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Ask Dr. Holly Helbig what she worries most about for the future of the sport, and her answer isn’t about judging systems, prize money, or even veterinary shortages. It’s about kids.
“We’ve done this to them,” she said during a recent Plaidcast In Person event. “We’ve tacked up for them, been their grooms, enabled them. They aren’t getting the hours it takes to build intuition around horses.”
That loss of hands-on time—the small, daily habits that teach empathy and awareness—has become one of Helbig’s biggest concerns. And as both a veterinarian and professional trainer, she’s seen how taking those opportunities away doesn’t just change young riders; it changes the horses too.
Helbig describes herself as a “horse-crazy girl, not from a horse family.” She didn’t grow up surrounded by resources, but she found a way to make it work. “My parents went through bankruptcy,” she said. “Being a kid, not coming from a ton of money, I had to be scrappy.”
That scrappiness, she believes, is part of what shaped her success. “I didn’t have the money to pay a braider or a bunch of grooms,” she said. “You just jump in and do what you have to do. At the end of the day, I wouldn’t trade it. My relationship with that horse was stronger because of all the time I spent with him.”
Today, she worries that many young riders aren’t getting those same opportunities. “I think we’ve created a generation that can ride beautifully,” she said, “but hasn’t had the chance to really know horses.”
The Barn as Classroom
In her own training program, Helbig made sure her students stayed involved in every aspect of horse care. “My kids tacked for themselves at the horse show,” she said. “We had grooms, but they tacked for themselves.”
When something medical came up, she used it as a teaching moment. “Whenever anything happened in the barn, I’d scoop all the kids up and say, ‘Come look at this. What is it? Look at this ultrasound. Let’s look at this x-ray together.’”
Those experiences, she said, taught her students to see horses as living, breathing partners—not just show animals. “They learned to pay attention, to notice things, and to ask questions. That’s what builds confidence.”
Reclaiming the Culture of Curiosity
Helbig connects the decline in hands-on learning to a broader cultural issue: fear of liability. “We’re worried about them getting hurt,” she said. “We’re scared of the liability. But there has to be a medium in there.”
She points to Pony Club as an example of balance done right. As a longtime supporter and frequent national convention speaker, Helbig praises the organization for blending horsemanship education with life skills. “It’s about horse care, public speaking, and developing these young people into good citizens,” she said. “It’s not just about riding.”
That whole-person approach, she believes, builds not only stronger riders but also more grounded human beings.
For Helbig, the most meaningful parts of growing up in the barn weren’t the ribbons or the results—they were the memories. “What happened to good old Pony Camp?” she asked. “What happened to those nights we were all at the barn trying to do Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken, jumping on the horse on a lunge line?”
Those moments, she said, are what stick with riders for life. “You don’t remember the time you lost at the horse show, and you don’t necessarily remember the time that you won,” she said. “But you remember those times you spent with your friends, off your phone, communicating with your animal, getting to know them.”
Those unstructured hours create what Helbig calls “horse sense”—the quiet intuition that helps a rider read and respond to an animal. It’s what allows someone to spot when a horse is sore, calm a nervous animal, or stay safe in unpredictable situations.
“We’ve taken away the space for kids to develop that,” she said. “And then we wonder why young people in the horse world don’t have the same instincts.”
Reclaiming that education, she added, means shifting the focus from winning ribbons to building relationships. “It has to be less about the horse show,” she said, “and a little more about that relationship with the animal.”
A Call to Trainers and Parents
Helbig doesn’t blame kids for the change. She holds adults accountable. “There’s no one else to blame but us,” she said. “We’ve enabled it.”
That means trainers and parents have to take the lead in giving young riders more responsibility. It might mean slowing down the schedule, assigning more barn chores, or simply stepping back and letting kids do more themselves. “I’m not saying we shouldn’t protect them,” she clarified. “But we have to give them room to learn.”
Helbig’s message is both nostalgic and practical. For her, the barn isn’t just a classroom. It’s a community that shapes character, empathy, and grit.
“We’ve got to find that balance again,” she said. “Because at the end of the day, the horse always comes first. And the more time kids spend really knowing their horses, the better they’ll understand that.”
Want more insight from Dr. Holly Helbig? Listen to episode 452 of The Plaidcast and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform for conversations with the most influential voices in the equestrian world.
