Horse racing is an old sport. So is the writing and culture around it. Even though American riding experience and the English one is considered the same by distant fans of the sport, one can spot some differences. The two styles are, generally speaking...
Maybe you’ve heard that a “real rider” is one that has fallen off at least seven times. Here are some other ways to keep score. Fall off during a training ride or arena lesson (1 point) Fall off during a competition (2 points) Fall off more ...
Five years ago, arthritic pain in my hips got abruptly worse. In a few weeks, I changed from an energetic endurance rider routinely riding 50-mile events on my big Standardbred mare, into a crotchety exhausted person barely able to walk across a p...
The story of my life is the story of the horses in it. They taught me what to do, what not to do, and gave me the experiences that made me who I am today. I’m 33 years old and I have seen the horse world from many perspectives. From my first lessons...
“I didn’t want to love anything that was going to die before I did…” – Geneen Roth, author of “The Craggy Hole in My Heart” I know that statement doesn’t make any sense but I totally agreed with it a year ago. But what is the alternative? To never l...
“My life has been filled with calamities, some of which actually happened,” Mark Twain Since it’s football season, I’ve been reading a lot of articles on my favorite team, the New England Patriots. ESPN magazine recently did an interesting story on ...
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 darn well that once well and truly bitten, no amount of ant...
When your spirit wants to spend time with your horse but your schedule will not allow the normal amount of time at the barn (we all know “normal time” and “barn time” are NOT the same). When the weather does not want to cooperate with your plans to spend...
Author Anne Lamott says that “Expectations are resentments under construction.” Working with horses, we know that resentments are wasted energy but that doesn’t keep them from trying to take root in our hearts when we feel our expectations aren’t be...
“The best reason for a rider to study and understand horse behavior is that learning their logic can keep us from a runaway of our own – an emotional runaway.” – Anna Blake, Horse Trainer & Author As Joanne and I put our tack away, I asked when she'...
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