History Blog

At one arena at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, whooping and hollering will be encouraged, and no one will need an excuse to don a cowboy hat and blue jeans. I’d be willing to bet that the reining competition at this year’s WEG is going to be the loudest and proudest. In fact, the tickets to the reining individual final are the only event so far to sell out.

When author Helen Thompson wrote, “In riding a horse, we borrow freedom,” she was probably referring to the way horses allow us to experience things we could never accomplish on our own two feet. I like to think that Ms. Thompson’s sentiment is doubly true when it comes to para-equestrian.

We’re less than a month away from the opening ceremonies of the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, and time has been flying here at The Chronicle. We are all working hard to provide you with the best possible coverage of the Games, so make sure you tune in starting Sept. 25!

While walking the two-star cross-country course at the Adequan FEI North American Junior and Young Rider Championships, our editorial intern, Ali Taylor Lange, and I came across a jump that had us scratching our heads. Clearly, it was not intended for the two-star riders, who might have cried a little upon approaching the massive creation.

When I was at the North American Junior and Young Rider Championships last week, I was driving through downtown Lexington, Ky., and found myself brimming with excitement about the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. Not only were there totally beautiful horse statues everywhere, but we drove under a countdown clock to the Games!

There are 50 days left, and this week we travel from one of our oldest horse sports, dressage to one of the newest, combined driving.

Did you know that the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games start in 57 days? It seems like it wasn’t very long ago that the WEG was a far-distant speck on the horizon, and now it’s just around the corner. 

Since the WEG is showcasing eight different equestrian disciplines, and many of you may not be familiar with all of them, I decided that each event needed its own history lesson on this blog. And since dressage could be considered the foundation of every equine sport, I decided to start our nine-week countdown with “ballet on horseback.”

So what is dressage, anyway?

I have to admit, a little sheepishly, that I still get pretty darn excited about things from my youth. Who doesn’t fondly remember The Smurfs, Pretty Pretty Princess, POGS, Ghostbusters, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Rainbow Bright, Strawberry Shortcake and Dinosaur? Of course, there’s one thing that makes me squeal like a Justin Bieber tween fan whenever I see them: My Little Pony.

Ever wondered how the establishment that is The Chronicle of the Horse came to be?

In 1937, two Virginia foxhunters teamed up to form the plan for what would one day be The Chronicle Of The Horse. Gerald Webb, managing editor of a Warrenton paper, founded and edited The Middleburg Chronicle. Co-founder Stacy Lloyd acted as publisher.

I’m willing to bet almost none of you are familiar with a horse named Bamboo Harvester. Yet he’s probably one of the most famous horses in U.S. history.

Need a hint?

Bamboo Harvester was born in 1949 and was bred to be a show horse. For the first 11 years of his life, he was just that, traveling across the country gathering championships.