by Madeleine Aggeler

Earlier this week, the world received this small blessing: Liam Neeson said that on the set of his new Coen Brothers movie, The Ballad of Buster Scurggs, one of the sweet, majestic horses actors remembered him from the set of a previous movie.

“I play a traveling impresario. We filmed in New Mexico. The odd thing is the horse who pulls my wagon knew me,” he told the crowd at the New York Film Festival, according to Cindy Sherman at “Page Six.”

“You won’t believe it. I’m saying this horse knew me. He actually remembered me from another Western we made a while back.”

How did Neeson know the horse, presumably a very good boy, remembered him? “He whinnied when he saw me, and pawed the ground.” Ah.

Shortly after “Page Six” published the story, Russell Crowe chimed in on Twitter, saying that he’s had two horses remember him over the course of his acting career — George and Rusty — whom he describes as “lifelong friends”.

Read more: Talking to an Expert About Liam Neeson’s Horse Friend

by Denny Emerson

There must be something buried in the human psyche that craves an object of blind devotion, else why would there be fans of anything? Think about it. A 10-year-old boy, typical in many respects, is blindly obsessed with baseball, say, the New York Yankees, and football, the New England Patriots. Now this kid has never met an actual Yankee or Patriot and probably never will. But if you want to start an argument that has no end, say something demeaning about either team and you will hear a vast litany of reasons why these two teams, and these alone, are superior to all others.

Political parties, religions, nationalities, hobbies, and brands of cars all have their champions (and their detractors), and often there isn’t much logic, analytical thinking, or empirical evidence underlying these obsessions. It’s no different in the large world of horses. Try telling a devotee of some particular breed that some other breed is better and you are right there arguing with that 10-year-old about the relative merits of the Yankees versus the Red Sox, with no hope of either party convincing the other in 10,000 years. You may be an obsessed dressage rider, but you’ll be highly unlikely to ever convince a barrel racer to switch disciplines.

Most of the horse breeds and the horse disciplines have entire subcultures surrounding them, with associations, magazines, websites, blogs, registries, and competitive venues in interlocking webs of support. Once you have decided to pick one and choose to become (pick one: a show jumper, an eventer, a trail rider) riding (pick one: a Thoroughbred, a Morgan, a Paint), there is an entire network created and designed to make you feel comfortable and part of something special and larger and more important than yourself.

Read more: Fandom Rules the Horse World

by Dianne de Guzman

Nov 15, 2018 - A horse was found in the backyard pool of a Paradise, Calif. resident, after the animal apparently tried to find a safe space as the Camp Fire moved through town.

Paradise resident Jeff Hill shared photos of the horse Sunday on Facebook. The photos showed the horse in a pool, but entangled in the pool cover.

"There's no telling how long she was there but she was shivering uncontrollably," Hill wrote. "She was all caught up in the pool cover but her being suspended by it prevented her from drowning."

Read more: Shivering Horse Found Waiting out Camp Fire in Backyard Pool

by Julie June Stewart

Harley the Magnificent! He is an American Sugarbush Harlequin Draft horse officially named “Daisy’s Chief Dane” but now is known as Harley when he escorts Thoroughbred horses to the racetrack. He is noticed whenever he is on the track at Churchill Downs or Keeneland. He is the number one stop on the Kentucky Derby Museum tour of the backside at Churchill Downs. If he is standing near the grandstand, you hear people shout out “Hello, Harley the Magnificent!” and then their hands stretch out to reach him. And now? Harley “the Famous Racehorse Pony” is a Breyer horse model and one of the stars of the 2018 BreyerFest!

Breyer horses began in the 1950s with a saddled Western horse. Their horses quickly became collectibles and the company has a long history with the “real horse world,” especially with the superstars of the horse-racing world. Their models have included American Pharoah, Man o’ War, Zenyatta, and Secretariat among others. It seemed natural to create a festival celebrating the wide variety of Breyer models.

Read more: How Harley the Magnificent Became a Breyer Horse Model

Lexington, KY – The feature show jumping event of the 2018 National Horse Show, the $250,000 Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Lexington CSI4*-W brought 35 of the sport’s upper echelon horses and athletes to the Alltech Arena to compete head-to-head for the greatest share of the purse and valuable World Cup ranking points towards the 2019 Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping Final in Gothenburg, Sweden. Representing the United States, Beezie Madden added to her winning streak, as she and Abigail Wexner’s Chic Hin D Hyrencourt outpaced the talented field with their careful and efficient jump-off trip to capture the coveted top prize in front of a packed house. Earlier in the day, Haley Gassel and Quite Dark 2 nabbed victory in the $50,000 Hollow Brook Wealth Management Show Jumping Hall of Fame Amateur-Owner/Junior Jumper Grand Prix.

In total, eight countries from four continents were represented in the premier contest of the evening, which is the eighth jewel of 14 in the Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping schedule, and the group of entries included a staggering amount of talent, most notably the four gold medal-winning members of the NetJets U.S. Jumping Team from the World Equestrian Games: McLain Ward, Laura Kraut, Devin Ryan and Adrienne Sternlicht.

Read more: USA’s Beezie Madden and Chic Hin D Hyrencourt Gallop Home with $250,000 Longines FEI Jumping World...

by Nancy Bilyeau

In the second time in two years, an Iron Age chariot has been found buried in a Yorkshire community. The discovery was made in the town of Pocklington, England, at a construction site where more than 200 homes are being built.

As of early October 2018, archaeologists are working to fully excavate the find. Media reports say that not only a chariot but also horse and human remains were discovered.

