Tag Archives: equine
Travel Michigan: Step Back in Time in a Horse-drawn Mackinac Island Carriage
‘Downtown,’ essentially Main and Market Streets, Mackinac looks like the film set of a wild west movie but with draft horses pulling multi-seat carts (the $5 shuttle from the ferry terminal to hotels) and no gun-wielding cowboys.
Victorian style carriages pull up in the u-shaped driveway (no need for parking lots) in front of hotels like the Mission Point Resort and individuals who’ve booked private tours around the island – like me – climb aboard.
A Year of Heroes #6: Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement, Lexington, KY
Old Friends thrives and attracts about 20,000 visitors annually to this non-profit venture designed to provide a quality life to 175 equine who earned millions in prize money racing and even more in stud fees. Tour fees support the running of the farm.
Old Friends – a Kentucky horse rescue – is essentially a living history museum to the North American Thoroughbred Racing industry … history that eats carrots from visitor’s hands.
Travel Amsterdam: High Tea at The Hollandsche Manege – Housing Horses Downtown
Horses aren’t necessarily top of mind when you think Amsterdam. But here I am, in the Netherlands, walking through a European-style subdivision past rows of narrow Brownstone-style contemporary homes looking for a riding stable. Yes, a stable. In a subdivision. I stop and ask a woman pushing a stroller along the sidewalk: “I think I’m […]
A Year of Heros #5: Donkey Sanctuary of Canada
“Ownership is essential,” Lesley Bayne, director of the Donkey Sanctuary of Canada (DSC) says about equine rescue. “We don’t adopt animals out because you never know what happens to them,” she says. The Donkey Sanctuary of Canada located in Puslinch, Ontario about one-hour west of Toronto, does indefinitely foster out several of the donkeys and […]
Ring in the New Year! Kiss a Horse (or bake treats)
Happy New Year! I kissed a horse and I liked it. Ok, I do that all the time. New Years’ Eve, no exception. Clearly, in this photo I’m not shivering in negative 20 degree Celsius winter temperatures in Ontario, Canada. In this photo, I’m at the Farmer’s Pantry pick-your-own-apple farm (last fall) located in Clarksburg, […]
6 New Equine Products You Should Know About (Thanks SuperZoo!)
A couple nights after Christmas and all through the house, visions of Boxing Week sales are dancing in my head. On Dasher, on Dancer, on Prancer and Vixen (assuming these are horses) let’s get to the equine tack shops this week for all the discounts on off season coats, boots, chaps, breeches and more. I’ll […]
Travel Toronto (Part IV): The Royal International Accumulator Show Jumping Challenge
The Royal Winter Agricultural Fair 2017 has wrapped up for another year – but not before I got to experience the most edge-of-your-seat horse jumping competition that (almost) beat Indoor Eventing for white knuckle tension.
On November 9, 2017, McLain Ward of the US won the International Accumulator Show Jumping Challenge at The Royal Winter Fair in Toronto, Ontario.
Travel, Toronto (Part III): Dressage at the Royal Winter Fair 2017
Megan Lane of Collingwood, Ontario left the Royal Thursday night $20,000 richer after she and her 16-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare Caravella won the Dressage Invitation Grand Prix Freestyle Cup – for the second year in a row.
Miniature Horse Showing: Fall Fair Competitions Demystified Part II
What are the judges looking for while kids and adults walk their minis into the ring then stand, for what seems like days, waiting for the announcer call their numbers?
Loving the Fall Trifecta: Horses, Country Fairs, and more Horses
Thursday at the Norfolk Fair, it’s all about the jumping, with some heavy hitch, wagon and junior single-horse hitch driving competitions happening nearby. After 11 am, hordes of school kids flood into the fair to see the livestock, biggest pumpkin competition and poultry barn – including a new category: rainbow chickens.
Horsetrotting’s Top Five Fall (Horse) Fairs in 2017
Giddy Up! It’s Fall Fair Season. And what’s a fall fair without horses? An afternoon at the 163rd Binbrook Fair started my Ontario Fall Fair Tour off last weekend – this year I’ve booked one a weekend and I’m determined to get to each bright and early to catch all the horse shows. (No horse show? […]
When Cavalia comes to town: Journey with Odysseo Horses. Here’s why.
A galloping Palomino plowed into a tumbler knocking him down during the Grand Finale of Cavalia’s Odysseo August 5, 2017, in Mississauga, Ontario. It was a hard reminder that horses are powerful creatures with free will (and fear) that demands respect. Fortuitously, after the first act of Odysseo when nine ‘liberty’ (unsaddled and unbridled) horses […]
A Year of Heroes #2: Whispering Hearts Horse Rescue, Hagersville, Ontario
Let the celebrations begin! For ten years, Whispering Hearts Horse Rescue has saved more than 300 horses, many from dire circumstances, nursed them back to health then either retired them to the Whispering Hearts pasture or rehomed them appropriately with the expectation they will live happily ever after. The rescue celebrated this success on July […]
Canada Day 150!
In honor of my country’s 150th celebration of the signing of Confederation, here’s the images of Canada that evokes a swell of emotion in my throat … and pride in my heart. This country has beautiful horses. The RMCP Musical Ride.
Travel Myrtle Beach, SC: A Mid-summer Morning’s Dream Ride at Wampee Horse Riding Stables
Want to go horseback riding in Myrtle Beach? When I pre-arranged a ride at Wampee Riding Stables in North Myrtle Beach, the treat-excitable Sadie was saddled and waiting for me. I love mares, especially the boss. Sadie, who’s lived at Wampee most of her life, is head of the 20-horse herd and she knows her way around the trail. She’s an easy ride and smooth trot through the paths mowed through this family-owned property.
A Year of Heroes #1: Horse Rescue Ontario & Sanctuary (for 20 equine)
Everyone loves Spencer, even the goats. He’s literary the poster boy for the Horse Rescue Ontario Sanctuary in Waterdown, Ontario, Canada. Spencer is red Paint rescue horse who oozes personality and charm. After being injured as a yearling and unable to support a rider, Spencer’s spent most of his 18 years here at Horse Rescue […]
Travel Louisville, KY: Don’t bet? No problem. Churchill Downs still delivers, especially for horse lovers.
I didn’t know much about thoroughbred racing before I went to Louisville, Kentucky. One day in Derby City and I do now. Churchill Downs historic walking tours run year round, expect on Kentucky Derby weekend when about 160,000 people flood this famous racetrack with a seating capacity of 60,000. Where do the other 100,000 people […]
Travel Louisville, KY: Barns and Backside Tour Electric During Derby Week
Always Dreaming might have won the 143rd Kentucky Derby on Saturday, May 6, 2017 taking home approximately 1.6 million dollars in prize money, but I won too accidentally ending up in Louisville, Kentucky the first two days of Derby Week. Of course, like millions of others, I was rooting for Patch, a one-eyed horse and […]
How to Photograph your horse or What we learned at the Can-Am All Breeds Equine Expo Part II
“This is good to know,” the woman standing in front of me turned around and said, “especially if you’re selling a horse.” An image is worth a thousand words apparently. Or in this case, maybe an extra thousand dollars if you get the photo right. I’m not selling a horse, but I do spend time […]
Fitting the Western Saddle or What we learned at Can-Am Equine Expo Part I
Western saddles are designed for Quarter Horses, Hud Roberts of HR Saddles & Tack said at the Western Saddle fitting clinic held at the Can-Am Equine Expo, March 31 to April 2, 2017 in Markham, Ontario, Canada. HR Saddles makes custom saddlery and tack in Frisco, Texas and sells through distributors across North America, including […]
Global Travel for Horse Lovers 