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EQU E S T R I A N L I V I N G M A G A Z I N E FALL 2026 | EQLIVING.COM

THE 2O26

GOLD LIST READERS VOTE FOR THE BEST OF EQUESTRIAN LIFE

VISIT:

TAYLOR SHERIDAN'S FOUR SIXES RANCH PLUS:

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EQ I N S I D E

FEATURES FA LL | 2 0 2 6

THE LA EQUESTRIAN CENTER REINVENTED

34 Surrounded by freeways and set within Griffith Park, this equestrian enclave invites visitors to rediscover open space and community.

STYLE, SPORT, AND IRISH SPIRIT

48 The Gallagher Dublin Horse Show marks the 100th anniversary of the Nations’ Cup of Ireland, as Team USA claims the Aga Khan Trophy.

THE HAPPIEST FARM ON EARTH

50 How Ryerss Farm for Aged Equines, founded in 1888, became the oldest equine retirement nonprofit in the U.S.

KAT FUQUA: TWO DISCIPLINES, ONE DREAM

STYLE, SPORT, AND IRISH SPIRIT

PHOTO ALDEN CORRIGAN

THE 2026 GOLD LIST

Kat Fuqua has reached Grand Prix level in both dressage and show jumping, proving that specializing early isn’t the only path to the top.

AACHEN: THE CROWN JEWEL OF EQUESTRIAN SPORT

64 The world’s. finest horse-and-rider partnerships converge at the 2026 FEI World Championships in Aachen, Germany.

THE 2026 GOLD LIST

70 Now in its 13th year, the Equestrian Living Gold List is America’s leading survey of equestrians’ favorite people, places, and things.

THE FOUR SIXES RANCH

84 A Texas legend becomes Taylor Sheridan’s living heritage brand: the 150-year-old Four Sixes Ranch in Guthrie, Texas.

LAURA KING: 9 QUESTIONS

92 King works with equestrians, combining hypnosis and neuro-linguistic programming with mental performance training.

CHICKERING TRAVERSE CITY

98 An equestrian estate worthy of its environment, built for businessman and hunter champion John Ingram and his family.

ROMY ELLIOTT: HORSE AND HOUND

104 COURTESY ARIAT

4 | EQU E S T R I A N L I V I NG | FAL L | 2026

Through layered texture and nuanced light, artist Romy Elliott captures the character beneath the coat.

THE BARN.

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BUILDING DREAMS, CONNECTING LIVES.

EQ I N S I D E

DEPARTMENTS FA LL | 2 0 2 6

16 FAVORITES

Stylish essentials that turn a gathering into an occasion.

Robert McNeel, a professional rider, trainer, and stand-up comedian, shares his favorite things.

22 28

Consider adding these equestrian favorites to your library.

FOOD+DRINK

Hotel Rangá’s head chef shares the resort’s signature recipe.

STYLE

From structured to slouchy, a little stable spirit in every bag.

SCIENCE

World-first 3D scanning technology is transforming the way its master artisans work, adding even more precision to their craft.

FASHION

Traditional tweeds reimagined in modern forms.

DÉCOR

Favorite mainstays in home décor, ottomans and benches add stylish accents and functionality to any space.

GIVING BACK

Fleet of Angels’ founder, Elaine Nash, is helping horses and the people who love them.

32 ON THE COVER

BOOK

IN EACH ISSUE Editor-at-large Rebecca Baldridge visits Four Sixes, the 150-year-old Texas ranch that’s become the living heritage brand behind Taylor Sheridan’s “Yellowstone.” Photo: Kylie Baker See page 84 for the full feature.

6 | EQU E S T R I A N L I V I NG | FAL L | 2026

EDITOR’S NOTE 8 Welcome to Equestrian Living. RESOURCES 126 Look for CONTACT INFO | PAGE 126 to find the products and services in this issue. BARN DOGS 130 For her 90th birthday, Jane Goodall went to the beach with 90 dogs in Carmel, California.

Read an excerpt from bestselling author Elizabeth Letts’s sweeping novel of a lost Arabian mare named Tassa.

PROPERTIES

116

Why Florida horses eat hay all year.

118

Originally built circa 1850, this huge timber-frame barn traveled to Texas and now lives in Connecticut.

122

Plants that threaten farm dogs and horses.

