Blog Posts by Subject: Horsemanship

Annemarie Zimmer loves her 17-year-old one-eyed warm blood, Hurrah, and her teenage daughter, Eva.

U-see-it is small, but what she lacks in size, she makes up for in heart.

The barn on Caton Place was built in 1930. They provide riding lessons, pony rides, parties, and carriages for special events. Gallop, a therapeutic riding program, helps people with disabilities improve their lives through contact with equines.

A children's book telling the story of a pony with a prosthetic leg.

Brooke is in love with her Chincoteague pony, Foxy. She schools the pony herself, but it is a slow, gradual process.

The pony in this story is plaintive and adorable.

Rosalind is a mare that Gibson can hang his hopes on. The young boy loves exercising horses, and he loves the way that the trotting Standardbred moves. She is all heart, and she responds to her driver's urging with all that she has.

Lexington, Kentucky is the "Horse Capital of the World." While Louisville hosts the Kentucky Derby, horse farms abound throughout the state. For me, Lexington's prime asset is the amazing Kentucky Horse Park, which I was fortunate enough to visit. I participated in 4-H Horse Bowl, which is a jeopardy-like game involving trivia questions. Our team received 1st place in New York State in the 1990s, so we were invited 

Charm and Sasha are a team, a team that might become a part of the Youth Equestrian National Team (YENT), if Sasha can help Charm conquer his hydrophobia so that they can succeed in the cross-country portion of the eventing trial that they will enter. Dressage, cross-country, and show jumping comprise the sport of equestrian eventing. I do not know if I would try it, but the girls and boys of Canterwood Crest excel at horsemanship.

Gee Whiz is a grey off-the-track Thoroughbred. He enjoys racing with Blue, and Abby Lovitt is intrigued by him.

Free jumping horses so that horses see work as a fun game. Teaching a horse to trailer by spoiling a veteran who gets carrots and oats for walking onto the trailer quietly. Dealing with True Blue's fear of the fences and Pie in the Sky's pride. It's a day in the life of ninth grader Abby Lovitt, whose family owns Oak Valley Ranch, a training facility in the 1960s.

Some horses are driven and ambitious just as some people are so focused and determined to achieve success. For example, Secretariat displayed those qualities. They are interested in their work and they try to improve for themselves, not simply for the trainer's approval. They are less distractible. Horses have different athletic inclinations and preferences for certain kinds of work (e.g., trail riding, eventing, dressage, barrel racing, etc.)

Monty Roberts was riding horses at a walk, trot, and canter as a 3-year-old boy. He vaguely remembers people saying, "He's only three, and look at him ride!"

Visions of rides with her father keep flashing into 14-year-old Jodie’s brain. It’s hard to envision a future without him. That, and the frightening panic attacks that she avoids telling anybody about. Hopefully, no one will notice any difference in her behavior.

A Circuit—one of the most competitive horse show circuits available. Teenagers who are both horse crazy and relationship crazy, sneaking quick kisses and dating in between all of the preparation for horse shows and competition.

Fritz is a cute, adorable Shetland pony surrounded by elegant jumpers and military and parade horses. He feels a little bit dwarfed. He feels a little bit inadequate.

Astra is an Arabian mare whom 13-year-old Lily is in love with. Only problem is that this mare was involved in the accident that caused her mother's death. Lily's father says no riding, and he is particularly wary of Astra. Luckily, though, he allows her to volunteer at neighboring Whispering Pines Ranch, where Astra lives, along with the other endurance racers. Lily finds it quite exciting to feed the horses and await their return from their long workouts.

Mad is not exactly thrilled to be spending the summer learning how to dance Ceilidhs (pronounced kay-lees) in the Scottish style. However, to her surprise, she finds that dancing is just like riding, in terms of the movement. She loves the geometry of the group dance, and she feels as though she is flying.

The girl imagined that trail-riding with Cloud would be dreamy 

Three businessmen, William Russell, Alexander Majors and William Waddell came up with the idea of using horses and riders to transport mail from Missouri to California to expedite communication between the eastern and western states. This was particularly important since the Civil War was approaching. Also, people were able to get news from their families in several days instead of months or years.

In 1860, the Pony Express was born, and it ran until 1861. In the spring of 1861, Lincoln's inaugural address traveled from Missouri to California in record time: 7 days