The Gaucho Derby—deemed the “greatest test of horsemanship on Earth”—challenges riders’ wilderness survival and navigational skills as they race through of a network of estancias in the wilds of Patagonia (not to mention the test of camping outside each night).   

And for those brave enough to attempt it, these races are life-changing.

How Jessie Dowling’s Derby Preparation Began

In 2022, 40-year-old Jessie Dowling, an industrious cheesemaker and dairy farmer in Whitefield, Maine, was listening to a podcast while milking sheep and goats—unaware that soon she would embark on her own life-changing adventure, competing in the 2023 Mongol Derby.  

As president of the Maine Cheese Guild and owner of Fuzzy Udder Creamery, Dowling’s schedule was grueling. The pandemic forced her to think about where her life was going as a farmer and her happiness. She began spending more time with her horses—riding, training, attending clinics—and listening to podcasts.  

“I had heard of the Mongol Derby but thought it was for professional riders—I’m a backyard rider” Dowling says. “But on Warwick Schiller’s podcast, Stevie Delahunt talked about signing up for her Mongol Derby boot camp in Oregon—and I decided to do it.”

Dowling applied for the Mongol Derby, trained with endurance riders in Maine, completed her first limited-distance ride in 2022, and interviewed for the Mongol Derby the following day. “I told them I completed my first distance ride, was signed up for the Mongol boot camp, and they said I was in.”  

“I had zero endurance riding experience,” Dowling says. “I arrive at boot camp in Oregon; Warwick Schiller is there training for the Gaucho Derby. I went from listening to his podcasts in my milking parlor to riding Arabians with him.”

Falling in love with Arabians in the process, Dowling immediately acquired an Arabian gelding, Jelly Bean, as her new Mongol Derby training partner. “He has taught me so much about staying present, reading a horse’s energy, and regulating my energy.” 

Jessie Dowling and Jelly Bean. Photo by Julie Maddock

Her year-long Derby preparation included running, yoga, completing farm chores wearing a hydration pack, using a balance board to strengthen muscles, and a three-day intensive riding clinic with Solange Ellis. “She totally changed how I ride with biomechanic adjustments—sitting a gallop and riding in stable positions for long periods.”

The Mongolian steppe is covered with little marmot holes. “I learned how to sit back as the horse falls into a marmot hole, picks themselves up, and keeps going,” Dowling says. She also learned to ride Western and fast over all terrain. “You’re galloping for miles at a time.”   

In addition to improving these various riding skills, Dowling took Mongolian language lessons and carefully planned her gear.

“You’re only allowed 11 pounds,” Dowling says. “I had a little saddle bag, a hydration pack, med kit, water purification tablets, snacks, two sets of clothes, rain gear, and comfortable hiking shoes.” She traveled to Mongolia and arrived at the starting line.  

The Adventure Begins

“On an average day, the topography changes a lot—mountains, lakes, rivers, rolling hills, grasslands,” Dowling says. “You pass freely roaming cows, sheep, goats, horses, a herd of camels.”  

Dowling gallops past a herd of sheep and goats. Photo courtesy The Equestrianists

Riding 12 hours a day works up an appetite. There’s no Panera along the route; Dowling quickly adapted to the local food provided by host families at the urtuu—the horse stations. “The diet is one of the hardest parts,” Dowling says. “They eat parts of the sheep that we don’t normally eat—intestines or sheep face.” She often snacked on traditional meat pies throughout the day.  

The race rules are strictly enforced, prioritizing the horses’ well-being and the riders’ safety. “Race hours start at 7 a.m. and end at 7 p.m. If you arrive at a horse station by 7 p.m., you give your horse back to the herder, enjoy some food, and sleep in a ger. But if it’s 5 p.m. and you realize you can’t make it to the next station by 7 p.m., you must find a random ger to stay in. But hospitality is huge in Mongolian culture—they usually invite you to stay and feed you if you show up at a ger.” 

Dowling and fellow riders enjoy dinner with a Mongolian family in a traditional ger. Photo courtesy The Equestrianists

On day five, Dowling came off her horse while attempting to put on a rain jacket. She was unable to get back on her flighty mount. “We were walking and walking; I couldn’t find a ger,” Dowling says. “I had to stop at 7 p.m. or else get penalized. So I watched the sunset with my horse; it was beautiful.” She messaged the vet who came to complete the required check on her horse, who she helped Dowling get water and find a ger to stay in that night. Per race rules, Dowling incurred a 2-hour penalty for receiving assistance.  

You Get the Derby You Need

A network of Mongolian herders provide hundreds of horses for the race. 

“You ride 29 different horses during the race,” Dowling says. “It’s a lottery which horse you get. Each horse goes 40 km (25 miles). At each horse station, a vet checks the horse’s heart rate. It must come down to 56 bpm within a half hour. They have the highest standards of ethical welfare for a horse. The vet checks the horse’s gut sounds and gait. A rider gets penalized if there’s any problem with the horse. You can’t override your horse. The race taught me how to rate a horse—a horse will help you know its fitness if you really listen to it.”  

At horse station 2, Dowling kisses her horse goodbye, returning him to his proud owner. Photo courtesy The Equestrianists

Horse’s temperaments are another challenge many riders face during the journey, but this was an area in which Dowling shined.

“Some had trouble with their horse being spicy, but my superpower is that I love every horse I come across” Dowling says. “So, I would just take a deep breath, tell them that I loved them, find the spot they liked to be scratched, and connect with them.”

Dowling lets her horse stop for a drink on day three. Photo courtesy The Equestrianists

As for expectations, be prepared to be humbled. 

“People say you don’t get the Derby you want—you get the Derby you need,” Dowling says. Although she never reached her breaking point, day eight came close. “It’s mostly geldings—just a handful of stallions. On day eight, I pulled a stallion. Never riding a stallion before, I was a bit nervous. I headed out with other riders, tried to keep up, but he kept going slower. It was like he had never cantered before. Then we were down to a slow trot. Then a walk. I’m now the last rider. And if you get too far behind, you’ll get kicked out of the race.

“So I arrive at the only town on the race, and after eating boiled mutton face for a week, I had hopes of joining other riders at a café for chips and a beer… no other riders were there. Then my stallion would not walk over the bridge leaving town. An interpreter nearby helped by leading me across the bridge like I was on a pony ride. And he takes a picture. It was so embarrassing.

“At the next station, my horse checks out fine. I check the hospitality ger—all the food is gone. I just burst into tears. I took a deep breath, headed out to the horse line, and I picked number five. The herder had been waiting for someone to pick his prized horse all day. And I end up getting on the fastest horse! And that boy and I went straight out, galloping across the desert steppe, passed other riders, arrived at the next station less than two hours later, and I was back in the race.”

 Talk about getting the Derby you need.

“That day was the worst and best part of the race,” Dowling says. “I was hungry, demoralized, tired—but never gave up.” 

Leaving station 28, Jessie gallops across the Mongolian steppe towards the finish line. Photo courtesy The Equestrianists

Forty-three riders started the race, only 25 finished, and Dowling placed 13th. She says the experience was life-changing. “I went from an intermediate rider to an advanced rider. Spending 12 hours a day in the saddle on difficult horses, I feel light years ahead in my riding,” Dowling says. “So I got home. The next week, our farm’s cheese wins Best in Show at the Maine Cheese Festival, but I felt hollow inside. I realized this wasn’t what I wanted to do anymore.” 

She promptly sold her business to pursue an equestrian career full-time—with zero regrets.

Dowling accepts ceremonial milk at the finish line. Photo courtesy The Equestrianists

Dowling celebrated by riding the Tevis Cup—a 100-mile, one-day race in California. She opened Iron Ledge Farm, offering lessons and endurance training. Dowling visited Argentina to start training for her next adventure—the Gaucho Derby, which runs from February 18 to 28, 2026. Because the Gaucho Derby involves camping along the route, Dowling is figuring out how to pack a tent, stove, camping gear, and riding essentials in a saddle bag weighing no more than 22 pounds. “The Mongol Derby is the longest race in the world, but the Gaucho Derby has been called the toughest.”  

 And if anyone is up for the challenge, it’s Jessie Dowling.

Learn more about Jessie Dowling and her equine adventures by visiting ironledgefarm.com and following her on Facebook.   