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EQ F R O M T H E E D I T O R

WELCOME

s I paged through the fall issue, reviewing the articles and making last-minute revisions, I paused to review the annual Gold List— our 13th edition. Each year, the comprehensive survey brings unexpected and delightful surprises, a barometer, if you will, of shifting trends and preferences. It’s always fun to see voters’ loyalty in certain categories year after year, and the shifting whims in others. This year, we asked readers to share their thoughts on various topics, adding another fascinating layer to the survey. A touch of nostalgia swept over me as I recalled some of the wonderful people I’ve met, the events I’ve attended, and the places I’ve visited over the last decade—several of which were in the Gold List. While our editorial team takes its interviews, photoshoots, and editorial integrity seriously, we have had our share of madcap adventures and mishaps, along with awkward regional lessons. Take fire ants, for example. En route to visit reining legends Tom and Mandy McCutcheon in Aubrey, Texas, I found myself standing atop an angry mound of them while trying to photograph a Texas landscape. A painful lesson learned. On a trip to visit the Keswick Hunt Club in Virginia, I heard a voice across 8 | EQU E S T R I A N L I V I NG | FAL L | 2026

From top: Equestrian Living editor, Stephanie Peters, and Equestrian Living photography director, George Kamper, at Saut Hermès, Paris; Joining Tom and Mandy McCutcheon and friends for lunch in Aubrey, Texas, and Former Keswick Hunt Club Huntsman, Tony Gammell.

a parking lot call out: “Are you here for a fashion show or to walk with the hounds?” Noted. I humbly returned to the car for a more houndresistant barn jacket. I was commandeered to exit the highway en route to Lexington because a team member inexplicably wanted to try the fried pie advertised on roadside billboards. And there was the near-miss, offroad driving incident along the canals in Wellington in the earlier, less reliable days of navigation. Not dissimilar was arriving for a meeting at Wellington’s Wanderers Club, only to discover we had driven our SUV straight up the golf-cart-only path to the club’s elegant, understated entrance. Of course, I’ve had indelible experiences, including twice attending Saut Hermès in Paris, the magnificent show-jumping event held at the Grand Palais; traveling to Doha, Qatar, with Carson Kressley for an event at Al Shaqab Equestrian Center and touring the Royal Stables. In Seal Harbor, Maine, Martha Stewart greeted us with freshly baked blueberry muffins and gave us a tour of her glorious barn, home to her magnificent Friesians. Across the way, Eileen Rockefeller gave us a carriage ride on “Mr. Rockefeller’s Roads” in Acadia National Park. Not bad work if you can get it. Continued on page 10

Elevated Craftsmanship for Exceptional Living During the holidays, home is about the places that bring us together, and for equestrians, that includes the barn. At King Construction, we create custom barns that feel as beautiful and welcoming as they are functional, with thoughtful design tailored to the way you care for your horses and live on your land. From graceful rooflines and refined finishes to polished interiors and carefully considered details, every element is crafted to elevate daily routines and create a space you’ll enjoy in every season. The result is a barn built for the moments that matter, beautifully designed, exceptionally functional, and made to feel like home.

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EQ F R O M T H E E D I T O R

WELCOME

10 | EQ UE S T R I A N L I V IN G | FAL L | 2026

PHOTO GEORGE KAMPER

E K AMPE

GEORG

From top: Equestrian Living publisher, C. W. Medinger, paging through Equestrian Living with new friends in Doha, Qatar; Enjoying a carriage ride with Eileen Rockefeller in Seal Harbor, Maine; A cover shoot with Carson Kressley at his home in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania; Martha Stewart greets the EQ team with muffins and a Friesian in Seal Harbor, Maine. At right: Equestrian Living editor and publisher on a walking tour of the cross-country course of the Land Rover Kentucky three-day event.

PHOTO GEORGE KAMPER

PHOTO

We’ve had enlightening interviews with equestrians, from multi-Olympians across a range of disciplines to casual trail riders, as well as with celebrities who have welcomed us into their homes. I’ve included just a few snapshots of memorable moments that remind us why we keep reaching for more. This issue is brimming with fascinating profiles, design projects, visits to famous ranches, world-class equestrian events, and heartwarming giving-back stories. Editor-at-large Rebecca Baldridge wrangled a visit to the storied Four Sixes Ranch in Guthrie, Texas. Wellestablished in its own right—dating back 150 years—the Four Sixes has become the living heritage brand behind Taylor Sheridan’s “Yellowstone.” This is a working ranch, and Rebecca, an adventurous interviewer, was front and center. In a fascinating interview with rising star Kat Fuqua, Contributing Editor Sarah Lessler shares this multidisciplinary equestrian’s passion and success as a grand prix competitor in both dressage and show jumping. Poised and disciplined, the 19-year-old skillfully juggles life’s demands with surprising aplomb. Across the pond, photographer Alden Corrigan captured some of the world’s best horse-and-rider combinations

Continued from page 8

at the 2026 FEI World Championships, held at the Soers showgrounds in Aachen, Germany. Steeped in history, the stands were packed throughout the heart-pounding action. Alden also attended and photographed the 100th anniversary of the Nations’ Cup of Ireland at the Dublin Horse Show. Discover the highlights and the unmistakPHOTO GEORGE KAMPER able Irish atmosphere. Also highlighted are inspiring stories and profiles of those focused on improving the lives of people and horses alike, and we discover everything we didn’t know about the Los Angeles Equestrian Center. This issue’s gallery features Romy Elliott’s equine and canine paintings amid luminous light and vivid patterns, and department pages are filled with seasonal ideas for apparel, entertaining, and more. With this issue, the last of 2026, I wish you all a wonderful fall and holiday season and look forward to whatever mishaps and marvels 2027 has in store. Cheers!

