“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...
“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...
On a hectic Monday morning just three days before the EQUUS Film Fest, I received an email from Bernice Ende, author of Lady Long Rider, informing her followers that she’d...
"You just have to take lessons from him! He’s THE expert!” said a friend. Simply nobody else would do. As a young teen, dressed in jeans and riding in an...
My horse is my extra-terrestrial, like in the movie E.T. He has seasonal allergies, I have seasonal allergies! He has a touch of navicular; I have plantar fasciitis. He needs...
The most important thing is not to panic. It was a skill I’d learned well over the years. Riding horses means learning to control your emotions. I had always been...
Not long ago, I stumbled upon an article about how women with horses should be avoided at all costs. There are multiple like this particular missive online, posts espousing horse...
It’s been nearly 25 years since I got my USEF judge’s license. Yet, I can still easily remember the young girl I used to be, sitting ringside with a notebook...
Recently, my travels took me down a suburban country road that brought back an unexpected flood of memories—and mixed feelings. In my other life, I’m a specialty construction trade contractor...
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...
My first boss was a middle-aged man from Munich. With the charred end of a cigarette hanging from his mouth, he'd regale anyone willing to listen with the story of...
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...
To recap... In version 1.0, I was a horse show parent, helping to get tack, clothes and equipment ready and in the place where it was needed, right when it...
My darling, I've gotten hurt before. My past is littered with traumas. I healed, but that old pain lingered. I ached. There was a shadow over everything I did, and...
Like most everyone else on the morning of September 11, 2001, I can clearly remember exactly where I was and who I was talking to when I heard the news....
Every now and then in the farrier business, we find ourselves in appointments that get strange in a hurry. While we always try to serve every client to the best...
The Special Prom is a favorite service project for students at Notre Dame High School in Lawrence, New Jersey. Challenged individuals attend. Students serve dinner and dance with guests. “Thank...
Living on Long Island (only one hour east of Manhattan) riding in New York City's famed Central Park was one of those those things on my to-do list for a...
Many of us have had to deal with a spouse or significant other in planning the allocation of time, money and resources to our equestrian passion. I got lucky. Though not...