This article about Jessie Dowling’s Mongol Derby is a web exclusive for Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post How Jessie Dowling’s Mongol Derby Adventure Paved the Way to More appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

When she was 12, Lawson’s family moved into a renovated farmhouse. And horses were soon a significant part of her life. “I was lucky enough to be included in activities with friends who were active in the equine show community. I started taking lessons and trail riding as well as competing in local shows, and I was hooked,” Lawson says.  

Kara Lawson, a licensed veterinary technician and owner of Infinite Equine Laser Therapy, LLC, performs therapeutic laser therapy on Tigo, a 7-year-old German Riding Pony. Photo by Julie Maddock

Recognizing a Need

Lawson’s love and respect for animals led her to pursue a career as a licensed veterinary technician, and she graduated in 2019. And it was while working at a veterinary clinic that Lawson was first introduced to photobiomodulation—commonly known as therapeutic laser therapy—and was impressed by the results and success stories she observed in the small-animal setting.  

As she continued working at clinics, Lawson began to see the real need for laser therapy for horses.

“I took certification classes through the American Institute of Medical Laser Applications, which included medical laser safety, principles in the companion animal practice, and in the equine athlete,” Lawson says. She keeps current with all rehabilitation continuing education (CE) offered through the American Association of Veterinary State Boards as well as other Board-approved platforms. These CE credits cover rehabilitation, lameness, nutrition, and the management of arthritis and metabolic diseases. 

Along the way, Lawson identified a problem.

“I did my research and realized that in Maine, there wasn’t really anyone who traveled to offer laser therapy services,” Lawson explains. “Most people have these services at an equine clinic when working up orthopedic or other issues, but can’t follow up with additional treatments necessary to make a difference.” And although she observed successful rehabilitation services, none included laser therapy with a veterinary-grade Class IV laser.  

So Lawson began mapping out a course to open her own business focusing on laser therapy. Equipped with a business course and good relationships with medical laser device companies, Lawson transitioned to the role of business owner and officially opened Infinite Equine Laser Therapy, LLC in early 2022.   

The Benefits of Therapeutic Laser Therapy

According to The American Animal Hospital Association, “therapeutic laser therapy is becoming an increasingly available option that veterinary practices can offer their patients.” Properly trained veterinary technicians can handle laser therapy appointments (if state regulations permit). Both quite easy and noninvasive, laser therapy can be a helpful addition to many treatment protocols.

“[Photobiomodulation therapy] uses wavelengths of light to promote cell regeneration, pain relief, circulation, inflammatory responses, and release acupuncture points for body harmonization,” Lawson explains. She uses laser therapy to accelerate the healing process on wounds, arthritis, pinched nerves, muscle strains, orthopedics, postoperative incisions, dermatitis, and more. “In other words, nose-to-hooves, ears-to-tail. It complements other rehabilitation and bodywork services, and can be used prior, during, or after exercising.”

The key benefits observed quickly include pain relief (release of endogenous endorphins), decreased inflammation, better blood flow, faster wound healing, and nerve regeneration. For orthopedic and other chronic conditions, expedited healing time is often achieved with multiple laser therapy sessions.   

As a testament to laser therapy’s ability to speed up the healing process, Lawson saw incredible results after performing maintenance laser therapy sessions on a 5-year-old mare diagnosed with multiple suspensory tears. “A recheck ultrasound performed three months later showed very minimal tears, and in some areas, no tears at all,” Lawson says. “Most multiple suspensory injuries can take up to six months to fully heal on their own. Laser therapy cut this time in half, and my client is thrilled to be able to put her mare back to work.”  

Since starting Infinite Equine Laser Therapy, Lawson has helped a number of horses.

“Henry, a 7-year-old Thoroughbred with kissing spine, is one of my long-term patients, and he has had a great experience with laser therapy,” Lawson says. She was able to help Henry with pain and discomfort before and after surgery (interspinous ligament desmotomy and wedge ostectomy) and now provides treatment as a bimonthly maintenance.

Henry, a 7-year-old Thoroughbred with kissing spine has greatly benefitted from laser therapy treatments. Photo by Allyssia Timberlake Photography

“We saw incredibly fast results, including pain relief, incision healing, immediate hair regrowth, and scar reduction,” Lawson says. “Now muscle maintenance is performed as Henry makes his way schooling First and Second Level movements.”

How Therapeutic Laser Therapy Is Performed

Therapeutic laser therapy is considered safe in all equine disciplines, and specific treatment protocols are applied depending on the patient.

“A wand connected to the device is used with either contact or non-contact to apply the treatment,” Lawson explains. “Treatments range from one to five minutes. The Class IV laser applies the highest power at a shorter amount of time, making it ideal for all animal patients and for working around movement, discomfort, or temperament.” 

Lawson performs laser therapy using a wand with direct contact and hand-held device Class IV laser. Photo by Julie Maddock

According to the AAHA, “the FDA divides lasers into four classes based on their power. Class III and IV are the most common lasers used in veterinary practice.”  

When a laser beam is directed to the patient’s tissue, the laser light is absorbed by the skin, muscle and bone. Penetrating at the cellular level, the light photons target water, hemoglobin, and cytochrome C oxidase within the bloodstream and mitrochondria. This stimulates cellular respiration, which plays a crucial role in wound healing, reducing inflammation, and managing pain. 

Veterinary-grade Class IV lasers are specifically designed with a myriad of fine-tuned options, protocols, and even acupuncture settings (using a targeted laser beam versus needles). Treatment duration and laser power are recommended based on factors such as whether the injury is acute or chronic, the type and size of wounds, and even coat color (light penetrates light and dark coats differently).   

Lawson uses a Class IV laser (veterinary-grade) with built-in anatomical protocols designed to deliver accurate therapeutics to specific indications or injuries. Photo by Julie Maddock

And how do the horses react to laser therapy treatments? “In most cases, equines with orthopedic injuries, muscle maintenance, acupuncture points, and generalized pain areas show a great deal of relaxation and releases when working on the area,” Lawson says. “Deep breathing, yawning, closed eyes, stretching, and sleeping can be observed. Some with severe injury or discomfort tend to shy away at first, show signs of annoyance, and then releases usually follow it. If the horse has not experienced bodywork before, they may take a few sessions to express any outward feelings about it.“ 

Even without seeing the signs of relaxation and enjoyment, the laser is still doing its job in treating the area of concern.  

Katie Goodspeed, one of Lawson’s clients and owner of a 7-year-old German Riding Pony named Tigo, can attest to the advantages of laser therapy.

“Tigo has benefitted from laser therapy with everything from basic muscle work to reducing inflammation,” Goodspeed says. “Because it’s so noninvasive, Tigo finds it quite relaxing. We’re so grateful to have found Lawson and been able to incorporate this service into our monthly bodywork routine.”   

Tigo relishes the release of tension during a laser therapy session with Lawson. Photo by Julie Maddock

Although Class IV lasers are very safe to use—even on sensitive areas like a swollen sheath due to an insect bite—they are contraindicated for pregnant mares and for treating cancer.

Lawson also provides kinesiology taping, which “provides immediate circulation to an area of interest, releases muscle spasms and strains. It is also used as a lightweight stabilization tool and joint support. It is inexpensive and easy to apply.”  

Lawson balances a busy work/life schedule as her business grows. “I am very blessed to have an understanding family who knows my love and motivation for my business,” Lawson says.

And she makes sure to carve out time for her two horses—Wallace and Whiskey. Lawson and Wallace, a 13-year-old OTTB, enjoy showing at Second Level dressage. “Wallace came to me with a severe suspensory tear that took him out of eventing,” Lawson says. “I have used laser therapy on him in multiple areas, and he continues to move up the levels with no orthopedic limitations. I use laser to maintain muscle activity, hind end engagement, and relaxation through his poll.” 

Kara and her horse, Wallace, at a 2022 USDF show in Maine. Photo courtesy Kara Lawson

Seeing the success of laser therapy in helping horses heal and experience noticeable improvement drives Lawson to keep pace with her active schedule. Lawson says, “I’m the ‘feel-good lady’… the horses are excited to see me because they know it’s time to relax on the crossties, relieve some pain, fix an issue, or simply enjoy themselves with no expectations.”  

You can learn more about Kara Lawson and the benefits of therapeutic laser therapy for horses by following her adventures on Facebook or visiting her website. 