70 WAYS TO SPEND A DAY. ONE PLACE TO CALL HOME.

At The Preserve Sporting Club in Rhode Island, the sporting life runs deep: A state-of-the-art equestrian center, world-class bird hunting and clay shooting, a Bentley off-road course, golf, tennis, fine dining, a 12,000 sq. ft. spa, and much more. Our move-in-ready residences include condos, estate residences, and tiny homes—or choose a never offered before custom homesite. All come with 70 ways to spend a day right outside your door.

Homesites From $750,000 | Homes From $1,000,000 | Memberships From $250,000 Visit PreserveMembership.com or call 401-387-4621 Rates, availability, and membership offerings are subject to change without notice; holiday exclusions apply. Club credits are for promotional purposes only and hold no cash value. Real estate and amenities are owned by Preserve Property Management Company, LLC and/or independent third-party affiliates. Preserve Property Management Company, LLC does not participate in the marketing or sale of third-party-owned properties. This material does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation to purchase real estate owned by Preserve Property Management Company, LLC in any jurisdiction where such offers are prohibited by law, including HI, ID, NY, and OR. Access to recreational amenities and club facilities may be subject to membership dues, fees, and additional limitations. For properties owned by Preserve Property Management Company, LLC, you are required by Federal law to obtain and read the Property Report before signing any agreement. No Federal agency has evaluated the merits or value of this property. Images and renderings are for illustrative purposes only and may not reflect final construction or design. We Operate in Accordance With the Federal Fair Housing Law. © 2026 The Preserve Sporting Club. All rights reserved.

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EDITOR AND CREATIVE DIRECTOR Stephanie B. Peters SENIOR EDITOR Jill B. Novotny PHOTOGRAPHY DIRECTOR George Kamper EDITORS AT LARGE Rebecca Baldridge, Judy Richter (In Memoriam) PHOTOGRAPHER AT LARGE Alden Corrigan CONTRIBUTING BEAUTY EDITOR Leslie Munsell, Beauty For Real CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Rebecca Baldridge, Sarah Lessler, Delmar Ropp, Carrie Wirth CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Kylie Baker, Jana Bannon, AK Dragoo, Lenore Phillips, Julie Prickett, Deyvn Trethewey DESIGN MANAGER Mary A. Stroup DIGITAL & CLIENT SERVICES Sarah Lessler EDITORIAL MANAGER Theresa Cardamone EQ SPECIAL EVENTS Jennifer Pearman Lammer UK-BASED LONDON EDITOR Bridget Arsenault

magazine’s digital edition and the EQ Inner Circle e-Newsletter.

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EQUESTRIAN LIVING MAGA ZINE I have included a check for: (USA only; other countries please use website) $46.95 FOR 2 YEARS | 8 ISSUES

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EQ was chosen OVERALL BEST EQUESTRIAN MAGAZINE in its inaugural year by American Horse Publications.

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THIS IS MORE THAN A BARN. IT'S WHERE YOUR STORY LIVES.

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PALM BEACH POINT • $52,250,000 Exceptional 23-Acre Equestrian Estate • 11,000 Square Foot Home Featuring 5 Bedrooms With Ensuite Baths • Separate 1-Bedroom Apartment in Main Home • Heated Zero-edge Saltwater Pool, Hot Tub and Cold Plunge • Outdoor Kitchen and Gas Fire Pit • Main Barn Features 20 Stalls, Tack and Feed Rooms, 6 Grooming Stalls, Commercial Laundry and Lounge • Large Storage Building With Separate Gate Access • 4-Bedroom, 4-Bath Staff Apartment With Full Kitchen • Separate Studio Apartment • Double-Lift 9-Car Garage • 14 Spacious Paddocks, 8-Horse Covered Walker and Lunging Ring • 3.3-Acre Grand Prix Field With Full Drainage • 260’ x 170’ All-Weather Arena • One Mile Exercise Track • Permanent Viewing Area With Electricity • One Mile to Wellington International Showgrounds

WELLINGTON SOUTH • $18,750,000 Turnkey 10-Acre Equestrian Estate in the Gated Community of Oak Estate Farms • Two Barns With Total of 17 Stalls • Owner’s Office, Tack Room and Feed Room • Grass Riding Field, All-Weather Arena, Covered Arena, and Covered Walker • Stylish 2-Bedroom, 2-Bath Owner’s Quarters • Two Staff Residences • Substantial Storage Building • Elegant, Functional, and Ready to Enjoy!

