Category Archives: Memoir

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...

Much of my life with horses has been defined by the dirt in my fingernails and the hay bits in my socks. It is a life punctuated by weather reports...

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...

Our friend Walter has a horse carriage business which services wedding, festivals and parades. A few days before Memorial Day weekend, he called and asked if my husband George and...

The horse bug doesn’t discriminate. Though it certainly seems to favor little girls who still believe in unicorns and fairies. The point is, you and I—the afflicted bug-carriers—know that once...

Like many adult riders, I started my equestrian obsession at a very young age. Since riding lessons at the age of eight, a majority of my life has featured horses at...

Equestrian sport is not known for being particularly humble. In fact, I would say most people would consider it a somewhat elitist past-time, at least at the higher levels. With...

As an exchange student, I looked forward to watching Shakespearean plays at Stratford-upon-Avon, making new friends and traveling to other countries. I knew attending college in Worcester, England would be...