Brave Horsepeople in the Colorado Wildfires

By Eliza

The Colorado wildfires currently raging have people trying to plan and keep themselves safe.  For those who care for horses, the wildfires add an additional burden.  Read this local account of one barn manager working to keep the horses she's in charge of out of harm's way.

A Walk through the Grayson Highlands

By Kitson

File this under “Y” for you learn something new every day. While I was interviewing a 12-year old girl this spring for a story that appears in the Washington Post’s KidsPost section today, Reed Gjonnes told me how she spent her 12^th birthday (in May of this year) at the Grayson Highlands in Virginia with “the wild ponies that roam around.” She and her dad are thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail which runs right through this Virginia park. Because it was her birthday, her dad, Eric, let her linger with the ponies before they finished the 25 miles they hiked that day.

No One Said it Would Be Easy

By Kitson


When I was a teenager, if ever I had a complaint or a whine, a great friend of mine would dutifully remind me that "no one ever said it would be easy." Since April when two-time Olympic eventer Amy Tryon passed away suddenly, I have been wondering why she died. The news has been strangely silent on this topic.

Royal family off to the races

By Eliza

Check out this blog for an exciting look at race day in England. . .from the point of view of some visitors from a across the pond.

Heather Blitz and Paragon. . .Going to London

By Eliza

Lately, dressage has been in the news mainly as it pertains to Anne Romney.  But here is the latest story in this discipline:  rider Heather Blitz and her horse Paragon are heading to London as the reserve pair to represent America in the Olympics.

Man Steals $4000 Saddle

Yikes.

Corgi "Call Me Maybe"

By Eliza

Silly, not horses. . .but corgis are horsey dogs, right?  So here you go.  Click here to watch a corgi "singing" Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe."

A Lot to Love About Starwars TOF

By Kitson

This months’ Dressage Today includes a story I wrote about a showstopper of a Haflinger named Starwars TOF, and of course his rider, the talented Grand Prix dressage rider Jillian Santi. Curious, brave and handsome, the 14-year old gelding Starwars TOF was the first Haflinger in the U.S. to show at a United States Dressage Federation recognized show at the FEI Grand Prix level (check out this video of their latest freestyle!). I originally connected with Jillian while writing a profile about Haflingers and their owners for Horse Illustrated (September 2011 issue, blogged about it here). They live in Washington state.

Nice Story About I'll Have Another

By Kitson

Yesterday the Washington Post's KidsPost section featured a great story (by WP sports writer Frank Bowen) about Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner I'll Have Another. I'm looking forward to watching the Belmont Stakes this weekend, but keep thinking about this ominous statement from the Humane Society of the United States.

Update from the Clydesdale Nursery!

By Kitson

All photos courtesy of Budweiser Clydesdales

Back in March I blogged about all the beautiful bouncing baby Clydesdales being born at Warm Springs Ranch, the state-of-the-art breeding facility in Boonville, Missouri for the Budweiser Clydesdales. Update! The herd added 28 foals born this year. The last two babies were born Tuesday, delivered within minutes of each other by mares named Diane and Ashley and sired by the same stallion. Since they were nearly twins, the colts were named after the movie “Twins.” 

The Color of Horses

By Eliza

I love looking at a pastureful of horses and thinking about color.  The range of bays alone is wide--blood bay, red bay, brown--not to mention the flashy champagnes and red roans.  Here is a explanation of horse colors from the Horse Genome Project at the University of Kentucky (where else?)  If, like me, you like seeing the beauty of all the horse colors, but glaze over when you see any word ending in -zygous, check out this page.