FARMS & ESTATES • WELLINGTON, FL

GRAND PRIX VILLAGE • $15,975,000 Exceptional 5.88-Acre Equestrian Training Facility • Direct Access to the Center of the Wellington International Showgrounds Via Private Gate • Luxurious 2-Bedroom, 2-Bath Owner’s Quarters • Private Office and Lounge • 3-Bedroom, 2-Bath Staff Accommodation • 16-Stall Barn • Tack and Feed Rooms • 4 Wash Stalls • State-Of-The-Art All-Weather Ring • Grass Grand Prix Field and All-Weather Training Track • 5 Paddocks and Lunging Ring • Rare Find in the Heart of Equestrian Excellence!

MARTHA W. JOLICOEUR, PA

PALM BEACH POINT • $10,900,000 Fully Renovated 5.39-Acre Equestrian Estate • 6-Bedroom, 5.5-Bath Main Residence • Heated Saltwater Pool and Spa • Outdoor Kitchen and Entertainment Pavilion • Separate 3-Bedroom, 2-Bath Guest Home • 12-Stall CenterAisle Barn • Wash Stalls, Tack Room, and Climate Controlled Storage • 4 Spacious Paddocks • Fibre Arena • Ample Trailer Parking • Full House and Barn Generator • Close Proximity and Easy Access to the Horse Show Grounds!

Director of Luxury Sales Equestrian Homes and Estates of Distinction 561 797 8040 www.MarthasProperties.com

Home is Where Your Horse Is

WELLINGTON SOUTH • $6,900,000 10.32-Acre Professional Equestrian Farm • Easy Access to Back Gate of Wellington International Showgrounds • CBS Center-Aisle Stable Featuring 30 Stalls, 2 Tack Rooms, 2 Feed Rooms and Storage • 2 All-Weather Arenas with Fiber Footing, Grass Jumping Field and Round Pen • Multiple Paddocks • Property Includes 3-Bedroom, 2-Bedroom and 1-Bedroom Staff Residences • Well-Designed With Room for Expansion

THE NEXT MOVE IS YOURS 1111 LINCOLN RD, PH-805, MIAMI BEACH, FL 33139. 305.695.6300 © 2026 DOUGLAS ELLIMAN REAL ESTATE. ALL MATERIAL PRESENTED HEREIN IS INTENDED FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY. WHILE, THIS INFORMATION IS BELIEVED TO BE CORRECT, IT IS REPRESENTED SUBJECT TO ERRORS, OMISSIONS, CHANGES OR WITHDRAWAL WITHOUT NOTICE. ALL PROPERTY INFORMATION, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO SQUARE FOOTAGE, ROOM COUNT, NUMBER OF BEDROOMS AND THE SCHOOL DISTRICT IN PROPERTY LISTINGS SHOULD BE VERIFIED BY YOUR OWN ATTORNEY, ARCHITECT OR ZONING EXPERT. IF YOUR PROPERTY IS CURRENTLY LISTED WITH ANOTHER REAL ESTATE BROKER, PLEASE DISREGARD THIS OFFER. IT IS NOT OUR INTENTION TO SOLICIT THE OFFERINGS OF OTHER REAL ESTATE BROKERS. WE COOPERATE WITH THEM FULLY. EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY. .

EQ F A V O R I T E S

ELEVATED ENTERTAINING STYLISH ESSENTIALS that turn a gathering into an occasion. A chic addition to an at-home bar set up. The lead-free crystal Whiskey Bottle with Wooden Tray Set from Nude Glass is inspired by the designer’s Scandinavian roots. At 2Modern. $135.

Nambé set-offour Tahoe Coasters. The high-shine leather coasters sit in a sleek stainless steel holder for a refined design. At Bloomingdale’s. $82.

Jonathan Adler’s set-of-four porcelain Cheval Coasters feature a signature horse on a vibrant background dotted with gold and packaged in a gift box. At Neiman Marcus. $95.

Williams Sonoma’s Dorset Stainless Steel Ice Bucket with a doublewall keeps cubes chilled longer and protects tabletops from condensation. A mirrored finish adds refined shine to festive gatherings. $179.95.

Orange Tear-Off Cotton Cocktail Napkins at Hudson Grace are perfect for entertaining or as a hostess gift. Fully compostable, they can be washed and reused up to five times. Roll of 50. $22.

Baccarat’s Harmonie Stainless Steel fourpiece Bar Accessories Set includes a mixing glass, strainer, double jigger, and spoon. The brand is renowned the world over for its excellence in design. At Bergdorf Goodman. $490.

Wenonah Bar Cart by West Elm contrasts a metal frame with a rich wood finish. Generous space for bar essentials, but its slim design keeps it out of the way. $399.

