Burnout in an Industry of Workaholics 

By Rob Jacobs From your experience, how would you describe feelings of burnout and what are some signs? Feelings of burnout vary depending on the person and the degree of burnout. A person may become impatient, anxious, insincere, disengaged, angry or tired even after getting enough sleep. From my experience, classic signs include feeling the

Appreciating Eventing in the United States

By Liz Halliday-Sharp When I was asked to write this column, the first thing that I thought was, Wow, I have big shoes to fill after Boyd Martin! Of course, I have so much respect for Boyd as both an athlete and a horseman, and it’s certainly an honor to be taking the reins after
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Will Ersland: Brought Back to Horses by Art

By Shya Beth  Will Ersland’s philosophy is that to be a great equine artist, you should be a good rider and know horses inside and out. That definitely could be said for Will, who has been constantly learning all things equine for most of his life. From jumping and foxhunts to Western riding, driving, snowy
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Breeding Welsh Ponies at Fox Run Farm

Cindy Bellis-Jones Paris, Kentucky Retired science teacher and presently work part-time at Toyota How did you get started in breeding/showing?    Horses have always been a way of life for our family. My grandfather raised horses in Canada, which is where my father became involved in the industry. His business in the 1800s was in
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The Inner Voice of Fear

By Margie Sugarman I’ve been riding for 30-plus years and for the most part have not found myself concerned or nervous about the danger of the sport—until recently. I’ve become a mother, and since then there is a voice in the back of my head reminding me that if I get hurt it’s not just
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Unbridled With Penny Carpenter

By Britney Grover To say Penny Carpenter grew up in Great Neck, Long Island, New York, would be inaccurate. “First of all,” she’s quick to point out, “I’m a horse-crazy kid who never grew up!” Penny started riding at 7 and, as she got older, hung around a local stable. She traded feeding, cleaning tack,
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Becoming a USEF Licensed Judge: An Impactful Passion in a Space Where Most Don’t Look Like Me

By Rob Jacobs  When did you discover the love for judging equestrian competitions? Fall of 2009 while a junior in college, I took a course called “Form to Function.” This was a course on judging different disciplines in the equestrian industry. Hunters and hunter seat equitation interested me most, considering most of my riding experience

The Importance of Good Judges

By George Williams Whether they like it or not, today’s dressage judges are truly the keepers of our sport. This is true perhaps now more than ever before. The reason I believe this, is that as our sport grows and matures, it’s becoming more competitive than ever—and, if I dare say, even more sport-like. When
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Happy New Year: Top 10 Stories from 2021

Happy New Year!   As 2021 is coming to an end,  Sidelines wants to thank our wonderful readers, followers, advertisers and feature equestrians for making this year the best it could be! We look forward to a happy, healthy and horsey 2022! Here is a recap of the Top 10 most read stories from 2021!
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The Olympic Movement’s Role in Equestrian Athletes’ Right to Compete

By Armand Leone, Jr.  In the U.S. horse community, judicial courts exist to address criminal matters such as horse abuse and insurance fraud, while civil courts address other types of fraud as well as things like contract breaches and misrepresentation. However, in the U.S. and internationally, when a dispute arises about an equestrian athlete’s ability