Category Archives: Stories from the Heart

We've all had it drilled into us: "Don't stand behind that horse, don't walk too close to that horse, don't pass so near to that horse, you'll get kicked!" We...

Sometimes, a horse is just special. It's not because they did anything particularly notable as a show horse, or because they had champion bloodlines, or became notable breeding stock. They're...

Some decisions in life are never easy. For those of us lucky to have had horses or at least ridden most of our lives, there’s usually some kind of crossroads...

I was never emotionally attached to photographs or found the need pull them up and relive the past. I thought I had all I needed right in front of me...

Oftentimes in our riding careers, we lose touch with our beginnings and forget that little girl who fell in love with horses. Even if you began riding later in life, there...

When we were in our 20s, Joanne and I were best friends. I operated a lesson program in Titusville, NJ and she often came by to help out or take...

It’s the holiday season. A time for ugly sweaters and drinking too much at the office party then regretting it the next morning when you see your boss. Wait, that’s...

We all have that friend from the barn, the one you don’t see anywhere else. You're excited to see them. You ride with them. You talk horses and theories with them....

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) really should be identified as Triggered Traumatic Stress Disorder. The obvious reference to a past event or events doesn’t begin to describe the impact of...

I’m sick. Not like *cough cough* I’ve got a cold sick. The kind of sick you can’t see. And you don’t always tell people about because you don’t want their...

Being with horses changes people. I was just three years old when my passion for horses began, and through the past 19 years I have learned innumerable lessons from my...

Movie stars don't often find themselves stuck in a traffic jam in the middle of a November blizzard. But then, most movie stars don't travel via gooseneck trailer, either. That's...

We first met Monty when he was considered "old". He was adopted into our family when he was 18. His main little rider, Hannah, was just eight years old at...

Everyone has heard the expressions, “stubborn as a mule,” “works like a mule,” and “kicks like a mule." No one ever hears anyone say, “wise as a mule,” “dependable as...

This morning I shared a photo of my horse, Spike. I posted in a couple of Facebook groups that I belong to, and within literally seconds of them going up,...

You came out of your stall willingly, allowing me to put you on the cross-ties. Then the fun began. I brushed. You tossed your head up and snapped your teeth...

We all know the too-familiar story used in crime shows on television. A dynamic duo, perfectly paired in every way. They’re best friends who bicker like an old married couple...

I'm not a blueblood. At least not in the racing industry. My father was not a famous trainer. My mother did not own Secretariat. My brother has never tacked up...

With my hand in a cast (courtesy of my last hunter pace), my plans for fox hunting that season were nixed. Instead of sitting around and sulking, my husband and...

I went through a horrible horse sale a few months ago. The buyers weren’t honest with their abilities nor their expectations, and I didn’t investigate hard enough to realize it. I...