This is one of my most favorite pictures in the whole world. I love it for three reasons: I was a darn cute, sweet 11-year-old That was my first tail braid ever for a show and it totally rocked And that’s my non-horsey horse show dad cheesin’ it in the background. Not only was I [...]

When you are jumping a horse, your leg is your foundation. If you don’t have a strong solid leg in the right position, you are going to be in trouble. And if you have good form and have built up good length strength, you should be able to do this: I’ll admit, this rider is [...]

It’s hard enough teaching young, able-bodied and able-minded students to ride horses, and it’s a whole different ballgame altogether teaching disabled students to ride. Fortunately, I’m not necessarily responsible for teaching the students I assist when I volunteer at Pegasus Farms on Monday nights. But I am working with them one on one and am [...]

Most people who know me now would never believe what a wimp I was when I first started riding. I was scared to try anything out of my comfort zone. I mean anything. Horses acting up made me nervous. The simple thought of cantering made me nervous. Putting a halter on made me nervous. Leading [...]

The unfortunate accident that befell former Olympian and three day eventer Darren Chiacchia serves as a reminder that riding horses is a dangerous activity, no matter how experienced or talented you are–or how reliable your horse is. This weekend, Darren was competing at the Red Hills Horse Trials three day event in northern Florida, when [...]

Many of the students who ride at Pegasus Farm, a therapeutic horseback riding facility in northeast Ohio, are autistic. They are also some of our most challenging students. Actually, the handful of students I work with on a regular basis when I’m volunteering are autistic. Because of the nature of their disability, I think they [...]

T is quickly becoming one of my favorite — albeit challenging — students at the Pegasus therapeutic horseback riding farm where I volunteer every Monday night. I’ve chronicled her progress for a while. A November lesson  January and February – an overview of T March – continued improvement For those of you who’ve been following [...]