Jamie Barge: Hearing Loss Doesn’t Hold Her Back

By Britney Grover Portraits by Kristin Lee Photography Like many equestrians, Jamie Barge’s passion for horses and riding was inherited from her mother, but has turned into something much bigger. “I begged for riding lessons for Christmas,” Jamie recalled. “Santa brought me a package of 10 riding lessons.” Her family moved from Pasadena, California, to
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Hillary Irwin: Continuing a Thoroughbred Tradition

By Mary McCashin Eventer Hillary Irwin’s love of off-the-track Thoroughbreds is part of the 29-year-old’s DNA. It all started when her grandparents bought a horse out of the newspaper in the 1960s. That horse turned out to be a pregnant Thoroughbred mare, which set her grandparents on a path of breeding racehorses that lasted until
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Jennie Brannigan: The Grit To Stay on Top

By Dani Moritz-Long At 22 years old, eventer Jennie Brannigan was poised for Rolex and even the 2010 World Equestrian Games. She had the perfect partner in Cooper, a horse she had started as a 4-year-old, and an impressive track record — winning nine of 10 events in 2007–2008, landing atop the 2008 Adequan/USEA Gold
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Country Music & Mustangs: An Iconic Pairing of the American West – Lacy J. Dalton Uses Her Talents to Help the American Mustang

By Lauren Mauldin From Nashville to Nevada, country music singer Lacy J. Dalton’s life has been driven by the pursuit of freedom. With almost a 40-year-long career that has touched millions, Lacy now uses her musical talents to help bring awareness to the plight of the American Mustang. Born into a family of musicians, Lacy
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Up in the Air with Rebecca Randall

By Doris Degner-Foster Rebecca Randall joked that she became a pilot because her best friend in high school needed a college roommate, and it’s partly true. Rebecca didn’t have college plans in high school but when her friend urged her to consider going to Kent State in Ohio to be her roommate, Rebecca began to
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Sara Kirby: It’s Just Good Horse Training – Female English Trainer Wins a Western Man’s Competition

By Britney Grover Photos by Rebecca Tolman Quarter Horses, rodeos and cattle work are the predominant elements of the equestrian scene in Utah. Western horses and riders outnumber English perhaps 10-1. But last March, hunter-jumper trainer Sara Kirby defied the odds and helped bring a little more exposure to the Utah English equestrian community when
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Gary Smith: Understanding the Challenge

By Andrea Reynes Gary Smith is the one many riders call when they have a challenging but promising horse. Thanks to Gary’s gift with horses, he never has to look for work. The Wellington, Florida, resident is often sought-after when horse professionals and amateurs have tried many training methods — without the desired results. A
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Lily Rhodes: The Bright Side of Life

By Dani Moritz-Long It was an unusual scene when Lily Rhodes — bruised, battered and missing her right arm — was wheeled through the emergency room in perfectly good spirits on the heels of a horrific ATV accident. Even at 14, Lily was already looking on the bright side of life. Laughing as she recalled
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Equestrian Dreams Come True for Para Western Dressage Rider Jennifer Flanagan

By Dani Moritz-Long Like so many before her, Jennifer Flanagan was born with the horse bug. She longed to feel the wind in her hair as she galloped through the fields, take in the scent of the velvety coat beneath her and end her day to the comforting sound of horses munching hay. There was
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An Unlikely Fairy Tale: How Olympic Medalist Gina Miles Realized Her Dreams   

By Dani Moritz-Long It was 1984 in Los Angeles when then-10-year-old Gina Miles found herself pressed against the ropes, jaw-dropped as she watched the Olympic eventing teams fly by on the cross-country course. She had never seen anything like it in her life — the speed of their gallop, the scope of their jump —
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