CONTACT INFO | PAGE 126

16 | EQ UE S T R I A N L I V IN G | FAL L | 2026

EQ F O O D + D R I N K

ICELANDIC DELECTABLE F L AVO

LOC

Hotel Rangá’s Head Chef PÉTER JÓNI shares the resort’s signature recipe.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF HOTEL RANGÁ

TR UN CO ITES E R S VOR O A H F

WILD MUSHROOM SOUP Serves 4 | Total time: 2 hours INGREDIENTS 400 g Icelandic mushrooms or fresh field mushrooms, thinly sliced 2 white onions, thinly sliced 100 g dried mushrooms 200 g mixed frozen mushrooms (ceps, porcini, or similar) 5 tablespoons vegetable oil 300 g butter, divided 100 g plain white flour 100 ml white wine 100 ml Madeir. 500 ml water 2 liters double or heavy cream 3 tablespoons mushroom powder Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste. Sherry vinegar (optional) METHOD 1. Heat the vegetable oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan. Add the fresh mushrooms, onions, and frozen mushrooms, and cook gently for about 5 minutes. 2. Pour in the white wine and let it reduce until almost gone. 3. Add the water, then stir in the dried mushrooms. 4. Add the mushroom powder and bring to a boil for 20 minutes. 5. Add the cream and simmer for 60 minutes. 6. In a small pan, melt 100 g of the butter and whisk in the flour to form a roux. Whisk the roux into the soup and continue whisking until it thickens. 7. Simmer for 10 more minutes, then stir in the remaining 200 g of butter. 8. Blend the soup with a hand-held blender until smooth but not fully puréed. 9. Season with salt and pepper. A small amount of sherry vinegar at the end is optional. Serve with bread.

PÉTER JÓNI is Head Chef of the Rangá Restaurant at Hotel

Rangá, a four-star boutique property in Hella. Jóni builds his menu around local and Nordic ingredients, drawing on the region’s farms, rivers, and coastline. “Fresh, local ingredients make all the difference,” he says. “You can truly taste the local flavor, a special something that can’t be found anywhere but Iceland.” Owned by FRIÐRIK PÁLSSON, Hotel Rangá has built a reputation over two decades for its food, accommodations, and its personal service. The hotel is a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World, which named it Country House Hotel of the Year in 2023, and in 2025 it received a One Michelin Key distinction. Guests are also drawn by the hotel’s on-site observatory as Iceland’s, which runs a seasonal astronomy program for viewing the Northern Lights. Hotel Rangá has hosted guests including Justin Bieber, Charlize Theron, Forest Whitaker, members of the Kardashian family, and King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. Among the restaurant’s offerings is its wild mushroom soup, on the menu for 15 years, longer than any other dish. It was created when Haraldur Sæmundsson became head chef, developing the recipe with the help of his grandmother and mother. Karl Jóhann Unnarsson later suggested adding a spoonful of pickled mushrooms to the bottom of the bowl. The soup is deliberately left coarsely blended so the mushrooms retain their texture. CONTACT INFO | PAGE 126

2 0 | E Q UE S T R IA N LIV IN G | FAL L | 2026

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EQ S T Y L E

STIRRUP YOUR STYLE From STRUCTURED TO SLOUCHY, a little stable spirit in every bag.

Town & Country Collection Top-Handle Bag by Fairfax & Favor. Polène’s Numéro Dix Galop Bag draws inspiration from the equestrian world. Crafted in smooth leather, the elegant details reflect the precision of saddles. In cognac. $760.

Penelope Chilvers’ spacious and sturdy Leather and Suede Bucket Bag in the conker/khaki combination with saddlery stitching. $569.

The Town & Country Collection Top-Handle Bag by Fairfax & Favor encapsulates classic elegance in Italian leather. Impeccably finished with buckle detail strap and gold hardware. In tan. $635.

Hermès’ Della Cavalleria mini bag in epsom calfskin exudes a sense of grandeur with its curved shape and a clasp inspired by the iconic Verdun half-bit. Upon request.

The whimsical Harper Horse Top Handle Bag, made of synthetic material with contrast stitching and zip closure, includes a detachable chain shoulder strap. In brown at JW PEI. $169.

Ciela’s Colorful Abstract Top Handle Bag in canvas with leather trim and vibrant equestrian print. A leather stirrup adds a playful finish. $149.

Gigi New York’s spacious brown leather Hunter Horse Tote with wristlet is a collaboration between artist and artisan. $475.

22 | EQ UE S T R I A N L I V IN G | FAL L | 2026

CONTACT INFO | PAGE 126

Sports & Entertainment

Sally Slater, Voted Favorite Equestrian Realtor in the East

@ 2025 DOUGLAS ELLIMAN REAL ESTATE. EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY.

