Category Archives: Memoir

I have come to recognize that when I’m nervous I’m compelled to discuss it—with anyone, whoever you may be. My high level of nervousness tends to surprise people who don’t...

My father, Robert “Deacon” Doubleday, was a radio/tv personality in Syracuse, NY on the NBC affiliate WSYR.  His radio voice prompted friends to recommend an occasional horse show to announce,...

Tall, gangly, and inquisitive, Basil is one of the biggest characters I’ve ever met. Let me tell you about my weird horse friend. I met Basil in Queensland, Australia. Several...

With very heavy hearts, we said goodbye to Costa Rica Z on Thursday (1995–2021). There have been a handful of horses in my life who have really touched my soul...

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...

In my final semester of university, I took a class that was to prepare us for the world at large. A world of opportunity and excitement, or so the professor...

In recent days, there have been many, well-deserved tributes to Jane Savoie by some of the most revered names in equestrian competition. And now there’s this one from me, a...

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...

I spent 10 years of my eventing life in Ocala, Florida competing against and losing to some of the best riders in the world. It was quite something to ride...

“9 am?” My trainer responded when I asked if I could have a Thanksgiving Day lesson. “I should be done feeding before then.” Her words were simple, but they had...

One of the benefits of being a >shudder< senior citizen in the horse world is having much more clarity to see the big picture. Or, at very least, to see...

I can look at the length of a lunge whip and know instinctively that it will flare up my tennis elbow. Especially if there are a few knots in the...

It happened between fences 10 and 11. The rare feeling of confusion as to why my arms had just swung past me of their own accord. It was early in...

 “Don’t let it be forgot that once there was a spot, for one brief shining moment….”—Alan Jay Lerner In the midst of an unpredictable global pandemic and a contentious American...

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...

When we adopted Ping Ping in November 2018, it was only 15 days before she would have aged out of the system in China. Orphans there must be adopted by...

If you’ve seen the film Amadeus (…and if you haven’t, you should), there’s a telling scene about the writing process. Mozart, brilliantly caricatured by Tom Hulce, is visited late at...

“You win some, you lose some,” my friend’s dad said when he learned my pony’s name. I was six at the time and his words have always stuck in my...

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...

I applied for a stall cleaning job once at a Paso Fino farm. I knew nothing about Paso Finos other than they are a smooth gaited breed, but a messy...