Chronicle of the Horse | Untacked | January February 2020

MARCH/APRIL 2020

THE GRAND NATIONAL More Than 180 Years Of History

NEW SEASON, NEW LOOKS Spring Styles For Rain Or Shine

A SUPPLEMENT A SUPPLEMENT TOTO THE THE CHRONICLE CHRONICLE OFOF THE THE HORSE HORSE

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Seeing The World WITH LIFE BETWEEN THE EARS

Contributors to the “Life Between The Ears” social media accounts transport us to the world’s most interesting and beautiful places—all viewed from the saddle. Here we share a few of their images.

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THE COTSWOLDS, ENGLAND The sun was kind to Sonya Hamasaki on this leg of her vacation in the Cotswolds, England. She was first inspired to travel from her native California to the British countryside when she saw photos on Instagram.

“I decided almost immediately, ‘I must go there, gallop across those green fields, and hit up a British pub afterwards,’ ” she says. “So I did just that! I found the Jill Carenza Equestrian center in Stanton, England, which offered exactly what I was looking for. They matched me up with a beautiful gray Irish Sport Horse named SONYA HAMASAKI PHOTO/@SONYAHAMASAKI

Colonel. We spent three days wandering amongst charming English manors, galloping in the sideways rain, and taking moments like this to just take in some incredible views.”

Hamasaki, 42, works as a producer at CNN. This wasn’t her first trip to England, but it was her first time in the Cotswolds, a rural area roughly two hours outside of London.

“There are fields of sheep, quaint villages, and everything is just green,” she says.

“I love to travel, and my trips usually revolve around riding and horses. I think riding is one of the best ways to get off the beaten path and learn about a new place and culture. I really enjoy talking to locals, especially other horse people, as there’s always an instant connection and camaraderie!”

The Cotswolds, which covers almost 800 square miles and runs through five counties in England, is famous for its villages, castles and rolling hills that are supported by deposits of limestone underneath. The area has been the site of filming for television shows and movies such as “Downton Abbey” and “Pride & Prejudice.”

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RENESSE, THE NETHERLANDS The only thing better than taking a twoweek riding vacation in the seaside village of Renesse, the Netherlands, might be taking a riding vacation on a horse you’ve owned since he was a foal.

“Grisou is the dearest, most reliable horse I know!” says owner Tatjana Gering, 30, of her Irish Cob gelding. Gering is based in Aachen, Germany, and Grisou, 8, lives with his dam Blue in an “open stable” where they Gering says Grisou prefers to sleep, but he also loves going on adventures.

Historians suggest that people have been living in Renesse, in the SchouwenDuiveland municipality on the coast of the Netherlands, for thousands of years.

Renesse was a poor area in the early 1900s, and war and flooding stifled a budding tourism industry there, but Renesse became a popular destination for vacationers following a post-war economic boom in the ’60s. It is now famous for its beaches and a Gothic-style church built in 1506.

SHARING LIFE BETWEEN THE EARS

ince 2008, Life Between The Ears founder Kristine Dahms has posted stunning photos shot by riders in all corners of the world with one hand on the reins and the other on the shutter. Dahms mines photos with the hashtag #lifebetweentheears, contacts the original poster of the image, then features the photo, complete with educational details about the place that’s portrayed.

Life Between The Ears photos appear on a LBTE Facebook page, an Instagram feed, a dedicated website (lifebetweentheears.com), a Twitter feed and a Pinterest page (all under @lifebetweentheears account names).

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RICK DAHMS PHOTO

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TATJANA GERING PHOTO/@IRISHCOBGRISOU

have extensive access to pasture and trails.

Dahms—who lives in Vashon, Washington, with her Welsh Cob, mini horse, pygmy goats, two dogs and two cats—rides dressage and takes quite a few photos herself on the picturesque Vashon-Maury Island.

Dahms has taken some of the Life Between The Ears images from cyberspace to print, creating three lines of greeting cards with selected photos from her social media pages.

A portion of the proceeds from the card sales goes to the Equine Land Conservation

Resource (elcr.org). Cards are available at lifebetweentheears.com/retail.