My 5-year-old niece watched the Rolex Kentucky 3-Day Event this weekend, and she was full of questions:
“Why are they jumping that?”
“Is that a boy or a girl horse?”
“Why do they go one at a time?”
“What’s on the horse’s legs?”
As intensely as she watched, my niece didn’t care about the teams or the scoring. She just [...]
Horses have been recognized as great teachers of youth since ancient times. Here is one modern parent’s opinion:
Eventually my daughter will have to make her own risk management decisions. For years I’ve been letting her make decisions in various controlled environments, the most chaotic (since she was 5) being show jumping. Horses are large, strong [...]
I found this to be a topic with some ugly background, but here’s good news … if it happens:
The legislation, drawn up in consultation with the RSPCA, will include provisions to both protect pets and cover how farm animals should be raised, transported and slaughtered. It will also deliver protection for captive wildlife and laboratory [...]
The second European qualifier for the World Cup of Show Jumping was held over the weekend in Helsinki, Finland.
The on-fire Swiss rider Daniel Etter and his mount Peu a Peu won the event in a 10-horse jumpoff to match their World Cup Qualifier victory last weekend in Oslo. USA rider Lauren Hough on Quick Study [...]
One of fascinations of equestrian sport is that half of the athlete stars are horses. There is a long list of top mounts that have become recognized by the public for having special ability, charisma and personality.
The Legend of the Great Horse trilogy (second volume to be published in the summer of 2010) incorporates the [...]
The European season of World Cup Show Jumping opened today in Oslo, Norway.
The World Cup is an extensive series of indoor qualifiers across the globe, leading to the Finals in April.
It is an interesting odd fact that horse jumping is a young sport: the ability of horses to jump with a rider was not discovered [...]
Here’s an inspirational story about an occupational therapist teaching South African street children to ride horses.
The horse has had many roles in our society, some of which have been replaced by technology (eg., transportation, war, food) … however some of the horse’s most important roles in human lives remain vital. Horses are wonderful therapy, as [...]
Last weekend I visited our local Boston racetrack, Suffolk Downs, for an instant trip back in time. The white fences, the green landscaped infield, the mixed scents of horses, concessions and people, the growing excitement as a race approaches … it was a scene both nostalgic and modern.
Festivals and horses are an ancient tradition. Milling [...]
It doesn’t make sense, but (horse) Show Jumping is one of the world’s youngest professional sports. Organized jumping is barely 100 years old. It was not known that horses could jump large fences until the 18th Century, when fox hunting was threatened by the Enclosure Laws that fenced previously open land.
A century ago we seemed [...]
•