This article is a web exclusive for Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Helping Horses Heal Using Therapeutic Laser Therapy appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Erin and Jonathan Sharp, along with their three children, all pitch in to run the family business. Photo courtesy Sharp Family

Hosting groups on sleigh rides is one of the Sharps’ favorite ways to introduce people to the exciting world of horses. The Sharp family purchased their land in 2018, moved into their farmhouse in 2020, and have been running a year-round horsemanship program ever since. Noel, age 17, is an integral part of the business alongside her younger brother and sister.

“I grew up giving wagon and sleigh rides with my family within the horse program that my dad managed,” says Erin. “I loved it as a kid. Jonathan and I wanted our kids to be able to learn and enjoy the world of farming and horsemanship, while making the world of harness horses available for everyone to enjoy!”

Haven Pines is a family owned and operated homestead in northern Wisconsin. Photo courtesy Sharp Family

A Day in the Life at Haven Pines

Managing a farm and horsemanship business in all seasons is no small feat. The Northwoods region regularly experiences low temperatures in the negative teens, feet of snow, heat waves, and plenty of rain. Maintaining healthy horses in dynamic weather takes the entire family to be successful.

During a typical day of sleigh rides, Erin and Noel manage the driving horses while the rest of the Sharp family works to prepare the campfire, hot chocolate, warm blankets, and guest check-in process.

“We want guests to feel like they get to experience our farm as if they’re a member of our family,” says Erin. “Letting guests get to know the horses is a top priority for us. First, because our teams love the people, and secondly, because it’s so cool to get to know the horses that are the power behind the whole experience.”

Meet the Horses

In addition to their horses that are used for traditional English and western riding lessons, they have a string of driving horses.

“Oak and Maple, 5- and 6-year-old Belgian mares, are the stars of our 12-person sleigh,” says Noel. “Their kind and friendly personalities make them easy to love.”

Oak and Maple are the family’s 5- and 6-year-old Belgian mares who pull the 12-person sleigh. Photo courtesy Sharp Family

Driving horses of all sizes call Haven Pines home, including a Shetland Pony gelding named Sampson, a Pony of the Americas gelding named Jack, and a Haflinger/Belgian cross named Randy.

A Belgian/Haflinger cross named Randy is one of the family’s driving horses. Photo courtesy Sharp Family

Finding horses suitable for the work of sleigh rides is critical at Haven Pines. Pulling sleighs through snow is physically and mentally demanding work.

“The horse’s mind is the first thing I look at [when horse shopping],” Erin says. “Can the horse mentally live and work safely and happily in the environment I know will be waiting in my program? If the answer is yes, the second thing I look at is physical soundness. If the horse can pass a pre-purchase exam by a veterinarian, the third component is financial. Our equine programs must be self-sustaining. Ultimately, a prospective horse must be friendly, curious, forgiving, and healthy.”

Erin (right) and Noel with Oak and Maple. Photo courtesy Sharp Family

Young Entrepreneur

Noel loves spending time with her family in the horsemanship business. She grew up working with horses alongside her mom, and now often drives Oak and Maple on sleigh routes.

“We always like to have two people with the draft team to make sure we can tackle anything that needs to be done while always having a driver at the lines,” Erin explains.

Seventeen-year-old Noel grew up giving sleigh and wagon rides, and balances homeschooling with the family business. Photo courtesy Sharp Family

Since she’s still in school, Noel must balance learning and homework with farm work.

“The balance isn’t easy, but it’s worth it to do it for the guests,” she says. “Because I’m homeschooled, my education can support learning how to operate a business.”

On top of sleigh rides, Noel is involved in teaching riding lessons, doing chores, and managing her own herd of Nigerian Dwarf goats.

“One of my favorite parts of sleigh rides is working with the horses, and seeing how meaningful being around the horses is to our guests,” she says.

Keeping it Safe

Even when faced with challenges such as a record low snowfall in the winter of 2023-2024, the Sharps continue to invest in relationships with people and animals.

“Every sleigh ride business is unique, and learning what the exact perfect fit is has been a learning process,” says Erin. “We’ve had to deal with icy conditions, equipment breaking down, and other common issues that come with the territory of running a farm and managing livestock. Safety is a top priority for humans and horses. Our horses wear shoes with Borium cleats in the winter to ensure they can maintain good footing. We also conduct regular safety checks on harnesses, wagons, sleighs, and trails.”

Wagons and sleighs receive regular safety checks for the sake of both humans and horses. Photo courtesy Sharp Family

Only rarely do the Sharps have to cancel sleigh rides due to inclement weather. The Northwoods is known for long, cold winters. As long as there is quality snow, sleigh ride trails can be maintained to be beautiful and safe, and caring for people and horses goes hand in hand at Haven Pines.

Learn more on the Havens Pine website.

This article about Haven Pines family sleigh rides appeared in the November/December 2024 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Haven Pines: A Family Sleigh Ride Business appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Could you do the same?

Equine Clipping Business

Originally from Long Island, N.Y., 34-year-old Kristen Abano was a horse girl who majored in communications and English. After college, she worked in office administration at Cornell Ruffian Equine Specialists in Elmont, N.Y., for a year before relocating to south Florida. Eager to be more hands-on in the equine industry, Abano began working as a veterinary technician at Palm Beach Equine Clinic in Wellington, Fla.

“Once I got into vet med, I thought that would be where I’d work the rest of my life,” she says. “That was my dream job at the time, but the burnout is real in that industry. Toward the end of my time as a vet tech, I started doing some grooming [for private clients]. When I left the clinic in early 2020, I started my own business as a professional groom and made it a legal operating entity in 2021.”

It took three years for Centerline Equine Clipping to create full-time income, but the business has doubled every year. Her own horse, Ace, a Haflinger/Quarter Horse cross, models for her business marketing photos.

Kristen Abano and Ace. Photo by Klara Balsan Media

Centrally located near the show horse hub of Wellington, Fla., Abano is able to service south and southwest Florida. She works on everything from six-figure show horses to the 40-year-old backyard pony.

“Body clipping is not just about aesthetics; some horses need this medically,” says Abano. “Take Cushing’s horses, for example: I have these on a four- to six-week schedule to stay ahead of their coat growth, otherwise they may develop further health complications.”

Abano says clipping is important for keeping horses cool in Florida, especially those with conditions like Cushing’s disease. Photo by Klara Balsan Media

While most of her business is body clipping, Abano offers plenty of other services, including sheath cleaning, mane tidying, private client grooming for shows, and preparing horses for photo sessions.

“Photoshoot prep is one of my favorite services,” she says, noting that she can do all the grooming and hand over an immaculate photo-ready horse, or stay for the duration of the shoot to help with details and getting ears up.

“My favorite part of what I do is getting horses to look and feel their best,” she adds.

Working Thoroughbred Sales

In 2023, an amazing 14,462 Thoroughbreds sold at public auction in North America for gross receipts of $1.2 billion. The average price per horse was $86,114.

Consignors who sell horses at these auctions routinely hire workers who specialize in preparing and handling horses at the sales. The most talented are able to work sales exclusively, rather than working on farms. On average, these consignors pay sales workers $250 to $300 per day.

Giovanni (Gio) Garcia, 31, of Little Village, Ind., has built a reputation as a top hand and makes a living working the country’s biggest Thoroughbred sales.

Garcia travels the country to horse sales and keeps up a steady full-time income stream, spending time with his family between sales.

Garcia wasn’t raised with horses, but he’s consistently worked in the equine industry since starting as a groom at Tampa Bay Downs in 2012.

“I started coming to Ocala and working as an exercise rider and groom on a farm,” says Garcia. “Someone asked me about working sales and told me I could make more money doing that.”

He experienced this firsthand in 2020 when he worked for Claiborne Farm at the Keeneland yearling sale in Lexington, Ky. It was there Garcia found his niche. Since then, he’s been hired by sales consignors to work at Thoroughbred sales in Florida, Kentucky, Maryland and New York.

“I go wherever the horses go,” says Garcia.

Gio Garcia walks a yearling to the auction ring at the Keeneland sale in Lexington, Ky.

During the longest sales, he may be away from home 16 days at a stretch. Once the horses ship in, the days are long and intense with no time off until the sale ends.

Whether he’s tacking up and wrapping the legs of a 2-year-old before a breeze show (where buyers get to watch the horse have a timed workout on the track before the auction) or showing rambunctious yearlings to prospective buyers, Garcia’s focus is always making sure the horses look their best.

“Whether it’s cold, raining, or hot, I love what I do,” he says. “I love horses and I’m paid to do something I love.”

