tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-340816182009-11-19T17:30:15.539-05:00Horse & Rider's editor/associate publisher Juli Thorson covers a broad range of subjects of interest to Western riders--everything from trend reports and tips for managing your horse life to what's new in gear, tack and riding.EquiSearch.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12671815112903432584noreply@blogger.comBlogger419125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34081618.post-8240644778518012562009-11-18T11:35:00.003-05:002009-11-18T11:52:21.853-05:00

Horse & Rider's December '09 issue is now out in circulation, and here's a little bit of what's behind this action cover. (The rider is top barrel racer Sherry Cervi on MP Haylook Mike.) Sherry provides the article behind Never Go Lame, explaining how ground conditions affect soundness, and how to care for a horse's legs after a ride or run. Great photos go along with this one. Bob Avila gives

Juli Thorsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09847876335835827099noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34081618.post-70165429851325140882009-11-13T11:28:00.007-05:002009-11-13T13:30:49.422-05:00

I received another look-alike Smitty-sibling picture this morning, this one of a colt that resides in Brazil. Amazing (in more ways than one). For the reader who asked to see what the sire of these babies looks like, here he is, An Awesome Secret. Thanks to Gail Smith for sharing these photos.

Juli Thorsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09847876335835827099noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34081618.post-56019293723024046662009-11-13T10:34:00.004-05:002009-11-13T11:00:42.464-05:00

I have our de-dustified living room put back together again now, and was just having a cup of coffee there, catching up on the weekend weather forecast (snow!), and admiring the silver fog visible outside.Before I get to work on my last writing duties for the January 2010 issue of H&R, I'll wish you all a Happy Friday (a tradition in our household, seeing as how Ed and I met and later married on

Juli Thorsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09847876335835827099noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34081618.post-9592203016668116022009-11-12T09:30:00.006-05:002009-11-12T09:49:32.073-05:00

OK, kids, would you not say that these two horses look alike?!One is our weanling Appaloosa, Smitty. One is--well, just wait until you hear this story. (And, hint: Smitty's the one in the halter.) A picture of Smitty, and my account of his background, appears in my column for November '09 issue of Horse & Rider. Cindy Clapsaddle, a reader in North Fort Meyers, Florida, saw the picture and thought

Juli Thorsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09847876335835827099noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34081618.post-54573569538599905912009-11-10T12:54:00.003-05:002009-11-10T12:56:14.468-05:00

What it's like to be aboard the race mare Zenyatta, as recorded by her jockey's helmet-cam. This, you gotta try!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hv49V2RzgHw

Juli Thorsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09847876335835827099noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34081618.post-28880280046276192262009-11-10T09:05:00.002-05:002009-11-10T09:32:49.734-05:00

As anticipated, I got a kick out of your inspired suggestions for the latest installment of You Write the Caption.You're good. Very, very good!Now, for the truth about the pile: It was an element in my living room last week, after I took a notion to strip every wall and surface for a deep dusting. (Note the dust on the back of that poor green hat! It had been up on a wall for a LONG time.)I am

Juli Thorsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09847876335835827099noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34081618.post-55407408555916598182009-11-10T07:58:00.007-05:002009-11-15T10:09:23.009-05:00

Most of us can connect, in some way, to the scenario of the child about to get on the schoolbus for the first time. Put a young horse into the picture, and swap schoolhouse for a training barn, and you have the current status of what's up with Tiffany, the gray filly in the picture. She's gone from being the newborn foal of an '07 blog post, to being of riding age.  And while I take my hat off to

Juli Thorsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09847876335835827099noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34081618.post-91427900108549247742009-11-08T06:41:00.002-05:002009-11-08T06:44:06.656-05:00

I can't wait to read what you come up with for this one.

