PUBLISHER’S NOTE
Desperation is poor horsemanship WHEN I TALK TO AND INTERVIEW
people, I find so many in our community to be desperate. Desperate for different things—money, health, time, relationships, wins, sales, friends, clients, and more. Given the percentage of people in the sport who feel and then act desperate, we are seeing so many consequences of these actions pop up. Often when we are desperate as a community, the ones who suffer most are our horses. We see parents so desperate for success that they do not require their children to learn horsemanship and responsibility. We see trainers so
desperate to keep clients that they allow them to move up to divisions before they are ready. We see individuals so desperate and haggard by demands and life that they fail to hold themselves to a standard of discipline to serve their horses. We see desperation in horse shows and associations wanting people to stop complaining so badly that they tell judges to inflate scores. We see judges so desperate to not be bashed that they do it. How do we solve desperation? We come together. We help each other. We work hard, we volunteer, we live simply, and we focus on the horses. We include
and invite others wherever we can. We share what we have. We don’t put artificial things ahead of what matters. We know what matters—our horses and our humans. We know the right thing to do. Let us all come together in 2024 and do it!
Piper Klemm, Ph.D. TPH PUBLISHER Follow me on Instagram at @piperklemm
RECENTLY...
ABOVE: October 8, 2023 at Full Circle
Farm IEA Show in Manchester, CT
ABOVE: Washington International Horse Show Barn Night, Upper Marlboro, MD
12
THE PLAID HORSE
December 2023/January 2024
LEFT: Piper at Equine Affaire in
West Springfield, MA
