Rolex has come and gone for this year. I am in awe of riders and especially horses that can endure such an athletic feat.  There is a heady excitement at show grounds at such a level. It can be intoxicating.  I know it all too well from my lifetime of showing.  Yet, I can no …

What is the goal of putting in your two cents? When you post a comment are you hoping to lift the person up, tear them down, or perhaps something deeper – offer an insight which they could learn and grow from? Do you go about writing comments with any of these possible options in your …

There has been much news recently about Moorland’s Totilas who is now being ridden by Matthias Alexander Rath, facing a future subjected to the training “guidance” of Sjef Janssen – the strong proponent of Rollkur, or Hyperflexion. I am happy to see that the German Federation of Professional Riders (BBR) is strongly voicing their opposition …

Or if you prefer to call it low, deep and round then go right ahead. I don’t differentiate the two very much, it is mostly political semantics so the FEI can avoid making top riders responsible in training their horses without abuse. I digress. What you came here wondering about is Edward Gal’s involvement. He …

Once upon a time ago, the difference between Classical and Competitive Dressage seemed synonymous with the distance between the walls of the Grand Canyon (which happens to be up to 18 miles wide!). Whether it is merely my perception, or the reality, which has changed I have yet to determine. Nonetheless there is still a …

It is done all the time at Cavalia, the wildly popular equine entertainment extravaganza. To be one with your horse does not require that you climb inside it’s recently gutted abdominal cavity, or that you tread the line of morality. Still, it happens that this is forgotten. An Oregon woman, claiming she wanted to be …

[dc]C[/dc]ompetition at the top level does not indemnify you from abusing your horse. It does not mean that judges are more fair, that the people involved care more about the horse. Caring for a horse and caring about a horse are two completely separate issues. These videos are perfect examples of that. Every horse is …

Barrel racing is a high speed event, and when speed is added to any activity the difficulty level increases as do the potential errors. Let’s also add to the mix the fact that it is a competition sport and involves money, and as demonstrated in Dressage, Jumping and Reining, to name a few competitive sports; …

[dc]I stumbled[/dc] upon an article, completely unrelated to horses, the other day and as is usual I’ve found a way to relate it to horses! The theme of the piece is about leadership, but that is not where my mind focused. Instead it was the remarks made about the creative spirit that is not only …

It has been my pleasure to have the opportunity to go to a screening of Disney’s new movie, “Secretariat” and give my readers some insight on what they have to look forward to in this exciting new film. Keeping in mind that I am not at all a fan of horse racing, I have to …

Yes, American-based slaughter plants have been closed and horse slaughter ruled illegal in the states. But… horses are still being sold to kill buyers in the US and then transported across the border to both Canada and Mexico where horse slaughter continues. And… the same issues exist in those plants as did American plants of …

Despite the FEI’s ruling that Rollkur is a banned practice, and instead has favored the use of LDR (Low, Deep, Round), there is plenty of evidence to the contrary that hyperflexion is a norm for competitors. The World Equestrian Games, hosted in Kentucky this year is already proving the perfect grounds to spot the practice …