438 OLD POST ROAD, BEDFORD, NY 10506. 914.234.4590. *SOURCE: 2022-2026 EQUESTRIAN LIVING, **SOURCE: DOUGLAS ELLIMAN SALES VOLUME.

by Equestrian Living for the Last 5 Years

Sally, a life-long equestrian with deep connections in that world and over 30 years of working in real estate sales, can help you find your perfect horse property in this tight market. Sally has a small inventory of off-market farms and land in the Northern Westchester and Fairfield, CT. area. She can also help refer you to top equestrian property brokers in other areas of the country. If you are thinking about selling or buying, contact Sally to guide you in the process.

Westchester Magazine’s Top Producer 2026 Award #1 Agent in Douglas Elliman in Westchester 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 & 2026** Voted Favorite Equestrian Realtor in the East by Equestrian Living 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 & 2026*

EQUESTRIAN LIVING MAGAZINE 2026 WINNER

Sally Slater

Lic. Assoc. R.E. Broker Farm & Ranch Division Sports & Entertainment Division O 914.234.4590 | M 914.584.0137 sally.slater@elliman.com

EQ S C I E N C E

THE ARTISAN MEETS THE ALGORITHM EDITAR

BY CARRIE WIRTH

24 | EQ UE S T R I A N L I V IN G | FAL L | 2026

EQ S C I E N C E

The world-first 3D SCANNING TECHNOLOGY is transforming the way its master artisans work — making a perfect custom boot fit not just possible, but a given.

boots, and became the first bootmaker in the sport to add long the concourse at Dickies Arena on the three-dimensional measurement to its fitting process. first day of the Longines FEI World Cup Finals in Fort Worth, something unexpected drew a A NAM E WITH A PLAN crowd. More than 20 members of the Dallas The story begins in 1906, in a workshop in the old center Police Motorcycle Unit lined up at the LM of Quito, Ecuador. Don Francisco Rivas Figueroa was not a Boots booth. Sergeant Ira Carter had brought romantic, but a craftsman who saw mass production coming his troop to be measured and scanned; some still wore the worn, and chose the opposite path: A custom boot, he sometimes ill-fitting boots they’d inherited with Above: Sisters Alejandra, believed, was simply a better boot. the job. They had seen what LM Boots made right, and Isabel Rivas In 1919, Ecuador’s Society of Shoemakers for the Dallas Mounted Patrol and wanted the of LM Boots. named him the country’s finest bootmaker. He same fit and comfort, tailored to riding Harleycalled his company La Mundial, Spanish for “the Davidsons. For a motorcycle officer, a good boot world,” drawing on Ecuador’s long leatherworking tradition for can matter in an accident. None of them fully realized they were both material and craft. among the first people in the world to have their feet and legs Five generations later, the Rivas family still makes boots one scanned in 3D for a perfectly fitted pair of custom boots. pair at a time. Sisters Alejandra and Isabel Rivas are taking over There is a kind of knowledge that lives in the muscle memthe business as their father, Roberto, steps back. The company ory of hands. For 120 years, the bootmakers at La Mundial keeps two Florida locations, in Wellington and at the World Custom Boots, known as LM Boots, have carried it in theirs. Equestrian Center in Ocala, and manages a busy event schedThey measure by eye and by touch, reading the geometry of a ule. Production stays in Quito, where 20 employees handle client’s leg the way an experienced rider reads a horse. manufacturing, administration, and client services, and 30 U.S. That knowledge now has a new partner. At the 2026 FEI sales representatives, trained in fit, style, and measurement, World Cup Finals, LM Boots introduced the LM Master Fit work with equestrians across the country. Scan, a digital laser scanner designed for equestrian custom

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EQ S C I E N C E

THE F I T C HA L L E N GE

A tall boot that doesn’t fit isn’t just uncomfortable—it’s a distraction. Calves, arches, and toes vary widely in shape, width, height, and length, and riders develop specific, sometimes hard-toarticulate preferences about where a boot should hold and where it should give. The industry’s standard tools have long been a tape measure, a paper form, and an experienced fitter. It works, mostly. LM Boots had already refined that process with a proprietary strap-tape measurement system that solved the problem of a shifting tape measure. Still, the Rivas family wanted more precision. CRA F T M E E T S COD E In the early 2000s, LM Boots built a digi-

tal customization program that let clients design boots online, choosing leather,

Above, clockwise from upper left: The more than 20 members of Sergeant Ira Carter Dallas Police Motorcycle Unit. The LM Master Fit Scan, a digital laser scanner. Elegant boot details.

color, piping, and finish before a pattern was ever cut. Orders fed directly into manufacturing software, cutting down on error and giving clients more say in what they wore into the ring. The LM Master Fit Scan extends that approach. The device captures the threedimensional geometry of a client’s feet and legs and sends the data directly to the production team in Quito. The scan doesn’t replace the bootmaker’s judgment—it sharpens it. “The scan talks to the factory,” Isabel Rivas said. “It gives our artisans superpowers.”