Paul Sharp, one of the industry’s top 2-year-old consigners, sees Garcia’s passion.

“He’s reliable, knowledgeable, communicates well, and has a good touch. He definitely has a passion for the horses.” Ocala-based Sharp has hired Garcia to work all of his consignments since 2021.

As Sharp explains, an experienced hand like Garcia understands what’s at stake with the big sales and pays close attention to detail.

When he’s not working a sale, Garcia is home spending time with his family—his wife Courtney and their almost 2-year-old son, Giovanni Jr.

“He loves horses and already has a pony,” Garcia says with a smile.

Supplement Business

When Jerry Miller was a young man cowboying in Wyoming, he never imagined owning an equine supplement company.

Raised in Sheridan, Wyo., Miller went into the U.S. Navy after graduating high school. After serving his country, he moved to Seattle and worked as a welder for 12 years.

Miller then earned his mechanical engineering degree and moved to Idaho after graduating college in 2002. For the next 15 years, he traveled across the U.S. working as a consulting engineer for a company that built food and beverage processing systems.

“Between my ranching, welding and engineering experience, I was able to come up with new ways for my clients to make money,” says Miller. “I was always on the lookout for a way I could be my own boss.”

Jerry Miller started his business with an entrepreneurial spirit and an idea from a previous job.

That opportunity came in 2019, when Miller wrote an engineering proposal for a nearby CBD oil extraction lab. The owner ended up hiring Miller as the production manager to design and run his extraction lab in Oregon.

“I learned everything I could about the product and processing it,” says Miller.

When he realized the company threw away the hemp after extracting the CBD oil to use in human products, he sent samples for testing. When the results came in, his entrepreneurial mind started spinning.

Testing revealed the hemp contained no THC, but was rich in 18 amino acids that fuel hoof, bone, skin and hair growth, repair muscle, manage weight, and help mental focus, among numerous other benefits.

After doing a trial with horse-owning friends and seeing how readily horses ate it, Miller knew he had a viable product. From there, it was a matter of researching the best way to dry the hemp, grind it, and process it into a supplement.

Miller officially launched Remount on May 1, 2020, during the early days of the pandemic. His company is registered in Idaho and his production shop is located across the border in Ontario, Ore.

Remount is a 100 percent hemp amino acid CBD equine health supplement. It contains 18 vital amino acids, including lysine, methionine, leucine, and more. The supplement is available in both powder and pellet form.

“I put some money in the business to get it rolling, but it was paying for itself by the second year and became profitable by year three,” says Miller. “I’ve seen a 30 to 40 percent increase in sales since 2021.”

In addition to selling online through Remount’s website, Miller has the supplement in eight retail locations in five states, and he has 12 distributors in 10 states.

This fall, he is heading south in his fifth wheel to spend the entire winter in Arizona, doing vendor booths at horse events from November through March.

Advice for Making an Equine Career Happen

Do you have what it takes to launch a career in the equine world?

“There are many ways you can make a living working with horses,” says Abano. “Find what you’re good at and figure out how to make money at it. Make sure it’s something you enjoy and are passionate about. If you’re offering a service, you have to love it.”

Miller recommends researching first.

“Find something no one else is doing and go for it,” he says.

If you’re marketing a product, be prepared to give away samples in the first year to get people to try it. Sponsoring good competitors who use your product also helps get the word out.

For obvious reasons, location matters if you’re offering a service. For example, Abano’s proximity to Wellington and her ability to travel in south Florida set up her business for success.

During show season in Idaho, Miller has a vendor booth at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa, which hosts many shows and equine events, allowing him to showcase his product to horse people from a variety of states and different breeds.

Next, don’t skimp on appearances. A professional website is crucial when you’re launching a business. Miller says “before and after” photos of horses using his supplement have really helped promote Remount.

Giving out free samples and using “before and after” photos for marketing helped build Miller’s business.

Finally, take advantage of social media and make the most of your connections.

“Wahl reached out to me after having followed my social media for a few months and asked me if I would be interested in joining their Pro Equine team,” says Abano. “Professionally, having this credential behind my name makes my business more competitive and marketable.” She is now a Wahl ambassador and educator who exclusively uses Wahl Animal products.

“I have consistent sales in over 25 states,” says Miller. “I couldn’t have gotten sales in some of those states without social media. I do a lot myself and have 15 to 20 sponsored competitors who talk about the brand on social media.”

This article about niche equine jobs appeared in the October 2024 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Niche Equine Jobs appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Photo by Feratay/Adobe Stock

“My Navajo clan name is Ta’neeszahnii,” he says. “The Navajo are maternal, meaning we take our grandmother’s last name.” He grew up inside Navajo Nation on a farm in Cedar Hill, but just outside the reservation where his uncles still keep a horse ranch and his “great auntie” farms the family homestead.

“The isolation of my family farm gave me an authentic, traditional Navajo childhood,” says Englehart, who saw natural beauty up close rather than through a television set. But what his family also saw was how poverty deprived and denied opportunities to the young people on the reservation.

“Which is why my Navajo moved off the reservation—to find work and move beyond the economic injustice my grandmother, mother and ancestors endured, and so I could tell my story.”

The isolation of his family farm gave Hugh a traditional Navajo childhood. Photo by Pabrady63/Adobe Stock

Experiential Learning

Now in his 30s, he lives in Los Angeles, Calif., where he works as an artist, horse rescuer and youth educator. A challenge course designer as well as horseman, he hopes to see experiential learning become as mainstream in the United States as it is in both Europe and the southwest Four Corners area where he grew up.

“In Denmark, empathy and outdoor education are mandatory. Navajo education,” he grins, “called it common sense.”

Hugh at American Jewish University facilitating experiential education. The University partners with the Wounded  Warrior Project using horses to help veterans with PTSD. Photo by H.A. Eaglehart

Hollywood is all about putting on a good show, but when it comes to getting real, this passionate advocate for equine therapy says it’s all about the horses.

Earth Warriors

“I incorporate horses, summer camps, challenge courses, empathy, and my Navajo culture as a teacher,” says Englehart.

It has shaped him into a cowboy who is up for a challenge. One of the state’s top challenge course builders and inspectors, he is special consultant to the California State University-Northridge Outdoor and Recreation Department, home to the largest public-owned challenge course in Southern California, and directing manager for Griffith Park Boys Camp, operated by the City of Los Angeles Recreation and Parks Outdoor Education Department—the largest urban park in North America.

Hugh hugs a Mini named Squishy, whose career is doing TV commercials. Photo by H.A. Eaglehart

He’s carved a niche for himself in the challenge course industry just as it’s evolving to offer more fixed “wilderness type” team-building experiences than expedition-type settings.

The idea, he says, is to use empathy learning and positive memory making to foster a generation of leaders who “understand the importance of cherishing the planet while having the knowledge to become an Earth warrior.”

The Navajo, or in their language, the Diné, believe in two classes of beings. Citing Ray Baldwin Lewis for the Navajo Tourism Department, discovernavajo.com, these are the Holy People, who taught the Diné to live in harmony with Mother Earth and Father Sky; and the Earth People, who do everything they can to maintain that harmony and balance.

It doesn’t get much earthier than helping kids or horses find harmony and balance. The work Englehart does now had its genesis in leaving his home for Los Angeles and finding his way into wrangling and saving horses at a 4,000+ acre municipal park at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains, home to the iconic the Hollywood sign.

“For me, Griffith Park is about so much more than horses, but horses are where my story begins.”

Photo by Larry Gibson/Adobe Stock

Flights & Totes

From Flora Vista, N.M., to Hollywood, Calif., Englehart has lived and breathed horses since he was “in nothing but a diaper and a Stetson” on his father’s lap astride the family horse, named Red.

“I’m not sure why horses give me flight in dreams,” he says. “Muscle memory? I do know that horses in my dreams signal a good night ahead. Horses give me flight in dreams or nightmares. Horses are why I love nightmares, which are never scary when I’m astride a horse. Nightmares are my chance at courageousness.

“One of the greatest horses I ever worked with was named Butters because he was the color of butter. Riding him felt as smooth as flying. Sometimes for fun we’d ride down to the Los Angeles River and race the trail parallel to the concrete canal system, the cool air blowing in our faces as I flew with Butters straight up to the moon over Glendale.”

