Chenoa McElvain: A Desert Bloom with Deep Roots
Friday, January 24 2020
By Lyssette Williams. Portraits by Kristie Nichols - For grand-prix rider Chenoa McElvain, developing horses to their highest potential is a long-standing family tradition. It all started with her grandparents, Tim and Betty McElvain, who were both avid riders. Betty developed an interest in dressage and after a trip to Europe, Tim and Betty decided to import a Holsteiner stallion and some mares, which would set the McElvain family on a multigenerational journey in New Mexico.
- Published in Sidelines Spotlight, Weekly Feature
Dressage: Getting to Know George Williams
Thursday, January 23 2020
By Britney Grover. Portraits by Melissa Fuller - Sidelines is thrilled to introduce George Williams as our new monthly dressage columnist.
George has dedicated his life to dressage as a rider, coach, clinician and volunteer. After beginning his dressage education with Egon von Neindorff in Germany, George followed his mentor, Karl Mikolka, to ride and train with the Tempel Lipizzans for 20 years, including being program director for 13. He then pursued his own competitive goals to ride on a U.S. team and succeeded with Rocher, earning many championships and culminating in fifth place at the 2003 World Cup in Sweden, team bronze at CHIO Aachen in 2005 and USDF Grand Prix and Grand Prix Freestyle Horse of the Year.
- Published in Weekly Feature
Falling in Love With Carson Kressley
Wednesday, January 22 2020
by Britney Grover. Portraits by Adrienne Morella - From his laughing smile to his live-out-loud wit, it’s hard not to love Carson Kressley. The fashion expert has become a beloved TV personality whether it’s delivering genuinely constructive criticism as a judge or on a talk show relating the time he wore Gucci leather loafers to the barn. He balances couture with compassion, at once resplendent and relatable.
- Published in Sidelines Feature
Kady Abrahamson: Balancing School with Riding, and Winning at Both
Friday, January 17 2020
By Britney Grover, Portraits by Shawna Simmons - Kady Abrahamson was riding before she could walk — and jumping before she knew how. “By the time I was 4, I would jump over logs by kicking the Western horses so they’d jump over instead of stepping over it,” she said.
- Published in General
Coursewalk with Heather Caristo
Wednesday, January 15 2020
Coursewalk with Heather Caristo - "How is team competition different from individual competition?"
- Published in General
Unbridled With Debbie McDonald
Tuesday, January 14 2020
By Jan Westmark - Debbie McDonald and Brentina, a chestnut Hanoverian mare, spent years setting the dressage world on fire. Together, the small rider and big horse brought home Pan Am team and individual gold medals, an Olympic team bronze medal and World Equestrian team silver and bronze medals, and Debbie became the first American to win an FEI World Cup Dressage Final.
- Published in General
Mona Snell: Through the Eyes of an Artist & Horsewoman
Wednesday, January 08 2020
By Shya Beth - No two living things are exactly alike and that’s what Wellington-based equine artist and entrepreneur Mona Snell captures effortlessly in all of her paintings. Working in pastels and oils, Mona uses each brush stroke to carve out a hint of her subject’s personality, whether the horse is with us or long gone.
- Published in Sidelines Spotlight
Eventing with Boyd Martin
Monday, January 06 2020
Boyd was honored and privileged to go to Japan in November, for the third year in a row, to teach a series of retired racehorse retraining clinics. The idea originally formulated thanks to his 2016 Olympic partner Blackfoot Mystery, an American Thoroughbred who was adopted off the track and eventually ended up in his hands. The clinics are sponsored by Godolphin, Darley, the Japanese Racing Association and the National Riding Club Association of Japan. Boyd shared his experience with Sidelines.
- Published in Sidelines Spotlight
Ryan Pedigo: Part of the Family
Monday, January 06 2020
By Lyssette Williams, Portraits by Krisin Lee - Putting in a beautiful jumping round at a horse show and winning a ribbon is the sweet reward for countless hours of training at home. For Southern California trainer and horse breeder Ryan Pedigo, that win is the culmination of not only countless hours of hands-on care and training, but also many days and sleepless nights on foal watch.
- Published in Sidelines Feature
The Impact of Coaching Techniques
Tuesday, December 31 2019
By Margie Sugarman
My trainer, although great, can be quite harsh. Recently we were at a horse show where she loudly and publicly scolded another rider for something she did while showing. What my friend did was in no way dangerous; it was just a minor bad habit that she’s been having a hard time breaking. Now I’m consumed with concern that my trainer will publicly humiliate me over something minor as well. I’m concerned about her attitude toward correcting her riders — can this type of coaching be beneficial?
- Published in Sidelines Feature