Ask anyone who’s shown for any length of time, and they’re likely to agree that not only are no two horses alike, some horses are just plain harder to get along with than others.
Continue reading …Female business owners and powerhouse women seem to be what’s trending in 2022, and Madison Nirenstein is no exception. Boasting 32,000 followers on her Instagram page, founding and running her own business, and becoming a household name in the show pen are no small feats individually, but she’s doing it all. 2021 was a record year for her, both professionally and as an equestrian.
Continue reading …Twelve-year-old Alexandra (Allie) Rippeon has had quite a year. The daughter of Deanna and Michael Rippeon is a well-spoken, home-schooled youngster who, like most horse girls, loves snuggling her horse and riding with friends. She also enjoys hanging out in the barn and helping care for horses at the family’s Sunset Ridge Farm in Mt. Airy, Maryland. But this young horsewoman is also a gifted competitor who capped a successful 2021 show season with a record-setting Congress. Competing on four-year old, Itzonly Make Believe, aka “Molly,” a horse she had purchased only two months before, Allie had a spectacular showing at the event, winning four AQHA, four NSBA, and four Championship titles, as well as four All-Around titles in different divisions.
Continue reading …The spin. It’s a make-it or break-it maneuver that’s used in all-around pattern classes including Showmanship, Horsemanship, and Equitation, as well as classes like Reining, Trail, and Ranch Riding.
Continue reading …Dr. Jill Clark has demonstrated a love for horses her entire life. In fact, her mother would say that Jill came out of the womb wanting to be with horses.
Continue reading …Since its inception in 2007, AQHA’s Performance Halter classes have steadily gained in popularity and are now some of the largest classes at shows across the United States. The classes originate from the concept of form-to-function, and, as a division, Performance Halter was intentionally designed to reward performance horses that are both conformationally correct and structurally sound. In other words, the class is meant to reward athletic horses that exemplify the breed standard.
Continue reading …At first glance, the box is pretty basic: you walk, trot, or lope into the box. Turn and exit. So why is achieving a ‘plus’ so elusive in this simple square drawn in the dirt by four poles?
Continue reading …Kinesiology is the study of body movement—in humans or animals—and addresses the physiological, biomechanical, and psychological dynamic principles and mechanisms of movement. As a science, it also uses the principles of traditional Chinese medicine to evaluate health and imbalances—and tries to test the flow of energy in the acupuncture meridians of the body, through isolating certain muscle groups—allowing assessment of the functioning of all the major body systems.
Continue reading …