SIGN IN YOUR ACCOUNT TO HAVE ACCESS TO DIFFERENT FEATURES

FORGOT YOUR PASSWORD?

FORGOT YOUR DETAILS?

AAH, WAIT, I REMEMBER NOW!

Sidelines MagazineSidelines Magazine

  • LOGIN
  • Home
  • Current Issue
  • Subscriptions
    • Flipbook
    • Subscribe Options
    • Order Sidelines Caps
    • Order Individual & Back Issues
  • Podcast
  • Marketplace
    • Business Ads
    • Directories
      • Barns, Farms, Trainers & Clubs
      • Equestrian Services
      • Real Estate
      • Stallions
      • Tack & Feed Stores
    • Classifieds
    • Horse Trailers for Sale
  • Advertise
  • Blogs
    • Show World
    • What’s Happenin’
  • Partners
  • Contacts
    • Contacts
    • Employment
0
Monday, July 22 2013 / Published in Weekly Feature

It’s A Doggone Funny Horse World

By Jan Westmark-Allan

 

Horse people love to jump their dogs and Ben shows off his form over fences.

Horse people love to jump their dogs and Ben shows off his form over fences.

While I am a horse person through and through, I also have a huge soft spot for canines. I’m not alone in my love for both equines and canines – visit a barn or head to a horse show and the canine world is in full force, making it evident that horse people love dogs.

 

My love for four-legged creatures began before I could walk, and when I was still a youngster I discovered the Disney movie The Ugly Dachshund. The movie, about a Great Dane who believes he is a dachshund, spoke straight to my horse-obsessed little kid heart. My family already had two yappy Dachshunds, but I didn’t have a pony (which is what I truly wanted) so getting a Great Dane seemed like the perfect thing – a dog that I could also ride. In the end my parents decided a pony was a better choice, and I gladly welcomed an equine into my yappy canine world.

 

Years and years went by but I did finally get a Great Dane. I rescued a two-year-old female Great Dane, who was a horse-size dog that hogged the couch and left me very little room in my king size bed. Although she was a canine, she was just like adding another horse to our farm – in fact she was larger than our Miniature Horse.

 

One of my former riding students, Mandy Su, has a Great Dane named Ben – a handsome young Dane who I had the pleasure of meeting when I went to the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event in Lexington, Kentucky this summer.

Sidelines Editor Jan Westmark-Allan enjoys a photo op with Ben while at Rolex.

Sidelines Editor Jan Westmark-Allan enjoys a photo op with Ben while at Rolex.

 

Ben joined us each day at the Kentucky Horse Park and he was a continuous source of entertainment – not only for us, but also for the countless people we encountered. Since the majority of the spectators at Rolex were horse people, there was no shortage of comments that ranged from, “He’s the size of a horse!” to “If you put a saddle on that dog, you could jump him cross-country.”

 

While we didn’t saddle up Ben and start riding, we did take him over to the little kid jumps to check out his form over fences. (He has great scope and his distances to the fences were perfect.) Horse people love to jump their dogs so we weren’t the only ones asking our dog to jump. We were, however, the only ones with a dog the size of a Shetland Pony.

 

While I tend to think that small dogs like Jack Russells and Corgis are the dogs of choice for the horsey set, I was surprised at how many horse people stopped us to tell us they also had a Great Dane. And several children told us they loved their Great Dane because they could ride them just like a horse, even without a saddle. It’s definitely a doggone funny horse world.

 

The Bottom Line: At the end of the weekend, I left with fond memories of what it’s like to have a Great Dane in your life, as well as a lot of laughs at all the comments from spectators at the Horse Park. If I could have had a nickel for every time someone saw Ben and said, “If you had a saddle you could ride that dog!” I probably would have made enough money to feed another Great Dane – and buy a saddle too!

 

Photos by Mandy Su – amsphotography.com

Double D Trailers Info

Share this page:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
Tagged under: Along for The Ride, dogs, dressaege, editor, eveners, great dane, Great Danes, horse-magazine, hunters, jan westmark-allan, jumpers, jumping, jumping on foot, kentucky horse park, Mandy Su, photography, rolex, Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, Sidelines Spirit

What you can read next


Guy & Sharon McElvain: Hearts for Horses
Jenny Erwin: A Fashionable Journey from SCAD to WEG
Success From the Ground Up

Download Sidelines Digital now from your favorite app store!

Sidelines Magazine - Apple store   Sidelines Magazine - Google Play store   Sidelines Magazine - Amazon store
Update iOS app. Re-download Google Play and Amazon app.

Follow on Instagram!

sidelines_magazine

Sidelines Magazine
Jessica West always rode any horse that was availa Jessica West always rode any horse that was available to her throughout her Junior career, so she knew she had an advantage when she decided she wanted to ride on an NCAA team in college. Now a senior at @@auburnu and majoring in psychology, Jessica has enjoyed everything about the equestrian team and is ready to move on to her next adventure. 

Read more about Jessica at the link in our bio!