Hugh rides a mare named Elsa in front of the last hay barn in Los Angeles, built during the Great Depression, before going to wrangle horses in the rain. Photo by H.A. Eaglehart

Or unfurling the wings of his aunt’s 17-hand Thoroughbred, Tote Sack.

“He was all legs and one gait: rocket fast,” Englehart recalls. “The moment you got on, he took flight. Tote and I were closer than I ever got with [anyone] I knew at the time. The only soul to come close has been a Friesian mare named Allie. I’m certain Allie is Tote reincarnated!

“I remember the names of horses more than I do humans. I think that is partly because horse personalities are more memorable—they’re genuine and larger than life. Horses take up their full space, whereas humans hide too much for Navajo to ever fully trust.”

Hugh as stunt rider playing a Native American warrior at Raleigh Film Studios, across from Paramount Studios. Photo by H.A. Eaglehart

His inability to trust was the most traumatic part of being closeted as a teenager.

“I didn’t come out until I was 23 and completing my last semester of college,” he says. “There’s nothing special about my story, which is actually the saddest part.”

He recently released a book under his pen name, H.A. Eaglehart, called Urban Native: The Musings of a Queer Navajo Cowboy in Hollywood, about growing up Native and the lessons he has learned from life, nature, and horses along the way.

However, his story includes a leg up. A college degree in outdoor education led to a promotion from Ropes Director to Senior Supervisor for Griffith Park Boys Camp last April, and he’s paying it forward. His replacement, Hope Rogers, was his recommendation.

“Our campers are international, have heterosexual and openly [gay] parents, and are surrounded by the spiritually resurrecting qualities of Los Angeles’ most untouched natural habitat,” he says.

An Unspoken Language

For any teenager, self-identity is a daunting undertaking.

“Horses provide a powerfully positive influence in early human development,” says Englehart. “After teaching hundreds of kids from all six continents how to ride, I can say that horses possess an unspoken language that kids speak instinctively, naturally tapping into the ancient bond humankind shares with caballos.

“Horses often perceive children differently from adults,” he continues. “Horses tend to be less trusting of adults because adults are better at hiding emotion.”

Navajo horse sense is handy for experiential therapy facilitators because horses fine-tune their ability to interpret the emotions of predators.

“Horses live by herd mentality, becoming experts in reading body language,” says Englehart. “A herd can feed off of wrangler energy. Stressed out cowboys can literally trigger a stampede. Herding horses taught me in real time how, by relaxing, the positivity of my mood increased, which in turn affected the mood of the herd. Stampedes are dangerous, so it really pays off to be at peace in the world of horses.”

A Hopeful Perspective

He says that children in the programs he works with give him a more hopeful perspective about the world in general.

Sherri Lindsay, City of Los Angeles Senior Director of Griffith Park Boys Camp, says the feeling is mutual.

“Kids love him,” she says. “He sees life differently and connects to people in a different way. Hugh’s easygoing style and love for exploring have taken him from Navajo Nation to the wilds of Hollywood, and we are all better for it.”

Englehart strives to create environments where everyone can thrive as individuals free to pursue happiness within inclusive communities. In therapy or horsemanship, the way to fight fire is not with more fire, but with more harmony.

In Mustangs and in Life

“You will never ride a wild Mustang by getting it to come to terms with your version of reality,” he says, recalling how he discovered the new job of a once-wild Mustang that had come through a rescue where he volunteered as a trainer.

Hugh bareback on rescued Mustang named Lola, who has since been adopted and lives an amazing life in the Hollywood Hills. Photo by H.A. Eaglehart

“A Mustang rehabilitated by the federal government program is easy to spot by the freeze brand on its neck,” says Englehart. “I came across a photo of a firefighter in Oregon battling a wildfire and, looking at the markings on its neck, it was instantly obvious that the horse came from the same rescue where I once trained horses! These rehabilitated Mustangs are sometimes adopted by Hollywood stars (like Conan O’Brien), but many are used by border patrol and wildfire fighters, to carry equipment to the front lines where road access by vehicle is limited.

“My incentive as a Mustang trainer was never to be better than anyone else, but that photo solidified my desire to leave the world in a more harmonious state. How much more harmony can exist if wild horses and firefighters can join forces to battle the flames—literally or figuratively—in front of them?”

Englehart’s book, Urban Native, is published by Incunabula Media of Seattle, Wash., and is available at incunabulamedia.com.

This article about Hugh Ta’neeszahnii Englehart appeared in the August 2024 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Hugh Ta’neeszahnii Englehart: Urban Native appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

I’d lost Emmy, a magnificent, kind, motherly Thoroughbred mare, after her battle with a degenerative soft tissue disease. She was a horse that knows your thoughts before they’ve even made it to words; the kind of horse they don’t make anymore.

Hollywood Moment

Our tale begins after months of horse shopping. My husband’s draft horse was depressed and needed a friend. Every horse we looked at—all Thoroughbreds—wasn’t The One. And maybe I wasn’t ready. Then one day, after looking at the New Vocations site, I happened to stop upon pictures of Utopia. But the listing said … “Standardbred.”

Photo courtesy Christina Beyer

Standardbred? What the heck do I know about them? But his face, and his eyes, and his proud yet kind energy pulled at me. I happened to be traveling for work to Lexington, Ky., the very next day, and their Richwood, Ohio, facility was basically on the way. I contacted Bridget Hollern, their Standardbred trainer, and she said I could come meet him.

Upon arriving at the farm, I wasn’t really expecting much. I had already pooh-poohed every horse we’d gone to look at for months. Like most potential adopters, I gave Bridget a little summary on our horse history and how hard it was to lose a horse like Emmy.

We walked into the barn, and like a Hollywood cliché, I locked eyes with Utopia. It was love at first sight. He had a presence of intelligence and humor. He found a pack of Twizzlers candy in my pocket and demanded to eat every single one of them.

Bridget and I worked with Utopia in the cross-ties and I asked if I could longe him. I got the butterflies back and was smiling from ear to ear. After working Utopia and watching Bridget ride him, I was sold.

That night at the hotel room in Lexington, I called my husband.

“What do I do? He’s a Standardbred, and I wanted a Thoroughbred again.”

My husband said, “Well, do you like him?”

I replied, “Yes, yes, yes! Let’s get him.”

So, a week later, we picked up Utopia from Bridget’s barn and brought him home.

Allergy Attack

The butterflies and joy faded as the first week went on and we started noticing that Utopia, now known as Twizzler, had developed hives all over his body and face. We went on an eight-week crusade to figure out what he was allergic to.

We changed everything you can think of: bedding, hay and feed, baths, allergy meds, even vet-prescribed meds and allergy testing. This poor horse was exploding in his stall as we tried to keep him off the pasture for fear the pasture was causing the allergies.

I was devastated and scared. Our trial was almost up, but I didn’t want to give up on him.

I called Bridget for advice; we even got her vet involved. My vet returned to us with the blood-based allergy testing results: Poor Twizzler was allergic to many things in horse feed, some insects, and a whole lot of pasture plants, including clover. All of the pastures in northeast Ohio are dominated by clover.

Out of pure desperation, I talked to my husband about ripping out the pasture and starting over with a grass mix he could live in.

I was eventually put in contact with Twizzler’s former trainer/owner from his racetrack days, Terry Deters. Terry is a horseman through and through. He is kind and honest, and he was happy to talk about his beloved Utopia, who apparently had always suffered from hives, and had lived comfortably with blood serum allergy treatments.

Hallelujah! We didn’t have to dig up the pastures and he could eat and live like a normal horse! We started the shots as soon as they came in. It was a relief for Twizzler within the first few weeks.

Trike Trials

The day I knew this hive-stricken horse had to stay with our family was when Twizzler was standing in the cross-ties watching our 2-year-old son Glenn ride his tricycle around in the barn. Glenn knows very little about horses, but he knows how Emmy was with him—kind and aware. Glenn assumes all horses are cool with noisy, tiny people riding about.

I watched Glenn almost ride his trike into Twizzler’s front feet and stop. In slow motion, I thought to myself, OK, he’s either going to spook or run over Glenn.

Nope. Twizzler, as levelheaded and intelligent as he is, pushed Glenn’s bike with his nose, and Glenn giggled with glee that he was moving backwards. This game continued on and on.

Twizzler didn’t mind at all when Christina’s 2-year-old son, Glenn, rode around the stable on his tricycle. Photo by Capture Your Happy Photography

Problem Solving

Eventually, we started Twizzler under saddle at our farm. We ride in our pastures and fields; we don’t have an arena. It never occurred to me that a Standardbred might not understand that his new job doesn’t have a track to guide him, and the aids are very different from being driven.