THE LONG VIEW LM Boots has never tried to scale into a

volume business. In an industry pushing for more, faster and cheaper output, the company has held its line for 120 years: one pair at a time, made for one person, measured precisely, and built by hand. The Rivas family also invests in its workforce. “We’ve had generations of families working for us,” Roberto Rivas said. In Ecuador, the company is working toward a shared-ownership model that would give employees a stake in its future. Don Francisco Rivas named his company after the world, then spent his life perfecting a single product. Five generations later, the family still makes the same bet made in 1906, that a boot made for one rider, measured with precision and built by hand, is worth more than anything a factory line can produce. INFO | PAGE 126

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YOUR DREAM LIFE IN HORSE COUNTRY STARTS HERE

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Rarely does a horse property of this caliber become available in Middleburg. This exceptional 100+ acre farm is anchored by a 9,500+ square-foot residence, but it is the extraordinary equestrian facilities that truly set it apart. A 12-stall center-aisle stucco barn with Classic Stalls features two wash stalls, tack room, farm office and two beautifully appointed two-bedroom apartments above. Just steps away are a 200’ x 100’ covered riding arena and 6-horse Kraft walker. Multiple paddocks with run-in sheds, an additional 2-stall barn and excellent ride-out complete the equestrian amenities. A pool and pool house, three-bay equipment shed and pond round out this remarkable Middleburg farm. Property is in a VOF Conservation Easement.

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EQ F A S H I O N

HERITAGE RETAILORED TRADITIONAL TWEEDS reimagined in MODERN FORMS.

Jack Murphy’s Aine Tweed Jacket in earth check, reinterprets a classic shooting jacket, merging traditional tailoring with a feminine silhouette. In 100-percent Yorkshire woven wool. Subtle touches include moleskin accents, brass snaps, and quilted lining. $595.

Tweed endures

Faye Tweed Trousers in chestnut herringbone by Jack Murphy are a timeless staple with sophistication and versatility. Classic front pleats, straight legs, and cuffs offer a sleek tailored finish. $335.

where trends fade, rooted in British countryside tradition yet endlessly reinvented. From tailored blazers to rugged jackets and sleek long vests, modern cuts pair timeless texture with everyday versatility and function.

CONTACT INFO | PAGE 126

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The Andrea Jacket by Katherine Hooker blends heritage design with a streamlined fit, relaxed raglan sleeves, high neck, and generous pockets. In green check herringbone. $1,891.

EQ F A S H I O N

Schöffel’s Murra Tweed Coat in dark loden herringbone combines heritage with contemporary design. The British-milled lambswool blazer offers endless possibilities from work to lunch with friends. $950.

Katherine Hooker’s Westcott Jacket reimagines the classic military jacket with a structured silhouette, deep breast pockets, moss green Alcantara suede at the collar, and polished metal dome buttons. In moss green check. $1,891.

Katherine Hooker’s longline Bonnie Waistcoat in red wool is reminiscent of a traditional train coat and features a tailored silhouette with chocolate Alcantara suede detailing beneath the collar. $1,500.

Tara Tweed Hacking Jacket in deep herringbone by Jack Murphy blends legacy with modern sophistication, crafted from Yorkshire-woven wool tweed. $445.

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EQ F A V O R I T E S

Biggest extravagance: Horses, I’m sure, and my boyfriends.

Favorite charity focus: Cancer research.

Favorite male fragrance: It’s Aveda men’s line.

MY FAVORITES

Favorite car: My Mercedes E400.

If you weren’t an equestrian you might have been: Definitely, a comedian.

Best place to live: It’s gotta be San Diego.

Favorite horse you’ve ridden: My favorite of all time is Don Diego.

Favorite music on your playlist: M People.

ROBERT McNEEL

Favorite TV show: Law and Order.

With years of experience as a professional rider and trainer, Robert McNeel has worked throughout the country in Texas, California, New York, Connecticut, and Wellington, Florida. After nearly two decades at the helm of Astor Place Show Stables, he most recently served as stabling manager for the LA Equestrian Center. Also, a stand-up comedian and beloved for his humor, kindness, and constant support, Robert brings expertise and infectious joy to the sport.

Favorite source for fashion: You can’t go wrong with Ralph Lauren.

Favorite getaway: I love it in Provincetown, Massachusetts.

Favorite show/venue: A summer at Spruce Meadows is my favorite.

Favorite food to cook at home: It’s Italian at my house.

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Way to relax: Riding my bicycle.

Favorite hotel: The W Hotel in Miami. Favorite restaurants: Bocca di Bacco in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen.

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EQ D É C O R

TAKE A SEAT

Favorite mainstays in home décor, OTTOMANS AND BENCHES add stylish accents and functionality to any space. The Georgina Coastal Beach Bench combines a woven natural fiber seat with a hardwood frame and rattan accents. At Kathy Kuo Home. $909.