Juli Thorsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09847876335835827099noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34081618.post-66039870996389300732009-11-06T09:20:00.004-05:002009-11-06T09:31:00.835-05:00

Yesterday afternoon did not feel like a November day. It was shirt-sleeve warm just before sunset, and so calm that not a twig was stirring.But the three horses in the pasture--LB, Corky, and Tiffany--were not out grazing on grass that's started growing again. They were up as close to the house as they could get, clustered near the gate to the barn. They made it pretty clear that they wanted

Juli Thorsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09847876335835827099noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34081618.post-47734788640453082462009-11-05T17:24:00.004-05:002009-11-06T09:10:43.481-05:00

Here's a picture from a training walk with Smitty that will be best understood with some context added to it.We're headed across a parking area, toward the barn, and Smitty's been doing an excellent job of walking straight, on a slack lead, at my speed and pace (note that we even have matching "front legs" here.)Suddenly, over to the right of the frame, where Smitty's left ear is pointed, are

Juli Thorsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09847876335835827099noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34081618.post-88630256520851081772009-11-05T10:23:00.002-05:002009-11-05T10:28:17.244-05:00

Here's a link to a neat story and set of photos from an H&R visit to Highpoint Performance Horses in Texas. This is the operation of Team H&R's Charlie Cole, and it packs a few surprises--like his tortoises and other exotic critters.Charlie lives within driving distance of our Texas mag-staffers, and has let us use his facility as a photo location on several occasions.Thanks, Charlie!

Juli Thorsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09847876335835827099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34081618.post-63454253407773441182009-11-05T08:54:00.002-05:002009-11-05T09:06:36.126-05:00

Have you had a chance lately to visit the On Staff at Horse&Rider blog? It's written by two of our other mag-staffers, Erin Sullivan Haynes and Alana Harrison, and they have been busily out and about and blogging all about it.Just lately, they've done a photo shoot with world champion trainer Charlie Cole--visited the All American Quarter Horse Congress--attended a Breyer Creations party at the

Juli Thorsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09847876335835827099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34081618.post-48718301193957348272009-11-04T11:25:00.008-05:002009-11-04T12:07:06.585-05:00

There's an old saying among horsemen that "your horse is a reflection of you," and Smitty is proving this to be so, so true. As I was walking him out in a huge field the other day, I was very pleased with how well he did with the leading lessons he's had in the barn/arena. For the most part, he stayed with my pace, on a lead with slack, and didn't get too eager or anxious. He did what he has been

Juli Thorsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09847876335835827099noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34081618.post-29487052151426774602009-11-03T11:34:00.005-05:002009-11-03T19:33:37.166-05:00

After 60 days of twice-daily handling in and around the barn and our immediate yard, Smitty has what I'd call a 'pretty good handle' on him. He leads well, ties fairly patiently, stands nicely for the vet and farrier, accepts various forms of sacking out, obeys whoa MOST of the time, is solid on his head-down cue, and so forth. Part of the steady learning curve comes from the application of

Juli Thorsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09847876335835827099noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34081618.post-80412628253711069412009-11-01T09:28:00.009-05:002009-11-02T07:31:05.500-05:00

Smitty's ApHC papers came in the mail over the weekend, and he is now on the books (in the computer, I guess I should say) as Dakota Smith. I've had that name saved for a horse for quite a while, and Smitty is a good one to have it (with Dakota Smiths, my brother and sister-in-law, as his breeders and all). We had a spectacular sunny Sunday, perfect for some literal "in the field" training

Juli Thorsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09847876335835827099noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34081618.post-34106378944339496892009-10-29T16:11:00.002-04:002009-10-29T16:15:38.033-04:00

Just look at this face as Smitty takes in the first snowflakes of the season. His expression says it all, as far as I'm concerned.Care to write a caption?

