Ask Andre: Are We Showing Too Much and Practicing Too Little?
By Andre Dignelli
When I was younger, my mentor Judy Richter used to say to me: We mistake quantity for quality. At the time, I didn’t understand what she meant by that. I heard it,...
The Plaid Horse Questionnaire with: Skylar Wireman
Status: Junior Hometown: Bonsall, CA Trainers: Shayne Wireman, Andre Dignelli, & Lisa Halterman
As a horsewoman, I am most proud of the mare we bred. I recently won a Grand Prix on her.
As a horsewoman,...
Trainer Takes: What is Catch Riding?
By Tatum Mitchell
Catch riding is a regular activity within the horse industry, but for someone new to the sport, it’s a phrase that doesn’t quite translate directly. Even for veterans of the sport, the...
IEA Awards Over 100,000 in Cash and Collegiate Partner Scholarships During 20th Anniversary Season
Edited Press Release
Monday, June 20, 2022 (Columbus, OH) – The Interscholastic Equestrian Association (IEA) awarded $108,050 in cash scholarships and collegiate scholarships during their 20th Anniversary Season in 2021-2022. This total marks the largest single-year distribution of scholarship funds in the...
Violet Tatum: Fast Track to the Top
BY TYLER BUI
Top-ranked junior rider Violet Tatum has amassed an impressive collection of championships and victories in the five years she’s been riding. And she’s only 13 years old.
Taking after her mother Jenny, Tatum...
Virginia Bonnie ’22 Succeeds in the Show Ring and Beyond
This month, The Plaid Horse introduces readers to a standout school and one of its standout students: Foxcroft School’s Exceptional Proficiency program, and student-equestrian Virginia Bonnie.
For over 30 years, Foxcroft School’s Exceptional Proficiency (EP)...
The Cost Of “Brushing It Off” After Falling Off
BY EMMA FRIEDMAN
It’s widely believed that when you fall off your horse, you get back on—no matter what. It is a training method for horse and rider. When you continue to ride after an...
Publisher’s Note: Announcing Our Latest Invention — The American Equestrian School
PIPER KLEMM, PH.D
As Program Director for American Equestrian School (AES)—a highly selective accelerated private school program for students passionate about the equestrian industry—I am pleased to announce that enrollment is open for Fall 2022...
Ask Andre: What Does it Mean to Have an Advocate as a Junior Rider?
By Andre Dignelli
I watched the movie King Richard recently, and the film really resonated with me. For those unfamiliar with it, it tells the story of the meteoric rise of tennis playing sisters Venus...
THIS Medal Rider Profile: Hayley Hewitt
BY TYLER BUI
Hayley Hewitt is a 14-year-old junior rider currently ranked in the top 10 of the THIS National Children’s Medal standings. Most recently, she took the top spot in the THIS Children’s...
Watch, Listen and Learn With Andre’s Take
Andre Dignelli's Heritage Farm won its 11th USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals - East when student Natalie Jayne took the title in 2021. Leading one of the largest and most accomplished operations in...
Mares Ruled Indoors!
At Harrisburg this fall, Elina won gold with Ansgar Holtgers Jr. in the $15,000 Neue Schule/USEF Prix Des States Team Champion-ships, while Ever So Often was champion in the 3'3" Junior Hunters with Avery...
WIHS Equitation Final Winners
What does it take to win the prestigious Washington International Horse Show Equitation Final? Keep scrolling for more articles, videos, and podcasts featuring some of these talented riders and their mounts!
2023 Maddie Tosh -...
Dover Saddlery/USEF Hunter Seat Medal Final Past Winners
Keep reading for more information on the past winners of the Dover Saddlery/USEF Hunter Seat Medal Final, from 1948 to 2023.
2023 Carlee McCutcheon
https://youtu.be/_aWeGd39zaM?si=jaMGi08jwpg6xFtC
2022 Luke Jensen
2021 Grace Debney
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zucFXuWQcN0
The course in 2021:
2020 Taylor...
Ask Andre: What Are Your Greatest Takeaways from 2021?
By Andre Dignelli
As the world readies to begin a New Year in 2022, a new horse show year has already been underway for a month.
The city never sleeps, as they say, and that for...
5 Strides With: COCON 4
An “Interview” With The Equitation Horse(Via her own, Avery Glynn!)
The 12-year-old Oldenburg mare—”Calle” at the barn—and her partner finished 13th at the Dover Saddlery/USEF Hunter Seat Medal Finals and 10th at the ASPCA Maclay...
The Plaid Horse Questionnaire With: Stacia Madden
I’d be lost without: an assistant at the ring with me.
As a horsewoman, I am most proud of: the amazing team Beacon Hill has evolved into over the years.
As a horsewoman, I work to...
It Happens! Indoors Edition
We all make mistakes. But horse people, as a group, aren’t always the best at handling them. So TPH reached out to some top riders to share their own show ring bloopers to prove,...
The Road to Prepare for Equitation Finals
BY MACKENZIE FITCH
I began my equitation career last summer, riding with Troy Hendricks and Emily Corkhill at Kimber-View Stables in Glenmore, PA. Together we made a clear plan for the 2021 finals, the first...
For Medal Finals Winners, Success Starts at Harrisburg
A look back at five riders who came out on top and went on to international stardom
By Emily Randolph/Randolph PR
Ronnie Mutch, Victor Hugo-Vidal, Bernard Traurig, Chrystine Jones, Conrad Homfeld, Mark Leone.
Reading through the list...
Skylar Wireman—Junior Rider By Day, Roadside Mechanic By Night
On his way home from Blenheim Equisports' two-week fall series, professional Nick Haness realized his trailer had a much-dreaded flat tire.
He couldn't fix it on his own, but a fellow rider came to his...
Remembering Kip Rosenthal
Rider, Trainer, Judge, Horsewoman (1951–2020)
BY JUDY RICHTER
Kip Rosenthal’s lifelong passion for horses began officially at age 10 when she began taking riding lessons once a week from Anne and Frank Grenci at Fox Hill...