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Avoid Drills
True and I have been cantering low hops over the past few articles. Soon we’ll raise them and get to some two-foot obstacles—still quite low, but a little bit more demanding. We’ll also work on...
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Keep It Simple
I don’t mean “keep it easy.” Easy and simple are two different things. Nowadays, it’s common to start young horses over fences by setting obstacles that are needlessly complicated instead of simple to...
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Grounded
True and I have been working on hopping a wide variety of low jumps from a canter and (independently) starting over easy one-stride gymnastics. I had hoped to tell you about our latest efforts, moving...
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Assessing Trauma in Horses
Anyone paying a modicum of attention to horse sport the past two years knows that the equestrian industry is on the hot seat—with good reason. We have reached a level of knowledge and understanding of...
View Article12 Beezie Madden Horsemastership Quotes for Your 2025 Mood Board
Having stepped back from championship-level competition in 2021, four-time Olympian Beezie Madden is like the Tracy Chapman of show jumping. We don’t get to hear or watch her ride nearly as often as...
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Adding to Simple Gymnastics
Our footing is fixed, and True’s ready to continue with jumping gymnastics of the kind I described a few weeks ago. These are best explained in Jimmy Wofford’s classic book, Gymnastics: Systematic...
View ArticleMindset and Consequences
I love questions that get my mind whirling, and someone asked me a good one the other day: “How many repetitions are necessary for a horse to learn something?” Well, of course, the answer depends...
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Ouch! Equine Injuries
Equine injuries, drats! True came to me in pasture turnout the other day with two bleeding wounds—a double puncture and scrape to the front of his knee and a scrape up above that knee. If it ain’t one...
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Belly Deep in Snow
Horses’ brains need some variety in their activities. Because of that, I bring trail horses in for arena work at times, send jumpers out to explore the neighborhood, and teach True to handle all sorts...
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An Anniversary
First, to follow up from True’s recent injury, he is much better. All the swelling is gone, no further sign of infection, and the two open wounds are clean and healing. He can carry me at a walk,...
View ArticleConcussion Awareness in Sports Is Improving, But Not Necessarily for Female...
“How many helmets have you had to replace?” It’s a common, inside-baseball question among competitive equestrians. Because—let’s face it—most, if not all, of us have suffered falls and blows to the...
View Article40 Actionable Tips for Making It in Horse Shows (& Life)
The more we travel to shows, the more overwhelmed I am by the amount of money required to play our sport. My family runs Millbrook Farm in Elizabeth, Colorado, and my daughter Haley thrives in the...
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How “Rocket Pony” Ulyssa Found Her Calling
When Ulyssa was finally confiscated by law enforcement in March 2023 after years of living in less-than-ideal conditions, her future appeared uncertain. The 13-year-old pinto mare had been living...
View Article#WeRideTogether Is Bringing their Safeguarding Mission to the FEI’s...
From its inception, #WeRideTogether has been firm about the fact that safeguarding sports is everyone’s responsibility. Now, a free online course is helping to bring the organization’s message to a...
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Learning to Work
It can be difficult to imagine top trainers and riders in their earliest moments of development, times when they may have been still acquiring basic horsemanship knowledge and learning the often...
View ArticleAdrienne Grasso Is Paving Way for New Opportunities
In an industry growing more out of reach for Americans every year, trainer Adrienne Grasso is trying to spark change. The Interscholastic Equestrian Association (IEA) coach is using her platform as a...
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Meet Robin Howie, the Intern Turned Double Adopter
Robin Howie always wanted to rescue a horse. When her internship at Days End Farm Horse Rescue wrapped up, she ended up with two. As told to Alice Collins/Jump Media. I started volunteering with...
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Roman Cavalry Horse Cemetery Discovered in Germany
“Roma victa!” If you’re a fan of the Academy Award-winning movie Gladiator, you’ll no doubt recognize Maximus Decimus Meridius’s famous battle cry (‘Rome victorious!’) in the opening scene as he leads...
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Barn Rats & Blurred Lines: Setting Appropriate Coach-Athlete Boundaries
Horse people often joke that the barn is a vortex, where “a couple of hours” can easily turn into an entire afternoon and evening. That’s because time at the barn doesn’t end when you get off the...
View ArticleFeeling Nervous About a Big Competition? Try This Mental Hack
There is a moment that high performance mental coach Dirk Stroda has learned to recognize on the face of his clients. It usually happens at a critical point in competition when the stakes couldn’t be...
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