I struggled a bit getting him to understand what I was asking him to do. Something that helped us was creating a large circle out of cones, a bit like a track.

The other thing I struggled with was bit selection. It seemed we tried at least 30; all of them resulted in the same thing—a lot of anxious chewing and chomping.

Our now dear friend Terry reminded me that they race with very simple single-jointed snaffles with fixed mouthpieces. So I put back all the $200 bits and went out and bought a $20 copper roller snaffle driving bit. We now ride comfortably (although somewhat chompy at the beginning of the ride).

A Very Special Job

A few short months after letting Twizzler into our hearts and home, he embarked on a huge job.

Before Emmy’s passing, she was a friend and a teacher to a 7-year-old family member named Rhys, a boy with Asperger’s syndrome (a form of autism spectrum disorder). I was confident Twizzler would be kind and patient with Rhys, too, and we decided to give it a try.

Twizzler never put a foot wrong under saddle. He seemed to have the same ability to read the situation that Emmy did. Rhys loves having Twizzler as his new teacher and friend, and Twizzler loves being the center of attention, especially with children and the snacks they often have.

A Breed with a Lot to Offer

I tell everyone I know looking for a new riding horse to consider a Standardbred. They are level-headed, first and foremost. They are funny and great family horses. They are athletes and love to work. They are extremely trainable, forgiving, and can settle into new situations quickly. Twizzler is also pretty darn sound, even after over 200 races!

We were a family of broken hearts, and the universe sent us Utopia. Our hearts are full and our home is complete.

This article appeared in the August 2024 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Adopting a Horse: Love At First Sight appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Juliet R. Harrison.

Horsey Background

Riding forward is all she’s known since she was 10 years old, when a strawberry roan Welsh Mountain Pony named Ginger was “hers” for two riding camp summers at Glen Durham Stables in upstate New York.

Harrison and her summer pony, Ginger, in 1968.

“It was a traditional Pony Club program where we learned everything,” says Harrison. “They took us to local shows in Ulster and Greene counties.”

At the Vershire Riding Camp in Vermont, she picked up the basics of eventing before a summer on Long Island at the Thomas School of Horsemanship.

“I came off during an in-and-out combination where my horse jumped the first fence, then put the brakes on, and his bridle and I ended up on the far side of the second,” she recalls. “He was named Romeo but was no love of mine!”

Photography and Horses

By her 40s, her greatest love—her son—led her back to horses after years spent adulting to earn an MFA in Photography from Cranbrook Academy of Art. She built a work portfolio in retail and administration.

Harrison’s artistic medium of choice has always been photography; shown is her work entitled “All That Glitters.”

“After offering riding lessons to my 5-year-old, who liked them well enough, I realized it was me who wanted to ride,” she reflects. After three years of weekly group lessons, Harrison bought her first horse, Tony. “I had him for 14 years. He was my first horse and my last.”

The Belgian/Quarter Horse gelding was reminiscent of the “amazing” drafts she saw competing in Michigan while studying for her MFA.

“I’d never been able to draw or paint, but I had a camera in my hand since I was a child,” Harrison recalls. “My first ‘real’ equine photos were at that venue. But my immersion into horse ownership inspired me to turn my camera on the world I was part of.

“I shot unlike what most photographers were doing. I got closer to the bodies, cropping and orienting my subjects to focus on light, texture, contrast, and massing. I wasn’t ‘taking pretty pictures of pretty horses.’”

She found others who understood what she was trying to do, pre-Facebook, on a forum called the Equine Art Guild.

“There were thousands of us,” she remembers. “We held online group shows, entered juried shows, networked and supported one another. I was asked first to jury and then direct an online equine art competition called Ex Arte Equinus.”

That led to meeting more horse-focused artists, and by 2009, she was part of a Red Hook, N.Y., art collective.

“We rented a space with a storefront gallery and smaller rooms in the back that we offered as studio spaces.”

A passion project for her studio space turned into Harrison’s full-time work.

Diagnosis & Gallery Beginnings

She was renting one of those spaces for her own work when she got the diagnosis: stage 3 ovarian cancer.

“Between surgery and chemo, I was unable to get out and photograph, and was spooked about going back in the darkroom to do my own printing,” says Harrison. “When I was done with treatment and in remission, the studio space came up for renewal. I had to decide, was I going to give it up?”

The answer came from the artist friends she gathered with each year during Saratoga Race Course’s Thoroughbred racing meet, held during the summer in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Among them was Canadian artist Linda Shantz.

“Linda had gallery representation in Saratoga, so she would drop off work when we met up, and I would pick it up for her at the end of the season and hold on to it for the bulk of the year until she needed to trade something out,” says Harrison.

“I asked if I could show her art in my studio and try to sell it. I’d been selling my own, so I knew how to market it. Linda agreed and I sold one [of her pieces] almost immediately. That was the genesis of Equis Art Gallery. If I couldn’t create enough of my work to sell, I could try to sell work by others.”

Murra (2023), an acrylic /oil/graphite/ink work by Ukrainian artist Kateryna Bailikova. Photo by Equis Art Gallery

She asked her Equine Art Guild/Saratoga friends if they would send her their artwork to sell.

“And they did! I still represent many of them today, including Linda.”

Giving Back Joy

Harrison’s last cancer treatment was in August of 2013, putting her in remission for the last 11 years. She opened Equis Art Gallery in January of 2014, and it now has an international collector base and represents over 30 artists from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the Ukraine.

“Inviting [Ukrainian artist] Kateryna Beilikova was in discussion when war came,” she says. “I’m honored to have her work and amazed that she continues to create and get it out of the country to me, via Poland usually. I am lucky to know her and her work.

“Equis Gallery was my gift to myself. After surviving cancer, I asked myself what could give me joy and let me give back to those I care about. Two communities took care of me when things were at their worst, my equine artists and my Red Hook, so if I can bring support to them, I am thrilled.”

Nevermore (2023), an acrylic painting by Ukrainian artist Kateryna Bailikova. Photo by Equis Art Gallery

Equis Art Gallery has been called the only gallery of its kind.

“[Operating] an art gallery is not an easy business, and every sale means a lot, but one of my favorite stories is of a couple one summer who bought several pieces,” she recalls. “I was so excited I looked them up, and she turned out to be the curator of a famous museum gallery in New York City. Knowing that she found art in Equis worth owning meant a lot.”

This cancer warrior believes in giving a leg up to artists who don’t always find representation and introducing them to collectors who may appreciate their work and want to own it; collectors who want their art like they want their horses—right up close.

This article about Juliet R. Harrison appeared in the June 2024 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Juliet R. Harrison: A Gallery of Dreams appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

An ATV accident at 14 required amputation of Lily’s right arm, but that hasn’t stopped her from her quest for riding. Photo by Rachel Griffin

Horse Lover From Birth

Lily grew up in Tulsa, Okla., a third-generation horse girl thanks to a grandmother and mother who rode. Her mother had a string of retired Quarter Horses that she used to show in breed shows.

“I was ‘born with the defective gene,’ as my dad would say,” Lily says with a laugh. “Even before I could walk, I was on horses with my mom, but it wasn’t until I was about 8 or 9 that I started to take formal riding lessons and got competitive with it.”

Lily started her riding journey with dressage throughout her youth and junior years. She showed hunter/jumpers on her university’s Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association team. She ended up falling in love with the hunters, and that has fueled her continued passion for horses.

Lily started riding dressage, but has shifted to hunter/jumpers as her true passion. Photo by Rachel Griffin

The Accident

Lily was adventurous as a teen—a little too adventurous, she might say. At the age of 14, she was in an ATV accident that required her to be life-flighted to the hospital.

“My arm was amputated on the spot, so it wasn’t that I had amputation surgery—it was a stitch-her-up surgery,” Lily recalls. “My mom met me at the hospital, and as any mother would be, she was freaking out and sobbing. But the first thing I said to her as I was being wheeled into surgery was, ‘I guess I’m going to have to do western pleasure now.’ But the surgeon came in—who I had not yet met at this point—yelling, ‘Over my dead body will you sit on a western horse.’”

The surgeon just so happened to be a Hanoverian warmblood breeder and dressage rider. Lily credits her encouragement to continue riding horses as playing a key role in her healing.

