Take the Opportunity to Ride as Many Horses as Possible 

By Nicki Shahinian-Simpson  Nicki Shahinian-Simpson had a successful career as a junior rider in the East, where she won both the ASPCA Maclay National Championship and the U.S. Medal Championship. After moving to the West Coast Nicki continued to place well in major Grand Prix events and has competed in the U.S., Mexico, Canada and
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Polo for Life: Helping Families Facing Pediatric Cancer

By Britney Grover Pediatric cancer: Anyone would wish it didn’t exist. Some would like to ignore that it does. Even after surviving it, Brandon Phillips tried to forget about it. “It was 1992 when I was sick, and for many years I never wanted to speak about it,” he said. “I never wanted to do
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A Case for Reinstating the Eight-Fault Penalty for Falls 

By Armand Leone, Jr.  The upcoming Olympic Games in Tokyo will be the first time since 1968 that show jumping teams will compete in a Nations Cup format with three horse/athlete combinations per nation and no drop score. The decision to move away from a format of four horse/athlete combinations per nation, which in turn
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Contact and Connection: From His Mouth to Her Hands to Her Heart

By George Williams For many, the terms contact and connection are interchangeable. It’s often said that a picture is worth a thousand words, and similarly, in riding, a correct feeling can help us fully understand a single word. In dressage, contact and connection, like so many concepts and words, are best understood once a rider
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The Challenge Perspective

By Margie Sugarman When I’m riding, it can sometimes be hard for me to stay positive. My trainer is a person of few words and this often leaves me wondering what she really thinks. When she does give corrections or tries to use constructive criticism, it often leaves me feeling inept. I’m losing my motivation
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Madison Rauschenbach: Jumping on Opportunities to Get to the Top

By Laura Scaletti Portraits by Melissa Fuller Madison “Maddie” Rauschenbach learned at an early age that when an opportunity presents itself, you have to jump on it — literally. At 18 years old, Maddie’s willingness to jump on any horse offered to her has propelled her to be a winner in the jumper, equitation and
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It’s Worth the Risk to Focus on Learning

By Darragh Kenny Darragh Kenny began competing in the sport of show jumping at the age of 10 in his homeland of Offaly, Ireland. He quickly moved up the ranks, competing in his first Grand Prix at the age of 14. Darragh eventually made the decision to move to the United States to train under
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Eventing With Boyd Martin

I was lucky enough to attend the USEF High Performance training camp for event horses in Ocala, Florida, in early February this year. To be quite honest, it’s one of those things where initially I moaned and groaned about going, and then once I made the trip down there with my top horses, I loved
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Lauren Eisele & Brandon Howard: Opposites Attract and Are Better Together

By Britney Grover Portraits by Kristie Nichols Lauren Eisele and Brandon Howard describe themselves as yin and yang: total opposites that somehow complete each other. From their natural sleep schedules — Lauren would go to bed at 8 p.m. if she could and is ready for business by 6 a.m., while Brandon prefers a later
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Overcoming the Imposter Syndrome

I’m moving up a division and I feel like I don’t belong. Despite the years of training, I’m dealing with imposter syndrome. What can I do to shake this feeling off? What exactly is the imposter syndrome? This syndrome is the internal feeling and belief that you’re not as good, as smart, as talented or
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