United States Eventing Association

Some kids are just born loving horses. Eleven-year-old Priscilla Pignatelli is the perfect example. “Her dad and I used to joke around that she has loved horses since she learned they said neigh,” recalled mother Grace Pignatelli. “We were non-horsey parents, so it took us a while to realize it wasn’t just a phase!”

Growing up in the pony hunters, my parents never wanted to buy a horse. They reasoned: "You'll grow out of them," or "They're too expensive." They made good points, not that I understood that at the time...

John Lennon famously said that life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans. Rebecca Barber Tyler probably would agree.

Dear Benji, this is one of those notes I wish I wasn't writing. But if I didn't get my thoughts to you in some (albeit cheesy) way, I might go crazier than the situation is already making me.

Ava Chase wasn’t quite sure what to think as she was handed the lead rope of Kingston, a 21-year-old New Zealand Thoroughbred, in 2021. The gelding’s owner had heard of Chase, who runs a boarding barn in San Marcos, California, and knew she provided good care.

Macyn Wolpert and her pony 18-year-old Sport Pony Hallelujah were set to attend the Pine Top Intermediate Horse Trials (Thomson, Georgia) on Feb. 11 with cross-county day happily occurring on Wolpert’s 12^th birthday.

Marley Bridges lived and breathed gymnastics. “I started at the age of 5,” said Bridges. “You always had to have the time and the mindset for gymnastics. You had to allow yourself to commit to it. You had to commit to working out four hours a day, five days a week, doing cardio every single day, train every single day. You had to stay committed to yourself, the team, and the sport.”

My victory lap around the Rolex Arena on my horse Snap Decision (“Geoffrey”) at the 2023 USEA American Eventing Championships presented by Nutrena Feeds was the highlight of my equestrian career. Was I leading it? Nope. I brought up the rear with a 15th-place finish, but I was celebrating like I had just won a five-star. My joy was amplified by being surrounded by family and friends who were just as excited as I was.

My story of me and horses started in 2016 when was 5, and I was diagnosed with leukemia. During treatment there were many times when my immunity would be so low that I would be quarantined away from my friends and couldn’t go to school to avoid getting sick. A common cold could have been really bad for me, and many times I was so sick I didn’t want to get out of my bed.

Cayla Stone always had a talent for young horses and is a big advocate for the “underdog,” so over the years her eventing barn has been filled with rescue horses and off-the-track Thoroughbreds. In 2012, she acquired a mustang on a whim and competed him in the Mustang Heritage Foundation’s Extreme Mustang Makeover competition, where participants are given 100 days to prepare a wild mustang that they randomly draw for classes that will showcase the horse’s new skills. At the end of the competition, the mustangs are available for adoption or purchase.