By Laila Edwards Portraits by Samantha Parkes Before Hayley Walston could even walk, she was riding horses. “My mom put me on a horse before I could walk, but I started truly riding when I was 6 years old, while living in the Middle East,” she said. From dressage beginnings to a jumper barn where

By Britney Grover Portraits by Kt Schramm   Serenity Rose Equestrian Center is a unique dressage barn in Lincoln, Nebraska, run by 24-year-old USDF Bronze and Silver medalist Tillie Jones. Tillie, an expert on training riders along Young Rider path because she has risen through it herself, named her program after her late coach, Felice

By Jessica Grutkowski Portraits by Melissa Fuller What do you get when you combine a talented eye with an eye for talent? For Addison “Addie” Litman and longtime trainer Jenn Bowery, it resulted in a fairy-tale ending at Pony Finals with a special small green pony they discovered via Facebook.   Born and raised in

By Tori Kistler Portraits by Susan McClafferty By all accounts, Dana Lynn Grace Sapp is your typical horse-crazy kid. Her room is filled with Breyer models, her favorite outfits often involve glitter and her best friends happen to have four legs. But unlike most 8-year-olds, Dana’s horse obsession isn’t just pretend—it’s her everyday life. Growing

By Britney Grover Portraits by Lindsay McCall When Audrina McCall made her Pony Finals debut at 8 years old in 2023, she was the youngest rider in the Green Pony Hunters division—and she was riding the oldest pony: New Moon, aka Willie. “He was 17 years old and only had one eye; he was a

By Shya Beth Ancient artifacts, weathered down to their pure essence, embody powerful inspiration for Amy Laugesen’s ceramic and mixed media equine sculptures. Her sculpted creations hearken back to objects of antiquity that are familiar in museums, often with arms, legs and head that have been broken off and lost to time. Even with the

By Laura Scaletti Portraits by Kacy Brown It was only a matter of time before Madison Stewart followed in her family’s footsteps and got involved with horses. “As long as I can remember, horses have been part of my life. When I was younger, my mom, Michelle Radley, had her own horse training business, so