Juli Thorsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09847876335835827099noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34081618.post-7324300178577871942009-10-28T10:38:00.005-04:002009-10-28T10:56:29.807-04:00

Sheri, one of my blog readers from western Washington, has started a blog with an interesting subject--that of having and riding horses at 50+. Pay a visit here. Sheri appears in this photo with Champ, the horse she inherited from her daughter. She just rode Champ in her first show last weekend--you go, Sheri! Here is Sheri's motivation for starting her blog, as stated to me in an email: Hope to 

Juli Thorsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09847876335835827099noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34081618.post-66962876958347929032009-10-26T10:29:00.003-04:002009-10-26T11:01:24.328-04:00

Today, the topic up for discussion is showing. Specifically, getting started in it, and/or getting back into it after a long hiatus. Do you fit this profile? If you do, I would love to hear about some of your experiences and impressions.Some starter Qs: * What's the draw--what do you hope to get from the experience?* What's your venue--where do you show or hope to show, and in what?* What's your

Juli Thorsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09847876335835827099noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34081618.post-26371811781617168642009-10-25T09:56:00.006-04:002009-10-25T10:35:35.937-04:00

I'm wrapping up a week's hiatus from magazine work, which gave me the chance to go visit some family in North Dakota.Even though it's a pretty long run, I like to get there by driving. It's a trip of over 1,100 miles, and this time, I covered quite a lot of it by getting off the interstate system and out into two-lane country, farther north. Which, in eastern Montana/western North Dakota,

Juli Thorsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09847876335835827099noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34081618.post-74745716142508094592009-10-18T22:15:00.009-04:002009-10-18T22:46:03.627-04:00

Yesterday, I was finally able to do something I've wanted to do for a very long time. I got to visit the Evelyn Cameron Gallery of her pioneer photography in Terry, Montana.Never heard of her? That's OK--most people haven't, even though she is in the Cowgirl Hall of Fame and was the subject of a PBS documentary in the mid 199os. Cameron was born to a life of privilege in Britain, in 1868. Her

Juli Thorsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09847876335835827099noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34081618.post-76548767614328718982009-10-15T12:56:00.005-04:002009-10-15T13:06:25.090-04:00

Horse & Rider's November issue will be out any day now, and I'm excited for you to get it and share your thoughts.The cover rider is reining trainer Dave Moore, of Florida. He provides great insights about the importance of putting "wait" on a horse--in other words, training it to wait for the rider's cues rather than to make decisions on his own.The Q&A Interview is with Craig Cameron,

Juli Thorsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09847876335835827099noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34081618.post-11442319781739556362009-10-13T09:56:00.005-04:002009-10-13T10:15:16.708-04:00

OK, this may seem like an off-topic post (see subject line). But bear with me, because it's really not as off-topic as one might think.I've been doing some thinking on the subject of livestockism. Which would be a term for strong prejudice for or against a particular kind of livestock; a term for attributing positive or negative qualities to a group based on personal belief. (Think racism.)Many

Juli Thorsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09847876335835827099noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34081618.post-92179589383693320282009-10-09T10:03:00.003-04:002009-10-09T10:31:19.667-04:00

OK, I have to confess that I am getting a huge kick out of everyone's comments about the TV cowboys of the '50s and early '60s, and their influence in the kids of their era. A few recollections from my own kidhood: * Endless games of cowboys & Indians. Or, the alternative, good guys & bad guys.* The decision on whether to name our first pony Trigger, after Roy's horse, or Buttermilk, after

Juli Thorsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09847876335835827099noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34081618.post-57837471737014774472009-10-08T14:09:00.003-04:002009-10-08T14:13:59.987-04:00

When TV and baby boomers both were young, any cowboy role model worth his salt had his set of rules for kids to live by.Here's a roundup of those creeds and commandments, accompanied by a lovely piece of writing that paints a great picture of the Saturday-morning TV scene recalled so fondly by so many.

Juli Thorsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09847876335835827099noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34081618.post-77650851852648875912009-10-07T16:06:00.006-04:002009-10-07T20:34:48.481-04:00

Today seems to be the day for the universe to be sending out horse-nostalgia vibes for us baby boomers. No sooner did I find out about the impending closure of the Roy Rogers-Dale Evans Museum (see previous post), I opened an email to find this link to history of another TV favorite for kids of my generation--the show about Fury, the black stallion.This was yet another TV show, featuring horses,

Juli Thorsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09847876335835827099noreply@blogger.com7