I Don’t Know How to Handle the Disconnect in America
BY LAUREN MAULDIN
We were running some final errands before the ice storm when I saw the headline on my phone.
Breaking News - Federal Agents Shoot and Kill a Man in Minneapolis During Immigration Enforcement...
A 52-Week Sport: The Quiet Cost of No Off-Season
Brought to you by The Plaidcast
When people outside the horse world ask riders when they get a break, the answer is often uncomfortable.
“This is a 52-week-a-year sport,” said Grand Prix rider and trainer James...
Who Are Equestrian Sports Actually For Anymore?
Brought to you by The Plaidcast
When Michael Britt-León, Berry Porter, and Steven Bluman sat down for a Plaidcast In Person conversation, the discussion kept returning to a familiar tension—one that many professionals feel but...
Being Thin Won’t Make You a Better Rider
BY JOSEFINE PARADA
Would you rather be “heavy” or be so underfed that you can’t physically be a “good” rider? The horse world is synonymous with eating disorders in the same vein that the modeling...
When the Barn Doesn’t Feel Safe Anymore
By JAMIE SINDELL
Recently, I had to make one of the hardest decisions I’ve faced as a horse mom — weighing what mattered more: the chance to show, ride more horses, and be part of...
Frustrating Doesn’t Even Begin to Cover It: The Reality of Showing Today
By Ann De Michele
It’s incredibly frustrating—this whole mess with horse showing and USEF rules and drug rules and membership prices and costs of showing. Not to mention the cost of literally everything in the...
Systems, Policies, and Rules: Rethinking How Governance Shapes Horse Welfare and Competition
The other morning, someone asked me which horse shows I didn’t like. I stared. I thought. I ran through lists in my head. Hang on, I said, I want to give you a genuine...