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How To Know If A Trainer Is Any Good
The number one thing I can tell you about determining if a trainer is any good is about how they treat you, the client. Oh sure, there are other things to consider: that your horse is fed and watered and sheltered. Those are givens. And that your horse is progressing in their training. Those things…
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Horse Shows Are One Giant Circus And We’re All Just A Bunch of Freaks
I mean this in the kindest way possible. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not knocking showing. I’m just poking a little fun at the crazy life of the horse-show addicted. And I 100% believe it’s an affliction and if we could do something else, we would. I’m including myself in this even though I was…
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Mackinac Is For (Horse) Lovers
And of course the reason I wanted to go so far out of our way was for the promise of a magical island where there are no cars and you have to get around on foot, bike, or by horse drawn carriage. Mackinac Island!
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6 Tips For Surviving Your First Big Show
I recently went to my first ever Arabian Horse Association regional show. Region IV in Nampa, Idaho to be exact. I had no idea what to expect. My friend, a horse show veteran who’s competed and won at nationals, told me to expect to feel more nervous. So that’s all I knew. But I didn’t…
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It’s Show Time!
It’s show time! And that’s not just a euphemism for something! This Saturday I head East to Nampa, Idaho for the Arabian Horse Association Region IV Championship. I have a few days of practice rides before showing. I anticipate those days will go a little something like this… Day One: have a cocktail, get on…
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Confessions From A Pretend Groom
Two years ago I helped out at a horse show and wrote about how important it is to thank the grooms. That’s still true. But I think two years ago I was only an intern, doing the most basic of tasks and just trying to stay out of the way. I didn’t even know what…
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Show Pen Prep: A Reiner’s Affirmations
I will be a good rider. I will not forget to memorize my pattern like in my sweaty dreams. I will not drink gallons of coffee to combat the aching sleep deprivation that comes with working a horseshow. Because coffee breeds butterflies and makes me have to pee when my chaps are zipped up tight.…
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The Best Way To Remember History Is To See It In Action
The second time I ever spoke to Michelle Blumenthal on the phone I was telling her that I had just got my husband’s truck (without him in it) stuck on her steep driveway and I needed help. I apologized for my city-slicker ways. She laughed and sent someone to rescue me. Country girl I am…
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It’s Not You, It’s Me
That phrase has turned into a little bit of a joke now. Overused in break ups and romantic dramadies, “it’s not you, it’s me.” Too bad because it’s such a great way to say the current situation isn’t working and you’re not going to hold the other person hostage for your happiness. Or in my…
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Get To Know Author & Cowgirl Amy Hale Auker
When I found out Amy Hale Auker was considering coming to the Women Writing the West conference this past fall in Walla Walla, Washington, I told her I’d buy her a drink if she came. I’m not saying I was the deciding factor in her attendance, but she definitely collected on that drink, and we…