Our columnist insists young riders don’t need fancy horses or unlimited funds to learn how to ride and train—but they do need trainers who won’t give up on them.

Our columnist wants to see tougher courses, bigger fences and more people striving to do—and watch—the hunters at the highest levels.

Until about 10 years ago, our family always had dogs of proper size (at least knee-high) that displayed normal behavior. The Jack Russell terror in our house started with a phone call from friends who were at a terrier trial and saw these "adorable puppies" just desperate for a good home. At the time, neither my husband nor I had a clue about terrier trials or the fact that a Jack Russell is never desperate for anything.

“Coaching is not a popularity contest,” barked the senior coach, justifying both his style of teaching and somewhat unsavory private life. But is this true? Can you be a top coach and be unpopular?

Success is the No. 1 thing that makes a coach popular, and therefore, in theory, a coach might be popular despite the fact that he or she is bad mannered, bad tempered and has a different lover in every town! But in practice, this type of personality will not get the best from students and will not be popular.