There were a few things I expected when I signed on to intern at The Chronicle of the Horse. I figured I would be covering and writing about a whole lot of shows, and since I had experience both competing in and covering hunter/jumper shows, I assumed those would be the shows I wrote about.

Yes, said those gathered at the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association convention, Dec. 8-12 in Atlanta.

It was meant to be so simple, but I don’t think there was any issue with more confusion surrounding it than the bill of sale rule change proposal (GR702.1n).

The end result: the proposal was withdrawn at the USHJA Board of Directors meeting on Dec. 12. But that’s not the end of the story.

It felt, I imagine, much the same as it would feel to discover the long-standing infidelity of a spouse. That undeniable piece of a puzzle that locks into place, putting all the random, seemingly insignificant yet niggling pieces into a sickening context that suddenly makes sense.

I’d always considered my horse, Elf, “quirky” or “spooky.” Now I knew why.

I’ve never been to bingo night, but in my mind, it’s sort of like attending the draw I just watched at the CSIO Barcelona.

I’m sure I’m not the only one whose eyebrows rose a bit when they read the news about Jan Tops acting as agent for the 11 million Euros purchase of Palloubet d’Halong, a 10-year-old gelding.

According to an online currency conversion tool, that makes the price tag in the neighborhood of $15 million ($14.8 million, in fact, but what’s a $100,000 or two when we’re in this stratosphere of penny-counting, right?). The mind boggles, reels, and does all kind of acrobatic feats.