Category: Uncategorized
Growing Pains
I text messaged my fiancé as I drove out of the Kentucky Horse Park, knowing he would want an update. “Just finished with Nixon, heading home.” And his response was a standard: “Everyone do ok?” And I didn’t really know how to respond. They were both GOOD, but both had had stops. Both had had some issues. But both had finished the day better … Read More Growing Pains
Matchmaker
I’ve sold a lot of horses. Always with the intention to sell, and always with a profit in mind. Because for the last 5 years, I was a broke graduate student. And finding, retraining, and selling thoroughbreds helped me pay the bills for my own horses. Maybe more importantly, was the fact that I loved it. I enjoyed the selection process; assessing the pros … Read More Matchmaker
Redemption Ride
Two years ago, I walked off of the cross country course with my shoulders sagging and my head hung low. I had dropped my reins, determined not to take a single ounce of the disappointment out on the horse underneath me, while flashbacks to my childhood whirled through my mind. It was 2016, and I was on the most talented horse I have ever … Read More Redemption Ride
Redemption Ride
Two years ago today, I sat on my couch and began thinking. About what I wanted from my riding career. About the improvements I had made in the last year. About the two horses in my stable, and which I could afford. I had just gotten home from the first show of the season, and realized I had some hard decisions to make. My … Read More Redemption Ride
It’s not how, it’s why
I hear it all the time. “How do you do it?” “How do you make time for it?” “How do you juggle it all?” And every time, I laugh. Because to me, it isn’t a question of how, but why. Three inches of snow fell today in Lexington, Kentucky, and was still coming down at 4pm when I left the lab-having started my day … Read More It’s not how, it’s why
Shattering the glass ceiling
A week ago, I was invited to speak to aspiring equine industry members on the topic of communications. Scientist, I am. Farm manager, I am. OTTB retrainer, I am. Communications person, I am not. Yes, I am a blogger. And yes, I got a dual degree from my alma mater-one in both biology and creative English writing, but I felt as though I was … Read More Shattering the glass ceiling
Hindsight
A little over a year ago, I received a Facebook message from a girl named Caroline. She started by saying that we had been introduced via her boyfriend, whom I had known for years, and then quickly began her line of questions. She wondered if I taught lessons, and if I had lesson horses available to take those lessons on. She explained that she … Read More Hindsight
If you see something, say something.
Recently, a story broke about animal neglect in Indiana. A woman named Chrissy Francies had first ten, and then an additional six, horses seized from her property after a neighbor called the local animal control because he was alarmed at how many horses were being buried on her property. He reported having seen seven horses die in the past year, and three within the … Read More If you see something, say something.
A Hollywood Story: May 2nd, 1992-January 30th, 2018
There are horses you love for yourself. There are horses you love for others. And there are horses that you have never met and feel a connection to. And when we lose that love, that connection to one of the greats, it hurts more than a shot to the heart. This morning, we lost one. And today, so many of us are feeling that … Read More A Hollywood Story: May 2nd, 1992-January 30th, 2018
Cloning and Genetic Engineering: Will It Affect Future Olympic Teams?
I’m sure by now, many of you have seen the video about cloning and genetic engineering. Published by the World Economic Forum in a short 60 second video, it proclaimed that a company was only two years from producing the first genetically engineered super horse. That through the use of cloning and altering the genome of our great runners and jumpers, we could produce … Read More Cloning and Genetic Engineering: Will It Affect Future Olympic Teams?
Why I BILLieve
In 1988 my father bought season tickets to the Buffalo Bills. Twenty years later, in 2008 he passed away three days before the season opening game. And ten years after that, the Buffalo Bills are making their first playoff bid in my adult life. It’s 2018. It’s time to BILLieve again. Right after my dad was diagnosed with AML, I had a writing professor … Read More Why I BILLieve
Solid Foundation
About two weeks ago, I sold a horse. It’s been a few years since I have actually sold one, although a few have been for sale, and one even left my care only to return quickly. And through that processes: the showings, the vettings, the negotiations, the panicked phone calls and the trek to Virginia, I started to think that maybe horse sales were … Read More Solid Foundation
A Yankee in Paris 
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