Simon Usher, managing director at Persimmon Homes Yorkshire, said: “We can confirm that a significant archaeological discovery, featuring an Iron Age horse-drawn chariot, has been made at our development, The Mile in Pocklington. Careful excavation is ongoing by our archaeologists and a thorough investigation is in the process to date and detail the find.”

Read more: Iron Age Chariot Burial Site Found – Complete with Horse and Rider

by Pichaya Svasti and Tor Chittinand

HRH Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana talks about her love for horse riding in an exclusive interview with the Bangkok Post.

HRH Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana, the youngest daughter of HM the King, has passion and talent not only for fashion but also sports. Born in 1987, she is widely known as a fashion designer, a badminton player and an equestrian (dressage). To her, horse riding goes well with fashion in tastefulness and beauty.

The Princess began horse riding at the age of nine following in the footsteps of her elder sister HRH Princess Bajrakitiyabha who excels at equestrian sports. Princess Sirivannavari started becoming serious about horse riding after training at the Royal Stable Unit in 2012. She developed good skills in three disciplines -- jumping, dressage and eventing. Although she loves jumping the most, like her royal sister does, she decided to emphasise dressage as suggested by the Royal Stable Unit, which cited safety and aesthetic reasons.

Later, she expressed her strong will to become an equestrian athlete and was thus advised by the unit to attend dressage courses at the International Moniteur d'equitation, Le Cadre Noir de Saumur, in France, during 2012-2014. From 2014-2018, she took several dressage courses at the medium to Prix St George levels in France.

The Princess has continually participated in various international horse trainings and competitions across Europe and taken coaching courses as part of the FEI solidarity programme. She competed several times as a member of the Thai Equestrian team.

She has established the "Princess's Cup, Thailand" with the main objective to promote awareness of equestrian sports among Thais and show the world Thailand's ability to host major events. She also initiated the "Best Groom" and "Best Farrier" contests in Thailand in 2016.

Read more: An Equestrian Princess

by Tharp Talpas

Get excited! Tomorrow starts the beginning of the FEI World Equestrian Games™ Tryon 2018, sponsored by the Fédération Equestre Internationale. The FEI World Equestrian Games™ Tryon 2018 cover eight equestrian disciplines; show jumping, eventing, driving, endurance, dressage, para-equestrian dressage, reining and vaulting. The games will take place outside of Mill Springs, North Carolina at the Tryon International Equestrian Center. It is expected that this massive scale event will bring over $400 million in economic impact, and contain around 500,000 spectators. This quaint town found within the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains, will greatly benefit from this event.

This quadrennial event will last from September 11th to the 23rd, making up 13 days of intense competition. From endurance to dressage, to eventing to show jumping, each day of the competition has something for everyone to enjoy. The first day, September 11th, starts with an Opening Ceremony sponsored by Coca-Cola. Opening ceremony will have Laura Graves represent the United States. Graves is an Olympic bronze medalist who competed in the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, and also competed in the last World Equestrian Games in 2014. The opening ceremony will also feature five-time Grammy nominee artist, Hunter Hayes. The concert will be free to the public, and it is also sponsored by Coca-Cola.

Aside from the equestrian events, guests at Tryon can find a wide variety of activities and vendors. The resort contains 12 riding arenas, more than 1,200 stalls, a multitude of restaurants, shopping areas, as well as a sporting clay course and a golf club. On September 17, admission into the World Equine Expo will be free to the public. Sponsored by Mars, Inc., this community day will feature several world-renowned performers, entertaining for all ages. Coca-Cola will be hosting a stage that will feature live music, as well as a Mini Barn for a meet and greet of the Official FEI WEG Mascots, Star and Huck. This day will also include the EQUUS Film Festival, with a number of equestrian films for viewers to enjoy. Visitors can find over 200 vendors in the Vendor Village, which will be available on Community Day and the rest of the two week span of World Equine Expo. Be sure to stop by the RIDE TV booth to learn how you can get our channel on DISH Network. We'll be bringing you special highlights from the 2018 World Equestrian Games coverage upon the conclusion of the event. Registration for this “Community Day."

RIDE TV is proud to partner with DISH at the World Equestrian Games. Visit our booth to win fun prizes and learn how you can watch your favorite RIDE TV shows at home with America’s best technology, value and service. We'll see you in Mill Spring!

Read more: The FEI World Equestrian Games™ Tryon 2018 Are Here

by Frances Y. Spencer

Macie Cannon, like typical 5-year-olds, is excited about starting kindergarten this fall. She likes to dance and play games with her friends. One of her best friends is a 900-pound veteran show horse name Ty, and they are forming a winning partnership in the world of competitive horse showmanship.

Macie will be returning to Bains Elementary School as a kindergartner in the fall, but she has started a résumé that includes winning her first local horse show, competing in an Arabian horse regional show and being featured in a national equestrian magazine.

The saying “It takes a village to raise a child” also is key to raising a little equestrian. Veterinarian Leah Le Beouf, Macie’s great aunt, owns and shows an Arabian show horse and is Macie’s mentor. Next, a grandmother power duo — Prairieville's D’André Blouin and Risë Cannon, of St. Francisville — supports Macie’s travel and training efforts while serving as co-captains of the cheering squad.

Macie is shy and quiet in first encounters, but she lights up when horses are involved. Both grandmothers agree that horses are her first love. Cannon added, “she says she was born to dance,” but Macie quickly corrected “I was born to dance on a horse.”

This article originally appeared in The Advocate and is re-printed here with permission. Find our more about interesting equestrians and their lives in our section on Recreation & Lifestyle.