Happy New Year! View Top 10 Equine Chronicle.com Stories of 2014

By: Brittany Bevis

2014 has been quite a year. Over the past 12 months, we’ve had the opportunity to report on stories both heartwarming and heart-wrenching, those that reaffirmed our faith in humanity and those that caused us to question why we got into the horse industry in the first place.

No matter the topic, we discovered that the stories that tug at the heartstrings are those that came in at the top of the list in 2014. Scroll below to check out the top ten most popular stories on EquineChronicle.com for 2014.

Thank you for continuing to confirm with your clicks, shares, posts, comments, thank you notes, and our highest website traffic year on record that EquineChronicle.com confidently stands at the top of the list for the most accurate, unbiased, and original method of obtaining the horse industry news that’s most important to you.

Happy New Year! – from your friends at The Equine Chronicle

EquineChronicle.com Top Ten in 2014:

#10. AQHA English Stirrup Rule Clarification For 2015 – Coming in at the tenth spot on our list is a press release that was handed down from AQHA in late October. It touches on a hot button issue in Hunter circles regarding the use of black stirrups. After a rule-change proposal that sought to prohibit the use of black stirrups in any equitation class on the flat or over fences was defeated, the AQHA Executive Committee confirmed that both silver and black stirrups will be allowed in equitation classes in 2015.

#9. In Honor of Horse Show Moms Everywhere – The story that came in at number nine was a lot of fun to create. To commemorate Mother’s Day, we looked through our archives to uncover as many candid photos of horse show moms as we could find. In addition, Jorna Taylor of Born In The Barn Blog gave us permission to include her hilarious poem entitled Ode To the Horse Show Mom.

#8. Astonishing Recovery From Near Disastrous Wreck and He Didn’t Even Lose His Cowboy Hat – The story that came in at the eighth spot is one of our personal favorites. It recounts how, within a span of three seconds, horse trainer Mozaun McKibben and his horse Autumn Play escaped a near-disastrous wreck and made an astonishing recovery to finish their run in the Junior Working Cowhorse classes at the 2014 Fort Worth Stock Show in January.

#7. Excusing School Absences For Horse Shows– Number seven is an interesting addition, because it’s one of only two blog post that made our Top Ten list. Wild Oats Farm and Courtesy Promotions were kind enough to allow us to re-post an easy-to-use form that will help parents when negotiating school absences for their children’s horse show activities.

#6. CNBCS American Greed TV Special Will Feature Crundwell Scandal– Back in 2012, famed Quarter Horse breeder Rita Crundwell was arrested and indicted for embezzling $53 million from the city of Dixon, Illinois where she served as city comptroller. In February 2013, she was sentenced to serve more than 19 years in prison for her crimes. The post that claimed our number six spot revealed that CNBCS would be airing a television special in April 2014 entitled American Greed #83- The Cunning Cowgirl Crook. The program explained how Crundwell used her position as comptroller to steal $53 million to fund her horse-breeding empire.

#5. Changing Trends in Hunter Under Saddle– Breaking into the number five spot is a story that appeared in the October 2014 edition of The Equine Chronicle print magazine. We spoke with professionals like Sonnesa Gooding, Beth Case, Lainie DeBoer, Doug Huls, Nancy Sue Ryan, and Alex Ross to discover how the discipline of Hunter Under Saddle has changed over the years and where they see it heading in the future.

#4. Palomino Gelding Vandalized in What’s Being Described as Unusual Hate Crime – In late July 2014, Lisa Anne Kreger awoke to a disturbing sight. An unknown assailant had broken into the stall belonging to her 4-year-old palomino gelding. His long mane and tail had been cut off and odd symbols were spray painted on his sides and stall door.

#3. The Journey From a $350 Abused Weanling to a Multiple World Champion – This wonderful story is the only other blog post that cracked the Top Ten in 2014. Kelly Lear of Rock Springs, Wyoming tells the tale of how she guided a $350 abused weanling down the path to become a multiple World Champion show horse.

#2. 75 Registered Quarter Horses Abandoned and in Desperate Need of Homes – This sad story focused on the Bingham herd of 75 registered Quarter Horses that was surrendered after their owner fell on hard times. Although the story just broke in early October, it was so widely circulated that it reached the number two spot in 2014.

#1. Witness to a Horse/Breeder Reuniting on the Auction Floor After 20 Years– We were pleased to discover that the most popular EquineChronicle.com story for 2014 was this touching tale of a horse/breeder reuniting on the auction floor that took place after nearly 20 years apart.