One of my favorite weekends of the entire year is FINALLY just around the corner: Equine Affaire Ohio!
I started attending Equine Affaire about 5 years ago, and now I never miss a year. I have an aunt who lives just north of Columbus, so I stay with her and head down to the Ohio Expo Center from the time the gates open till they close.
Why do I love Equine Affaire so much?
Because I love learning about horses and improving my understanding and skills. I’ve learned all kinds of wonderful things …

When I was in Lexington a few weeks ago I had the distinct pleasure of meeting a wonderful fellow blogger, Courtney, who publishes the Three Days Three Ways blog. She started last April interviewing all the top three day event riders and posting the inside scoop on her blog. She has a knack for getting the good stories and funny quirks – not just the typical “how did you get into horses” kinda stuff. I’m gonna guess that Courtney’s friendly, fun, and quirky side brings that out in her interviewees …

Following the USEF Show Jumping Selection Trials that took place over five events in Wellington, Florida last week, the long list for the 2010 World Equestrian Games.
Here are the riders who have a shot at making the team of 5 to represent the US in show jumping at WEG.
Name/Horse (Hometown)
1. McLain Ward/Sapphire (Brewster, N.Y.)
2. Laura Kraut/Cedric (Wellington, Fla.)
3. Lauren Hough/Quick Study (Wellington, Fla.)
4. Nicole Shahinian-Simpson/Tristan (Thousand Oaks, Calif.)
5. Richard Spooner/Cristallo (Agua Dulce, Calif.)
6T. Mario Deslauriers/Urico (New York, N.Y.)
6T. Beezie Madden/Danny Boy (Cazenovia, N.Y.)
8. McLain Ward/Rothchild (Brewster, N.Y.)
9. Hillary Dobbs/Quincy B …

It’s been two years since I wrote my first post outlining the upcoming World Equestrian Games. Then it felt like this nebulous future event that wasn’t really real, and now it’s little more than half a year away! To this fan, it finally feels like this is finally happening now that trials to select the show jumping shortlist for the US team are underway.
The top American show jumpers and their horses are down in Wellington, Florida, half-way through battling it out to make one of the 15 spots available on …

One sure-fire way for a horse to ditch most riders is to buck … and buck … and buck. Most times, if they keep at it, they’ll get you off. And any horse is perfectly capable of throwing a bucking fit if he has the right stimulus … if he wants to get out of work, he doesn’t like what you are asking him to do, he gets spooked, or he’s experiencing discomfort.
As a rider, you need to know how to ride through a horse bucking in order to get …

I’d say this year was a bit of a drought as far as funny Super Bowl commercials go, and unfortunately my much-anticipated Budweiser Clydesdale ad left a lot to be desired in lieu of past efforts. Although, the little Clydesdale foal and the calf definitely get some points for being just plain cute. Considering the rest of the Budweiser ads were some of the best of the night, I thought they could have done a little better with this.

The whole Clydesdales and friends thing is getting a little old, now …

Good ole Punxsatawney Phil saw his shadow this morning, predicting another six weeks of winter and thus more cold weather, snow, and frozen ground to deal with in our horse keeping. One of the biggest questions we tend to deal with this time of year as horse owners is whether or not our horses need blankets.
The answer? It depends.
Like much with horse keeping and training, you can go easily either way on the blanket issue and have a perfectly healthy, happy horse. Last year I didn’t blanket Ace. This year …