed. The list of the must-sees is made. The horsehair has been vacuumed out of car’s floor mats. Today is the first day of the 2019 EQUUS...

If you can start a young horse, retrain a “problem” horse, expertly maneuver a truck and trailer, give both IM and IV injections, and safely handle a stallion—or better yet,...

Every year, the National Horse Show plays host to the ASPCA Maclay Final, which showcases the top junior riders, many of whom have aspirations of representing the U.S. in international...

August is county fair time here in the Midwest—the time of year when urban and rural life collide. This year, whilst perusing pop up barn aisles at the local fair,...

I have never competed on the hunter/jumper circuit, yet even I can quote former Olympic trainer George Morris. His clever quips and biting witticisms have a precision that is hard...

Horse husbands have been all over my social media lately.  On a Facebook group, one horse owner left a desperate plea about how her boyfriend tried to sell her horse...

The best part of the 2019 Midwest Horse Fair’s dressage competition was the variety in the ring. In the strangely plush seats of the Coliseum, I watched fancy purebreds and...

It's post Kentucky Derby Day plus two days, perhaps what will be remembered as the most famous, or infamously famous, running of the most famous horserace in America. Let me...

In boxing, smack talk is a key component of the pre-fight ritual. Even if you don't follow the sport (*raises hand*), the sight of two ripped athletes, staring each other...

Some horse shows are memorable for the massive payday and spectacular sport. Some for the intangible you-have-to-experience-it-to-understand-it vibe. Others for the spectacular ring. Saut Hermès in Paris, France is all...

I have been asked to write on a lot of topics. Why are Thoroughbreds better than other breeds? Why are geldings better than mares? Why do I love bay horses...

As of February 2019, the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) has approximately 66,000 competing members scattered across 29 different breeds and disciplines*. The German National Federation, in comparison, has well over...

Right now, I am greeted in the barn by a pair cream-colored ears perked through the bars of a stall. The ears belong to Flower, a Gypsy Horse from Feathered...