The Legend of the Great Horse

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 [...]

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 [...]

I recently watched the live video feeds from two major international jumping events, The Syracuse Invitational and the Royal Winter Fair in Toronto. The horses look great, the riders are skilled, the competition level is high and humane. Both are well-run by innovative management.
The only lack was in the Announcing. Show jumping is like [...]

In writing Eclipsed by Shadow, I researched the history of the original Olympic Games and their relation to horses. The original Olympics were a religious ceremony, and were as much a poetry contest as a sporting event. The equestrian events were considered an athletic poem. They were a major focus of the original Games.
We have [...]

Here is a question whose answer may not be obvious: “Since we now have internal combustion engines, why bother with horses anymore?”
Horses have been mankind’s transportation, and yes, today cars have replaced horses on the interstates and parking lots. However there are more horses today than ever before, so it seems this affection is universal [...]