Category Archives: Amateur Hour

A few days ago, I turned to my partner and said, “I have strong wrists because I am a horse girl.” Then, I gestured to the crutches I was on,...

In my junior year of college, I was given a piece of advice that would change my life forever.  It was the final day of the Collegiate Horsemen's Association's Annual...

Dear 15-Year-Old(ish) Me, How’ve you been? I suppose it’s summertime in Upstate New York, now, which means you’ll likely be at the barn all day, every day. You won’t come...

Dearest Gentle Reader, This author was among the 45 million who inhaled the newest season of Bridgerton on its opening weekend. While there is less horse riding than I would...

It didn’t take long into the drive to feel that familiar catch of a lump in my throat. I felt queasy, paranoid. I was bracing with white knuckles against the...

I hate looking at photos of myself. So when equestrian photographer Laurie Thomson posted a candid picture of me and a Gypsy Vanner on Facebook last year, I picked myself...

It was the worst possible time to buy a new horse, in retrospect. Late March 2020, the world was in a very uncertain place. But for me, with the doors...

I should start by saying, I’m not mad. That’s not to say I wasn’t mad. I’m only human. A normal, human, female just trying to go about her day, find...

“I’d like to buy a horse,” is a phrase that would rattle any frugal parent, especially my father. He worked three jobs to keep my family comfortable and happy. Perhaps...

Fear, rising prices, and the pressure to maintain an adequate work/life/sport balance is leaving many amateur equestrians feeling the burn. So how do you know if it’s time to hit...

For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, November is far from the most heinous month of the calendar year.  February, for instance, is arguably much worse with its modest...

Having ridden my fair share of young or newly started horses “just back from the cowboy” in my youth, I thought I’d come into parenting my toddler with a few...

For me, the writing's on the wall. I can’t actually remember when I first realized I was a highly superstitious person. It might have been in my teenage years, while...

I recently read California hunter rider Hope Glynn's widely shared post following the close of the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) 2023. And, like so many others, I think there’s a...

And when you’re stuck in the proverbial rut, what can you do?  Six years ago, I was standing outside my horse’s stall just minutes before mounting up to compete in...

For better or worse, it had been a while since I'd fallen off a horse.  But having taken a tumble mid-lesson a few weeks ago—and setting off my airbag vest...

In honor of the incoming year of our lord of good horses, 2023.  I will wear my airbag vest during every ride.  I will be on time for my lesson...

Every time I mount a horse, I’ve started do this new thing. It began with my own horse, back in the early days when I was newly pregnant, and he...

People talk a lot about unicorns these days, but I’d like to put a word in for the ‘class horse.’ Of course, if you’re lucky enough to have either of...

I am. Guilty as charged. I sold my first pony, Cinnamon, to another young girl in the barn when I was 16, and had clearly grown too big for him....