Community Stories

The Polo Cliché

Several roached maned horses watched as I walked towards the shed row barn. I couldn’t see anyone, which had me checking the time and feeling awkward.  “I’ll be right with you,” I heard a voice say from inside a stall. The people in the neighbouring barn were staring, I was out of place and everyone…

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Dear 2020, Thank you.

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 fourth and final one, courtesy of HN’s arts and culture editor, Gretchen Lida. Dear 2020, If you were a horse, your registered name would be…

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The Spanish Riding School’s Barn Cat and Other Things that Remind Us the World Isn’t Over

I am isolating at a friend’s farm for a few days, and storms rolled in over her back pasture for the past two nights.  The night before last, the thunder gurgled before sunrise. Lightning flickered through the window, illuminating the room in white, a stark contrast to the occasional golden headlights of cars passing on…

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Not Out of the Game

In this time of quarantine, we’ve all learned to live differently, each in our own way, reflecting on what’s important in life. But for me, it’s not a new normal. I feel like I started this journey long before COVID-19 arrived. For the past year, I’ve been in recovery from a traumatic riding injury—and I’ve…

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Birthdays, Bears and Horses

It had been a while since I’d been to a seven-year-old’s birthday party, but from what I remember, they didn’t normally have bears in them. Teddy bears, sure. But black bears?  Nope.  It probably shouldn’t have come as such a surprise. It was the middle of July and I was working at a trail stable…

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Déjà Vu

The house I grew up in was a charming little Cape Cod in a post-war development of similar homes on the North Shore of Long Island, NY. It sat on a lot measuring 60 X 100 feet, but it seemed much bigger to us. Behind the maple tree in the back yard, the terrain dropped off…

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One Magical Horse

“Lots of bugs this summer! That’s probably why this horse has glassy eyes,” was the diagnosis a local vet gave when I had a bony three-year-old inspected for sale. I happily believed him, as I’d already fallen in love with the dull-coated Quarter Horse who was routinely pushed from the communal feeding trough by stronger…

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My Ugly Darling

“I got a horse you need to try out,” dad said, for seemingly the hundredth time. My go-to response kicked in. “I already have a horse and I don’t need another.” “Just take a look,” he replied. We walked out to the paddock. Upon first glance, the horse in front of me was decidedly unimpressive.…

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Motherhood and Horses

“Horses will always be waiting for you.” It’s a well-intentioned reassurance often uttered by loved ones who’ve never experienced the isolation of a hiatus from horses. It’s the same one my fiancé offered me after the doctor ordered me to stop riding due to minor pregnancy complications that could worsen by the turbulence of a…

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THAT SUCKS!

When people find out that you’re a horsewoman with an autoimmune disorder, they have a tendency to offer helpful advice.  The world is filled with well-intentioned people, after all. But sometimes, well, most of the time, those well intentions make me want to punch you in the face. Since the last article about my disorder…

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Note to Truck

I searched for you for two years before I bought you sight unseen off the internet. You were an older model Ford F150, nine years old to be exact. You looked like you had been well-cared for and sported low mileage. I’d saved up the cash to pay for you in-full at the dealership. My…

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