Note: This is day two in my 30-day blogging challenge. What the heck is a 30-day blogging challenge? Read about it here.

Happy Friday, everyone, and happy New Year! This Week in Horses took a holiday last week, so here’s what’s been happening in the horse world over these final two weeks of 2014.

  • Christmas news now seems outdated, but I’m going to share it anyway. Spread the holiday cheer as long as possible, I say. I mean, I don’t know about you, but my lights are still up.
  • Can you stand yet another story of a long-distance equestrian trek? Here’s one about a woman who, with her Appaloosa, Gypsy Cob and Welsh Pony, made a nearly 900 mile journey from France to Rome last fall.
  • This image of a horse being transported in the bed of a truck somewhere in New Zealand has caught a lot of (understandably outraged) attention on the Internet.

    • Post by Houhora Police.
  • Actor Liam Neeson has been outspoken in support of the NYC carriage industry, and now he’s joined by fellow thespian Danny Glover. This led me to wonder, “What ever happened to Danny Glover?” which then led me to check his IMDB page, and it turns out he’s been doing a million projects a year and I just haven’t been paying attention.
  • Remember Rita Crundwell, the Quarter Horse owner/exhibitor who embezzled millions of dollars from the small Illinois town she worked for in order to support her horse show habit? She’s in prison for a long time and her stuff is being sold off to pay her debt to the town, including, apparently, her horse show trophies. I wonder what the market value on a horse show trophy is.
  • There was a time before Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro, and before Edward Gal and Totilas, when the name synonymous with dressage dominance was Anky van Grunsven. This article floats the idea that if she competes and wins at the 2016 Rio Olympics, she’d be the first athlete to medal at 7 different Olympic Games. Her thoughts on this? “I don’t care.” Atta girl.
    • Anky Reining
    Anky even managed to become a successful reining competitor while still kicking everyone’s butt in dressage. Here she is at the 2010 World Equestrian Games.
  • “Oh, c’mon, honey. It’ll be fun! You love skiing!” That’s what I imagine Joni Gleason of Michigan said to her son, Derek, when she was trying to convince him to take up skijoring with her. And she was right. It looks like fun.
  • Concrete Cowboys. There’s some really great photojournalism over at the Wall Street Journal documenting teenagers in southwest Philadelphia who ride and care for horses at an urban stable in their neighborhood.
  • Here’s your gratuitous celeb news for this week. Britney Spears bought a horse for her boyfriend for his birthday. Or maybe she just bought him some time in the saddle. Reports are unclear. Either way they could stand to take some riding lessons together.

  • And finally, a touching story of a woman reunited with her childhood pony after nearly 30 years. Wow.

    • That’s it for this week. Have a great weekend!

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    Leslie Potter is Sr. Associate Web Editor of horseillustrated.com. Follow her on Twitter: @LeslieInLex.

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    2 thoughts on “The Near Side: This Week in Horses—January 2, 2015”

    1. Nancy Powers says:
      January 3, 2015 at 9:02 am

      I love the Horse Channel and this great review of equines and owners! There was another great beginning in 2014, the Year of The Horse. Tuck, The Painting Horse of The West, a horse with a disability began his third career as an artist just six months ago! He paints so we can contribute 50% of the sales to the veterans’ therapeutic riding program at Ride For Joy Therapeutic Riding in Boise, Idaho. For these first six months the donations totaled $2300. We look forward to a great year in 2015 with more people helping our cause! Check out Tuck’s FB page and his website (under construction) http://www.paintinghorseofthewest. You can also find Tuck on Youtube. Thank you and we wish everyone the best of health and happiness in 2015!

      Reply
    2. Galadriel says:
      January 7, 2015 at 11:30 pm

      Nice links.

      Reply

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