“I would say 99 percent of doctors would’ve told me I was not allowed to get on a horse for at least six months after this hugely traumatic injury,” Lily says. “My doctor told me, ‘Whenever you feel ready, get on a horse.’ And so, a week after I was out of the hospital, I was on a horse again.”

Back in the Saddle

Lily found being around horses to be therapeutic and helped give her a positive outlook on life after her injury.

“Having something to work toward and a goal to achieve really helped my recovery,” she says.

Lily’s recovery was faced with two infections, and she says it took her about nine months to find an equilibrium in the saddle and re-learn how to use her body to effectively cue her horse. She leaned on her first horse—a half-draft pony named Prince—during that time.

“He was pony-ish, and he could be a little devil sometimes,” Lily says. “But after my accident, his attitude changed 100 percent. He knew that I was delicate and fragile, and he took incredibly good care of me, never putting a foot wrong.”

She says losing her arm helped change her perspective on riding, inviting creativity into her process, and causing her to be a more open-minded rider.

“There’s more than one way to accomplish something; riding can be effective no matter how it looks,” Lily says.

Highs and Lows

When thinking about the moments in her life that have meant the most to her, Lily says participating in the very first para show jumping demonstration at the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event four years ago was one of them.

But so was competing in her first horse show after losing her arm, which was one year after the accident.

“It was a pretty monumental moment, but honestly, every single day feels like another success,” Lily says. “Even though I lost my arm nine years ago, I feel like I learn something new every day. I discover a little bit more about my body, a little more about what I can do rather than what I can’t do. Every ride has been a highlight, because I can’t take any ride for granted. I didn’t know I would get this far.”

Overcoming the balance and aid issues around having one arm has been her greatest challenge. But more than that, avoiding comparison to other riders’ experience as a youth were additional layers to her growing as a horsewoman.

“The biggest obstacle I’ve overcome is learning that everybody is on a different journey, so it doesn’t matter how old you are, what you’re doing, or how you’re doing it. As long as it makes you happy, that’s all you can ask for.”

Family and Career

In college, Lily studied business administration at the University of Lynchburg in Virginia with a minor in digital marketing and graduated in December 2022. Today, the 23-year-old runs her own business doing social media management and content creation specifically for equestrian brands.

Lily recently married to her husband, Andrew Voss. Andrew is not a horse person, but he’s very supportive of her passion.

She makes social media content about her life as a creative outlet.

“I like to share my journey because I think it’s important to showcase that riding has its ups and downs,” Lily says. “It flows, and riding isn’t a one-size-fits-all situation. I also choose to share a little bit more of my day-to-day life. [I like] sharing how you can have a very full life, even if you have a disability—it doesn’t have to limit you in any way.”

Horses and the Life

Her para-dressage horse, Charlie, has now been commandeered by her mom. Lily is in between horses at the moment and rides her trainer’s horses at a local barn while she’s horse shopping. She hopes to re-enter the show ring with a new mount, and plans to make the switch to show jumping from hunter classes.

Whatever she does with horses, Lily lives by a philosophy honed by her past and current experiences.

“No matter what life throws at you, you can always overcome it, however scary things get,” she says. “There’s always a light at the end of the tunnel. Sometimes it takes a week, sometimes it takes a year, sometimes it takes 10 years. But it always gets better, and sometimes works out better.”

You can follow Lily on Instagram at @lilybvoss.

This article about Lily Voss appeared in the July 2024 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Meet Lily Voss: An Inspiring Equestrian appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

The boss mare’s independence and leadership are what inspired a team of four powerhouse women in the equine industry to develop the nonprofit organization known as Boss Mares, Inc. The organization assists female entrepreneurs by giving them a leg-up in their careers and businesses.

The four women who founded the organization are Anna Morrison, Ph.D., co-founder and president; Kate Bradley Byars, co-founder and secretary; Patti Colbert, co-founder and treasurer; and Ellen Bell, member of board of directors. Each of these women present extensive resumes in the horse industry and connections that run deep. They came together with the same mission and goal of connecting women in agriculture.

Boss Mares, Inc. co-founder and secretary Kate Bradley Byars, co-founder and president Anna Morrison, and co-founder and treasurer Patti Colbert (from left to right). Photo by Abigail Boatwright

The official kick-off of Boss Mares, Inc. took place December 1, 2023, in Weatherford, Texas.

Meet Anna Morrison

Founder Anna Morrison’s passion for horses developed during her childhood in Wisconsin. Anna pursued an education focused on horses first at Colorado State University (CSU) and later at Texas A&M University (TAMU), earning a Bachelor of Science in equine science and agricultural business, a Master of Arts in extension education, and a Ph.D. in higher education administration.

Her career path began in academics, teaching and developing curricula at CSU and TAMU. Later, Morrison served industry member organizations for the American Quarter Horse Association and the National Reined Cow Horse Association. Along the way, she received support and guidance from mentors and industry experts, which furthered her appreciation for just how important it can be to have a leg up.

“When I was going through a transition in my career, I had this feeling that there was a way we could work together to pay our experience forward to other women in the industry,” says Morrison. “Every single one of us who has been involved in the industry has had the help of other women, whether through mentorship, encouragement, or investment, and I thought there was a way we could work together to get those same opportunities to other women.”

Morrison knew who to call when the time came to present a proposal for Boss Mares, Inc. Ellen and Larry Bell have always been a part of charitable organizations, and they have started numerous businesses as well. In South Africa, they are involved with a project that empowers women to live life and provide for their families. Morrison recalls getting through just a few slides in her presentation, and the Bells were ready to kick off the organization.

Ellen Bell and her husband, Larry, were excited to help form Boss Mares, Inc., just a few slides into the presentation. The pair have extensive experience with nonprofits and charities. Photo by Abigail Boatwright

“The goal is to help young women everywhere,” says Ellen. “We were involved in extreme situations in Africa, but to watch women have the opportunity to better themselves and their businesses and careers, and to learn how to do it properly, we were all in immediately.”

With the Bells’ experience with nonprofits and charitable organizations, they provided Morrison with the connections to begin forming Boss Mares, Inc.

Bringing on Kate Bradley Byars

As Morrison began thinking about who would make up the co-founders and board of directors, a few people came to mind. When Morrison asked Byars and Colbert if they would be interested in helping, they jumped at the opportunity.

Byars has a passion for telling people’s stories and making connections. Writing always came easily to her, and in college at TAMU, Byars pursued a degree in agricultural journalism. She rode through college, competing on the Texas A&M Equestrian Team and on the Quarter Horse circuit. After graduating with a Master of Science in agricultural leadership, education and communications with a focus on photography, Byars joined the Western Horseman magazine staff.

Since 2010, she’s worked extensively in the western performance horse industry as a writer and photographer. Working for western equine and lifestyle publications is Byars’ specialty, and she especially enjoys connecting with people in the industry.

“Boss Mares, Inc. is a passion project, and the mission and focus is something we all can easily get behind [to] help female business owners in the western industry,” says Byars.

Patti Colbert’s Extensive Experience

Patti Colbert’s resume in the horse industry and connection to the western lifestyle began through watching television. After moving to Texas in the mid-1970s, Colbert worked at horse barns and volunteered as a 4-H leader. She fell in love with the production of equine events.

Colbert began at the Texas Quarter Horse Association, managing the Quarter Horse racing and show industry. Her next move was to the AQHA, where she was responsible for raising millions of dollars for the American Quarter Horse Foundation’s scholarship, equine research, and preservation programs.

She then opened her own firm and worked with clients like the American Angus Association, the American Paint Horse Association, TAMU and more. She and her team took on the management of the Mustang Heritage Foundation, and in 2007 created the Extreme Mustang Makeover events, placing thousands of previously wild Bureau of Land Management Mustangs into private care.

Colbert received the 2014 American Horse Publications Innovator of the Year Award, the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame Fern Sawyer Award, and was inducted into the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame. Currently, she is on the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame board of directors and serves as advisory board chair for the Ride on Center for Kids.

“I know that women are the decision makers in the majority of this industry,” says Colbert. “I think more than 76 percent of the members of the AQHA are female. The reality of it is that women are the backbone of the industry in the agriculture and western lifestyles, and we need to help one another to continue to grow and be relevant and current.”

Lead the Herd Workshops

Boss Mares, Inc. focuses on five pillars: accounting and finance support, continuing education, leadership and career coaching, legal counsel, and marketing expertise. The organization will host Lead the Herd workshops to meet western women where they are already gathering. At these workshops, the keynote speakers are experts in the fields of each pillar.

