Coree Reuter

Meg O’Mara and War Eagle entered the grand prix ring today, Friday, March 19, at HITS Ocala (Fla.) for the R.W. Mutch Equitation Championship with hardly any history. Their performance, however, gave the impression they were longtime partners, and they cruised to the blue ribbon in their first day of showing together.

“I just played it by ear,” O’Mara, 16, said with a laugh. “My friends helped me walk the course, so I knew the strides. I just had to stay calm and breath. He was ready to win.”

Let’s play a game.

I’m thinking of a thing. It’s white and big and horse related, and you can find it by putting the following code into Google: 51.57753, -1.56668. Make sure you click on Satellite when you get there.

See it yet? Zoom in.

Anything yet? No? Keep zooming!

Turn your head to the right, and... Hey! That looks like…

A horse! The Uffington White Horse, to be precise, one of the most famous chalk figures on the hills of England. We’ll call him Uffy.

Do you ever wonder why we call things what we do? When I was a kid, I used to wonder what the world would be like if blue was actually yellow, up was supposed to be down, and yes really meant no. I also was curious why bad words were really all that bad, much to the chagrin of my parents, who were saints when it came to my endless curiosity.

But when it came to horses, I never questioned the name they were assigned. Horse just made sense. It was elegant and simple, but powerful all at once. Horse. Has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?

After cross-country on Saturday, Mara Dean knew that she would have to jump clean on Sunday, March 8, in order to win the Red Hills International CIC***-W, Tallahassee, Fla. However, she was able to take a bit of a deep breath when Phillip Dutton and Truluck added 5 time penalties to their otherwise clean jumping round. Nicki Henley took one rail down and added 4 time faults, but he and Dean’s score of 59.8 was enough to take home blue.

While Hugh Lochore’s cross-country course caught some horse-and-rider combinations by surprise, Nicki Henley and Mara Dean put in a flawless jumping trip today, Saturday, March 5, to maintain their lead in the Red Hills International CIC***-W.

Familiar faces filled all the top spots in the Red Hills International CIC***-W in Tallahassee, Fla., today, Friday, March 5. Mara Dean and Nicki Henley put in their usual elegant test (42.0) to claim the top spot over Phillip Dutton on Truluck (45.6) and Bonnie Mosser on Merloch (47.4).

Wouldn’t it be nice if we lived in a world of perfect spring days? Unfortunately, no matter where you live, the weather has a huge impact on your way of life and the way you keep your horses. A barn’s design will be fundamentally the same regardless of your location, but you need to take precautions depending on the natural hazards common to your area.

Codes, Codes, Codes

Check back every Wednesday through Feb. 24 for our continuing series on Farm Design, sponsored by VirginiaCountryProperties.com.

It’s hard to forget the terrifying barn fire scene in Black Beauty. While we no longer use kerosene lamps for light these days, fire is still a frightening and very real threat to the safety of your farm and horses. However, fires are also preventable if the right precautions are taken.

Check back every Wednesday through Feb. 24 for our continuing series on Farm Design, sponsored by VirginiaCountryProperties.com.

Every farm should function like a well-oiled machine, and machines need power. Electricity provides the power for all of your barn’s needs.

And when it comes to planning and installing electricity for your barn, an expert opinion is of the utmost importance.

Patience is a hard skill to learn, especially in the horse world. In a sport where competitive success often defines a horseman’s livelihood, it can be difficult to wait for the right moment, show and horse to make a breakthrough.

But if Suzy Stafford has learned anything in her long journey with Beverley Lesher’s Courage To Lead, patience ranks at the top of her list. “I was willing to wait for her because I knew she was special,” said Stafford. “Waiting for something that’s worth it takes a while sometimes.”

In Stafford’s case, it took six years.