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[recblog19]

More Money than Sense: Boots, Again

I’m back! With a visceral reaction to dressage boots! Again. Continue reading Untitled

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No kids allowed at the barn

A while back, I came across this article in Heels Down Magazine about barn policies that restrict clients and visitors based on age. And age discrimination only protects individuals over the age of 40, so these policies are targeted at children. With horse ownership skewing older (the median age for horse owners in 2017 was 38) and some disciplines (looking at you, dressage!) skewing even older,…

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2017 and now

How do you think the horse industry has changed between 2017 and 2023?

As most of my blog followers know, I volunteer for a dressage nonprofit. At one meeting, we were discussing how to get data about our membership in order to offer that up to companies who might want to sponsor us. It came up that the American Horse Council publishes statistics that are pretty relevant to dressage riders too. On a whim, I decided to look up their stats. They published the Horse…

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#economy #horse #inflation

[recblog19]

Hyperflexion

Tagline: It’s not just dressage riders, baby! In the dressage world, the concept of rollkur is considered a divisive topic. (Amongst my circles, I would say that rollkur is taboo, but there’s enough rollkur out there in the dressage world that there are clearly still people who do it.) Rollkur is defined as flexion of the horse’s neck achieved through “aggressive force,” by the FEI. It’s often…

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#DressageCrush: Elena Petushkova

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They're Watching

And maybe the subtitle should be: “And so am I?” The Plaid Horse published a piece entitled “They’re Coming for Our Sport, and We Have to Be Better” about PETA’s reaction to showjumper Kevin Lemke repeatedly hitting his horse with a crop and then crashing through a jump. (PETA called for a criminal investigation.) The author Lauren Maudlin notes that, with social media and livestreaming, more…

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Good enough

One of the instructors I had in my under-20 years told me, “You should show because you’re good at riding. You shouldn’t become good at riding because you want to show.” It has been one of those ideas that has stayed with me for the next decade and some change. In the intervening years, I have been – predominantly – anti-showing. Not because of what this instructor said. And not because I think…

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I played Equestrian the Game, so you don't have to

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I read Liberty Biscuit, so you don't have to

It’s been a few weeks. I’ve been traveling and then sick, so I haven’t had much desire to write for Monster Equestrian. But part of being sicker than a horse is lying around like a convalescing Victorian lady. One of the few things I had energy for was reading. In my #TBR pile was Liberty Biscuit by Melanie Sue Bowles. Does a family mystery stand in the way of saving Kip’s best…

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#amreading

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Made in the USA

Dressage Today highlighted Marydell farms, the North Carolina-based breeder of Alice Tarjan’s Serenade MF. Tarjan and the mare placed 15th at the World Cup Finals in Omaha in April 2023. The more interesting fact about Serenade MF was…she was the ONLY U.S.-bred horse that competed in the dressage portion of the World Cup. Serenade MF interests me because, well, I’ve been partial to American-bred…

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What is "dressage"?

By now, my post on reviewing YRS’s Dressage Institute is now live. As I’m writing (and likely when this gets posted), I’ll still be participating in the free trial. This post isn’t about YRS, really, but YRS inspired it. I was watching one of the Dressage Institute’s videos. This particular one was entitled “What is Dressage?” and that’s what it was about – a definition of dressage. The Dressage…

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Do riding instructors suck?

I keep hearing that “no one understands [dressage, horseback riding, horse training, etc.]” as a marketing spiel for a variety of products, videos, trainers, etc. Most of these salespeople – we’ll call them that, because they’re trying to sell something most of the time – claim that equestrian professionals (i.e. riding instructors and trainers) aren’t teaching well or appropriately. My…

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Abuse in Equestrianism, Part 2

In which I ask the question, why is abuse so rampant in equestrianism? In part 1, I talked about my realization that I carry around a lot of baggage of being manipulated and bullied and seeing horses treated poorly – which seems to accumulate and make me a ball of anxiety while riding. So, I took a look at abuse (of horse and human) in equestrianism. It looks incredibly common. So, the question…

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Abuse in Equestrianism

#equestrian #sports #safesport

One Sunday, I came to the realization that the equestrian world is rife with abuse. (more…) “”

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I tried the Dressage Institute, so you don't have to (review)

If you’re a dressage rider with access to the internet, I’m sure you’ve probably come across Your Riding Success on YouTube at least once. I really find the founder Natasha “Tash” Altoff (Australian Grand Prix rider)’s series on OTTB – which I found endearing and really a good representation of what someone might experience when getting a horse off-the-track. (Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the…

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A Thoroughbred: A Diamond or Just Rough?, Part 2

In Part 1 of “A Thoroughbred: A Diamond or Just Rough,” I noticed that many people don’t want to ride Thoroughbreds. And I find that…bizarre…because many TBs I’ve known have been excellent riding horses and show horses. (One OTTB I knew as a child recently earned his owner her USDF Gold Medal.) So, in this installment, I’m looking for reasons why TBs aren’t popular (and why some of us still love…

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A Thoroughbred: A Diamond or Just Rough?

When I decided to semi-retire my gelding, I did not set out to buy a Thoroughbred. But one of the first ads I saw that looked like it fit the bill was a dappled gray Thoroughbred mare who had never been on the track, an ex-polo horse, and who wasn’t jiving as an eventer. I called about her, but (having had my heart broken about my gelding) wasn’t quite ready. Dozens and dozens of horse ads later…

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