Keynnote speaker Mackenzie Kimbro (left) with Patti Colbert at a learning lunch. Photo by Abigail Boatwright

The purpose of each workshop is to bring powerful expertise from both inside and outside the western industry in a setting that supports high-impact learning and open dialogue between presenters and attendees.

“We are here to provide a leg up to cowgirl entrepreneurs in the professional and agriculture industry,” says Morrison. “We do that by providing access to business resources at our workshops and by providing grants through our grant application process that help women invest in and advance their small businesses or invest in themselves and their career through continuing education.”

Lead the Herd workshops meet western women where they are already gathering. Keynote speakers present in the fields of five pillars: accounting and finance support, continuing education, leadership and career coaching, legal counsel, and marketing expertise. Photo by Abigail Boatwright

The first workshop was held at the Art of the Cowgirl in Arizona from January 19-20, 2024. With more workshops in the future of Boss Mares, Inc., the organization offered grants through an application on their website through March 31, 2024, for people in the agriculture industry.

“I hope that the women who have seen it now and have heard the speakers will want to be a part of it by giving financial aid or by participating in grants, whatever fits with their lifestyle,” says Ellen. “I hope they will be encouraged and say, ‘You know what, I can do this, this is something I’ve wanted to do, and I’m not going to let something get in my way because it is available to me.’ That is what’s exciting and what I hope to see in the future for us.”

This article about Boss Mares, Inc. appeared in the May 2024 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Boss Mares, Inc.: Empowering Women in the Western World appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

A U.S. Army Special Operations soldier rides while leading a mule through Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest as part of a horsemanship course held at the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center near Bridgeport, Calif. Photo by Lance Cpl. William Chockey*

Like more mainstream veterinary medicine, there are a plethora of options for specializing in vet med within the military. Army veterinarians can choose to focus on animal medicine, research and development, or veterinary public health. Each of these is vitally important to the protection of troops and the public.

Veterinarians working as animal care specialists get to treat everything from military working dogs to ceremonial horses stateside, and they assist with all sorts of Military Working Animals if deployed.

In addition, Army veterinarians participate in a variety of humanitarian missions to assist local communities with animal care.

From Amarillo to the Army

Born in Japan as the youngest child of a Naval officer father, Cris Young, DVM, MPH, Dipl. ACVPM, moved to Alvaton, Ky., when his father returned to his hometown upon his retirement. Young grew up with a focus on cattle; he didn’t get his first horse until he was 18. But from there, his passion for horses was off and running.

Having been raised in a military family and always showing an interest in the armed forces, Young’s parents had high hopes that he would become a military surgeon. However, his heart belonged to veterinary medicine.

He received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine, and upon graduation, moved to Amarillo, Texas, where he focused on cattle and “a little bit of horses,” he says.

A U.S. Army Special Operations Veterinarian administers medication to a horse during the SOF Horsemanship Course at Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center. Photo by Lance Cpl. William Chockey*

Young had been out of school for five years when he began to consider a military career.

“I did it backward of how many people do it,” he says. Young was commissioned into the United States Army as a 29-year-old veterinarian in 1998. He was the only veterinarian commissioned that year as military manpower was being downsized under the Clinton administration.

The Role of an Army Veterinarian

Animals have been part of military operations since 1775; the U.S. Army Veterinary Corps was established to care for them in 1916. The Army is the only branch of military service that has veterinarians; it provides veterinarians to all other branches of service as needed.

In addition to caring for military animals, Army veterinarians are in charge of the inspection of food before it’s delivered to troops. The role of “veterinarian” has now expanded to include sanitary food inspectors and animal health specialists.

Army veterinarians can be direct commission officers (DCOs), meaning they’re civilians who have a professional degree and skills needed for a specific role in the military—in this case, veterinarians. The civilian then gets “hired” by the military to fill open positions that are integral to the military’s functioning.

A DCO doesn’t need to go through boot camp, but he or she will complete a Direct Commission Officer Basic Course, which covers things like military leadership, customs, military law, and Army values. Young notes that about 90 percent of military veterinarians had their DVM and then went into the Army Reserve, rather than going to veterinary school after being an enlisted soldier—though either is possible.

There are currently more than 700 veterinarians in the U.S. Army Veterinary Service in both Active duty and Reserve capacities. These veterinarians are tasked with providing care at the 19 duty locations in the United States to a significant number of horses, Young says.

These locations encompass places like United States Military Academy West Point; Arlington National Cemetery; Fort Rucker, Ala.; Fort Huachuca, Ariz.; Fort Hood, Texas; Fort Riley, Kan.; and Fort Irwin, Calif.

While veterinarians care for the horses there, they also care for myriad other animals, owned both by civilians and the military, Young explains.

“They’re not equine specialists—they’re Army veterinarians,” he says.

Marine Corps Crossover

Interestingly, the Marines have the largest contingent of military equids stateside, according to Young. The Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center near Bridgeport, Calif., teaches Special Operations Forces soldiers how to ride horses, load pack animals, and maintain animals for military work in remote and dangerous environments. The course is designed to teach Marines how to use pack and riding animals to transport people and supplies when air or ground support isn’t feasible.

The Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center teaches Special Operations Forces soldiers how to ride horses, load pack animals, and maintain animals for military work in remote and dangerous environments. Photo by Lance Cpl. William Chockey*

Army veterinarians assigned to the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command teach soldiers about animal anatomy and care, and animal first aid. The soldiers also learn animal packing techniques, horsemanship, capability of different animals, and other relevant trainings.

The course is taught on horses and mules, but the principles taught can be applied to any pack animal, including the nine species the Marines use: camel, dog, donkey, elephant, horse, llama, mules, ox and even reindeer.

The Marine Special Operations School is designed to teach Marines how to use pack and riding animals to transport people and supplies when air or ground support isn’t feasible. Photo by Lance Cpl. William Chockey*

World Traveler

Now in his 26th year of service, Young has had some incredible experiences, both stateside and abroad.

“When I was a Captain stationed with Marines out in the Middle East, I took care of the Australian Special Forces pack animals that they bought there,” he says. “We worked on procuring the pack animals locally because of disease pressure and the risk of disease introduction into the local environment.”

Soldiers at the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center learn animal packing techniques, horsemanship, capability of different animals, and other relevant trainings. Photo by Lance Cpl. William Chockey*

Young has done a variety of tours; his favorite was the 15 months he spent working with a Special Operations command in South America helping small communities with their beef and dairy cooperatives.

“A lot of people don’t know we do humanitarian assistance and civil affairs,” he says. “I’m not a Special Ops soldier, but I got to work with Special Ops folks for those missions.”

Young has been to Afghanistan, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya, Kuwait, Oman, Tanzania and Uganda—and more.

“I never had any idea when I went to vet school that this is where I would end up,” he says. “I’ve done trade missions to China and Mexico, I’ve walked across the Nile River at its source. I’ve done all sorts of crazy things.”

Financial Benefits

In addition to the amazing places he’s traveled, Young’s military career has helped support him financially, he says. He received money to help defray his student loan debt from veterinary school, in addition to drawing a salary. He also received good life insurance and health insurance.

“For a young practitioner who’s just getting started, the perks [of going into military service] are incredible,” Young says. “I was in my third year in the Army when I paid off my [vet school] loans. And we were getting paid $25,000 a year just for showing up. In the higher years of your service, it’s a part-time job that compensates you well—and you can work anywhere you want [with your full-time job].”

Just Say Yes

Now a Professor of Practice at Auburn University with an appointment to the College of Veterinary Medicine and an Adjunct Pathology Professor at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine (among many other roles), Young is surrounded by vet med students.

“When I talk to my students, I tell them to say ‘yes’ a few times,” he says. “If they think, ‘I couldn’t do that job for a year,’ I remind them that you can do ANY job for a year. And if it takes sweat and dirt and lays the foundation for you to get to the next job, it’s worth it. The time goes by really quickly. Whatever it is you want to do, your debt and your attitude are what control your future.”

Now a Colonel in the U.S. Army Veterinary Reserves, Young credits the military with his ability to pay back his student loans in a hurry—and the opportunity to have incredible adventures in a life he never expected.

* The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement.

This article about veterinarians in the military appeared in the May 2024 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Veterinarians in the Military appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.