Thursday, May. 2, 2024

75th Anniversary

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For better or worse, during the 1980s, the culture of the horse world entered the modern world, becoming more specialized and more of a business, and less bound by tradition.
Plenty of major changes swept through the equestrian community during the 1970s. In international competition, the U.S. Equestrian Team was a major international force, with show jumping, dressage and eventing squads sweeping the 1975 Pan American Games (Mexico City) gold medals, and all three teams earning medals over the course of the Olympic Games in Munich (1972) and Montreal (1976).
The decade of the 1960s was a golden era for horse sports and for the Chronicle. The ‘60s saw glamorous hunter stars like Cold Climate, Cap And Gown, and Isgilde become famous. The U.S. Equestrian Team sent jumper stars like Frank Chapot, Bill Steinkraus, Kathy Kusner and Hugh Wiley overseas to compete, and they won on the biggest stages like Aachen.
The Chronicle of the Horse was first published on Sept. 17, 1937, as The Middleburg Chronicle, in a tabloid size format. It was printed locally in Berryville, Va. While it largely focused on the Middleburg horse scene, it grew to cover the entire country. In the early years, flat racing, steeplechasing and foxhunting dominated the pages.

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Dec. 28, 1990

While horses have always been the main focus of the Chronicle's editorial pages, sometimes world events are too big to ignore.

How different the world looks today than a year ago. Do you remember that almost giddy time? We were talking about the “peace dividend” as the Cold War ended following the destruction of the Berlin Wall and the democratization of Eastern Europe. Peace seemed to have really arrived at last.

Aug. 24, 1990

The first World Equestrian Games were held in Stockholm, and Chronicle President Peter Winants was there to document it.

Nov. 18, 1988

Costume classes are still crowd favorites at the fall indoor circuit. This report from 1988 recounts the class from Washington, where the costumes referenced the upcoming Presidential election and the recent Seoul Olympic Games, which were plagued by allegations of doping in many sports (but not any equestrian ones). Sadly, the account lacks any accompanying photos.

July 22, 1988

Cooky McClung's humorous articles were an instant hit in the Chronicle.

No one ever promised that keeping horses and maintaining a stable was easy. Those of us who choose to do so, do it for many reasons, none of which include easy.

We do it because it’s more satisfying to look at a clean barn and freshly bedded stalls than it is to vacuum and dust the house. We do it because we don’t mind the exercise involved, which is equally as strenuous as using 20 different Nautilus machines, and we don’t have to join a club or leave home.

Jan. 18, 1974

The addition of non-Thoroughbreds to The Chronicle of the Horse’s 1974 stallion issue was such a bold move, then-editorial assistant Peter Winants wrote an editorial to explain the decision.

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