My Soapbox for Equestrian Writings
The much talked about match up between Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta will not happen at the Apple Blossom. Although both were entered, Rachel Alexandra has been scratched after her second place finish last weekend in the New Orleans Ladies Stakes. Owner Jess Jackson has stated that Rachel Alexandra is not yet in top form and […]
Read MoreI love watching the English steeplechase races. Cheltenham doesn’t have the same amount of carnage as Ainstree (thank goodness) but there’s plenty of drama in this race. What amazes me is the length of the course, the number of jumping efforts and the rolling terrain. That race is grueling. Not the least of it is […]
Read MoreWe had 10 inches of rain between Saturday and Monday. Had it been snow, it could easily have stacked up to more than 100 inches! Instead, we had mud. More mud than I remember seeing — ever. Saturday we had heavy rain and high winds. The combination pulled down several of our fiberglass poles for […]
Read MoreIt’s hard to truly understand saddle fitting until you’ve had the chance to watch how a fitter evaluates a saddle. I recently came across an excellent series on the subject from Schleese. This 9-part video series gives clear instructions that demystify saddle fit. Here are the first one. In addition to talking about how the […]
Read MoreAdding fat to your horse’s diet is one of the quickest and least expensive ways to add calories. If you are already meeting your horse’s nutritional needs, you don’t necessarily want to feed more grain. Certainly, that’s been the case with Freedom. He is a bit of a “hard keeper” but if I feed him […]
Read MoreZenyatta sure knows how to work the crowd. There was no shortage of suspense during the Santa Margarita handicap today. Zenyatta broke last out of the gate and loped along at the back of the pack for the first half mile. At times she was 10 lengths behind the leaders. At the top of the […]
Read MoreOne of the coolest things on the Internet is the wealth of educational materials. I’m not going to be heading to England any time soon to ride with (or audit) a training session with show jumping great Geoff Billington, but I don’t have to. Horse and Country TV brings it right to my laptop. I […]
Read MoreLike most good ideas, it turns out that someone has already created a top hat helmet, laying the groundwork for a commercial product. In an article on Equisearch, Jennifer Tilley writes of Megan Rust, a dressage rider who wanted to wear a top hat that also protected her head. As someone who had already suffered […]
Read More