#ncea #ncaa #equestrian #collegiateequestrian #huntseatequitation #hunterjumper #equestrianlife #collegelife #showjumper #hunterhorse #horseshow #sidelinesmagazine
In the unique and challenging sport of combined dr In the unique and challenging sport of combined driving, Jacob Arnold has proven himself to be a bona fide star. It’s been said that success develops from a recipe based on hard work, perseverance, learning and sacrifice, paired with a love of what one is doing. Since the time he was a boy, Jacob has had the right combination of all of those ingredients, which have culminated in a meteoric rise to stardom.

Beginning his career as a Junior, Jacob earned the coveted @usequestrian Junior Equestrian of the Year award in 2011. Since then, he has taken the combined driving world by storm, competing successfully in four @fei_global World Championships. He also won the USEF Advanced Pair Horse National Championship in 2020 and 2021, among other victories—all before the age of 28, in a sport that has historically been dominated by older drivers. Last September, he placed 12th—the highest of any American driver—at the 2021 FEI Driving World Championship for Pairs in a field of over 100 top-level drivers.

Read more about @jacobarnoldcombineddriving at the link in our bio!

@alex.banks.photography #combineddriving #drivendressage #dressage #driving #carriage #horsedriving #equestrianstyle #equestrianlife #horselover #drivinghorse #carriagehorse #showhorse #sidelinesmagazine
@rolex Testimonee Daniel Deusser has claimed the f @rolex Testimonee Daniel Deusser has claimed the first equestrian Major of 2022, winning the prestigious Rolex Grand Prix at The Dutch Masters. In doing so he also claimed an additional bonus for non-consecutive Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping wins, following his victory at CHIO Aachen last year. The German champion’s outstanding performance riding his trusted partner Scuderia 1918 Tobago Z once again makes him the live contender for the coveted Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping.

Catch up on all the action and watch the free highlights video on the Sidelines Show World blog (link in bio!)

#showjumping #rolex #grandslam #rolexgrandslam #showjumper #dutch #netherlands #dutchwarmbloods #equestrianlife #hunterhorse #hunterjumper #equestrianstyle #showhorses #showjumpersofinstagram #jumpinghorse #grandprixjumer #grandprixhorse #sidelinesmagazine
Dog and Horse friendly 3 bedroom 2 bath on 1.25 ac Dog and Horse friendly 3 bedroom 2 bath on 1.25 acres in Jupiter Farms, Florida.

Jupiter Farms is an equestrian community with a trail system and a sand riding arena at the park. Charming home features vaulted ceilings, custom trim, custom lighting in master bedroom that changes color with a remote. Granite countertops in kitchen and laundry room. New 2022 stackable washer/dryer. Privacy fenced backyard with beautiful tall pines for shade, many palm trees also on property.

Secure fenced  25’ x 25’ pen with wood fencing , for a horse, dogs or a garden.  Wonderful property in desirable Jupiter Farms. 45 minutes to Wellington, 25 minutes to Jupiter Dog Beach. Perfect oasis for dog and horse lovers, close to everything in South Florida. MLS# 10778333, Agents welcome.

$655,000
Contact 561-246-9317
Load More... Follow on Instagram

From Our Classifieds Ads

  • The RV Advisor

    Protecting the RV Owner’s Rights
    Choose Gigi's Personal Services (GPS)

    Buying an RV is likely your second largest purchase. It is highly recommended that you obtain assistance from an expert.

    With Gigi's 32-years of experience, she is uniquely qualified to review your purchase and warranty contracts and protect you from being over-charged or under serviced.

    [Read more]

  • OAKMONT - Full service rehab center
    Offering urgent care to progressive rehabilitation & conditioning. NW Ocala, FL. 352.591.0648 www.oakmontrehab.com

    [Read more]

Sidelines Articles by Email

Subscribe to Sidelines Magazine Articles by Email

RSS Sidelines Blogs: What’s Happenin’

  • A Paris Horse Adventure: Saut Hermes 2022
  • Better Business with Malvern Bank: Michael Meller’s Secrets to Success
  • Third Annual Painted Ponies Art Walk takes over Southern Pines, NC!

RSS Sidelines Blogs: Show World

  • Jung Ends as He Began — On Top — at the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by MARS EQUESTRIAN™
  • ROLEX TESTIMONEE DANIEL DEUSSER WINS ROLEX GRAND PRIX AT 2022 DUTCH MASTERS
  • STABLE VIEW IN AIKEN POSTPONING ‘A’ RATED $400,000 H/J CHALLENGE SERIES DUE TO RESTRICTIVE MILEAGE RULE

Category

Recent Posts

  • June 2022 – Table of Contents

    Subscribe for just $9.95 or Order Individual Is...
  • Cutest Horse Races Ever: Leadline Racing at the Aiken Horse Trials

    Photos by Barbara Magrogan   Young partici...
  • From Patient to Powerhouse: Lauren May Woodruff & RecoverEase

    When did you start your company and what gave y...
  • Kimmy Cecere: Finding Her Life’s Calling

    By Haylie Kerstetter Portraits by Alex Banks &n...
  • Amazing Adventures From the Olympics to Pirates to Arena Footing

    Karen Leeming Liverpool, England, originally; n...

Copyright © 1987 - 2021 Sidelines Magazine
Privacy Policy · Returns & Refunds Policy · Hosting by Lucian Web Service
· Login

TOP
Get the Sidelines Scoop — your weekly look behind the scenes.Sign me up!