My Soapbox for Equestrian Writings
Elmer Bandit, competitive trail horse extraordinaire, is closing in on the world record for competitive trail miles. The 37-year old horse won the Open Division at the Dave Smith Fall Fiesta competition near Lehigh, Iowa, last weekend bringing his total miles to 20,540. The record is 20,710 miles. Additional resources: 37-Year-Old Horse Elmer Bandit Wins Competitive Trail […]
Read MoreAt 1.6 meters (5′ 2 -1/2″) the show jumping fences at the Olympics looked enormous to me. It’s hard to imagine the multiple jumping efforts required of these horses over the days of competition. However, when only a single jump is required, there are some horses that can jump significantly higher. People started keeping track […]
Read MoreWhen I wrote about Elmer Bandit in June, the 37-year-old gelding was on the brink of setting a new record for lifetime mileage for competitive trail rides. Elmer had the summer off, but just came closer to his goal by finishing second in the 60-mile Spotted Rump Ride Competitive Trail Event (St. Louis, Mo.) in […]
Read MoreForget mucking stalls. Don’t worry about the rising price of hay, or whether your horse has enough turnout. These horses come with an on/off switch. Interactive mechanical horses were first developed to help jockeys recover from injuries suffered during racing and jockeys are still one of the major users of these simulators. However, manufacturers have […]
Read MoreWhen Big Brown lost the Belmont Stakes, some folks speculated that it was because he was no longer receiving steroids. Another chimed in to say that no trainer changes anything — not even his underwear — if his horse is winning. That got me thinking about some of the rituals and good luck charms that […]
Read MoreTake the tradition of trick riding, add some great music, dramatic scenes from the beaches in France, a team of Lusitano horses and a handsome young french man and you have all the ingredients you need for international success. Lorenzo empathetic communication with his horses often requires neither bridle nor saddle as he guides them […]
Read MoreWhen we were kids, many of us tried standing on our horses, riding backwards, or doing other simple tricks. But the people who take this seriously show that trick riding is a sport in and of itself. What we call “trick riding” — standing on top of one or more horses, or dangling precariously off […]
Read MoreWith athletes now gearing up for the 2008 Olympics in Hong Kong, I think it’s fascinating that the ancient hippodrome, where equestrian events were held in ancient Greece, has been excavated by sports historian Professor Norbert Müller, of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, and fellow researchers Dr. Christian Wacker, who is a sports archaeologist from […]
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