Category Archives: Amateur Hour

I lost my best friend a couple months ago. Dutch and I were a team. From the second I sat on him, I knew he was the one. I believe...

Some people don’t believe in love at first sight. And frankly, neither do I. But from the very first moment, he was brought in from the pasture and promptly attempted...

People often compare boat ownership with horse ownership, mostly because they are both money pits and time sinks. But I think the analogy extends even further than that. Here's how...

I am an adult amateur eventer but unlike many of the “amateurs like us” stories I've read, I don’t feel like I am “like them”. I don't consider myself in...

It’s been more than 20 years since my first riding lesson, but I still remember parts of it like it was yesterday. Mostly, I remember the parts I screwed up:...

Let's be clear, I acknowledge this is a first world problem. It’s even an upper echelon first world problem. I have a horse, Rose, that I bought as a not inexpensive...

The barn is a community—like-minded people sharing a very important part of their lives. In the last two weeks, there have been two serious incidents at our barn. During the...

Monday before the horse show Barn has the nerve to be closed. Prepare and pack clothes for every occasion—heat, rain, snow, tornado, etc.—and definitely bring that adorable new seersucker sundress...

At some point this summer, many of us will have a good reason for icing our horse's legs. Maybe he's had a hard week, or just completed his first Novice...

Last month, the state-of-the-art indoor complex that is Roberts Arena in Wilmington, Ohio hosted their first owned and run hunter/jumper show under the facility's brand new name: The World Equestrian Center....

I was emailed by the United States Equestrian Federation last week with an inquiry. Someone had filed a complaint into my amateur status and they were asking for a rebuttal....

A few months ago, dripping in sweat and battered and bruised, I came home and text messaged my best friend Meghan, telling her that I thought it was time to...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNXUho0YbaA You’re heading to the first jump on course. What could go wrong? ONLY EVERYTHING. 1. Your horse spooks A golf-cart backfires, the speakers pop, Jumbotron blows a bulb, the mere...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGXxOiGYsjk Ah, show week. It's finally here, and you totally, probably, quite possibly got this. Visions of clear rounds and a perfect half-pass have you up and at 'em well...