Knoll’s Risom Ottoman, designed to function as a stool or ottoman, is suitable for indoor or outdoor use. An oiled teak frame with Sunbrella webbing adds durability in impeccable style. Shown in fern. $777.

Fredrik Kayser’s 1960s Rosewood and Leather Ottoman has been reupholstered in aniline leather, enhancing the best of Norwegian furniture design. At 1stDibs. $2,435.75. 32 | EQ UE S T R I A N L I V IN G | FAL L | 2026

Lumen’s Spindle Bench by Nathan Yong is a new take on modern bench seating. Its timeless design merged with contemporary accents fits comfortably in any setting. In oak. $1,309.

Crate and Barrel’s Cavett Wood and Leather Ottoman captures the best of 1950s design with dramatic mid-century lines in solid wood and rich leather. In saddle. $699.

The Klismos Bench by Knoll is expertly crafted from natural materials and accented with a durable woven cord and a removable leather cushion. In natural oak. $2,898.

CONTACT INFO | PAGE 126

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THE LA EQUESTRIAN CENTER

REINVENTED

Surrounded by freeways and set within Griffith Park, this equestrian enclave reveals a quieter Los Angeles: one defined by early‑morning hacks, heritage barns, and a com‑ munity that has kept horse culture alive through decades of change.

os Angeles is a city that is famous for its sprawling streets, highways, and parking lots that have long since paved over most of its wild chap‑ arral, farmlands, and orange groves. So the fact that 75 acres of open, working land still exists in Griffith Park is truly remarkable. With inter‑ minable growth all around, often at the expense of the spaces that offer real commu‑ nity and outdoor life, the Los Angeles Equestrian Center has become a unique site. In 2024, Legends Global was chosen by the City of Los Angeles Recreation and Parks to be the new management team for the center and over the past few years they have completed many projects and made improvements vital to daily operations. The venue now has 35 horse shows each year and over 100 private and special events including film shoots and basecamps for the entertainment industry. “Part of our mission is to be a pillar for the com‑ munity and to remain a special place for people to continue visiting, preserving this iconic open space and to help keep the equestrian world alive and thriving here in our region,” she says. The rebrand restored the center’s name, but more importantly, 34 | EQ UE S T R I A N L I V IN G | FAL L | 2026

BY JILL NOVOTNY

75 acres inside the city limits, a riding school, a boarding community of more than 400 horses, and a public that mostly has no idea it’s there.

it restored its role as a home base for a Southern California equestrian com‑ munity that’s bigger and more unpretentious than most people assume. The Los Angeles Equestrian Center serves not only the Southern California region but equestrian competitors and other visitors from around the country. They make it their mission to be accessible and to introduce people to riding, support all levels of riders in eques‑ trian sport, and to create a place where a lifetime of memories are made. The center hosts English, Western, and breed shows side by side, with no single discipline treated as the main event. What it sells isn’t exclusivity; instead it offers proximity: 75 acres inside the city limits, open to a riding school, a boarding community of more than 400 horses, and a public that is just dicovering it. That last part comes up constantly, according to Nevin. Visitors tend to have one of two reactions. Some are simply startled that the place exists at all. “I didn’t know this was here,” she says, describing the most common response she hears. Others have a longer history with the property, and Nevin says she hears those stories just as often. “’I had my first riding lesson there,’ they say, ‘Or, I got married

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THE LA EQUESTRIAN CENTER

there,’ ‘We had our dear uncle’s memorial there.’...” Horse show venues can rarely leave such a mark, carving out a home in their community.

he center’s civic role became essential on January 7, 2025, when the Los Angeles fires spread and LAEC was activated by the Office of Emergency Management and the LA Fire Department as an official evacuation site for horses and large animals. What arrived wasn’t just horses. Trailers rolled in carrying pigs, goats, sheep, and donkeys, some with owners in tow and some without. Within the first 24 hours, the center had taken in 300 animals; by the end of the week, it had reached capacity at 408. More than 1,500 volunteers served over the following weeks, and the center’s food and beverage team cooked more than 2,000 meals, backed by a steady stream of donated food from neighbors and local businesses. Nevin describes what that period revealed about the property’s purpose. “The bonding we all felt as a community, the volunteers that came, the support was stunning, to just help people,” she says. The rest of the calendar reflects the same spirit. Each December, LAEC hosts EquestFest, which is tied to the Tournament of Roses Rose Parade’s exhibitions, drawing roughly 4,000 people to the only

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Each December, LAEC hosts EquestFest, which is tied to the Rose Parade’s Tournament of Roses exhibitions, drawing roughly 4,000 people to the only covered arena of its size in the region.

covered arena of its size in the region. The center has also hosted a production with Fever Drone Concerts featuring 4,000 LED lights strung across its cricket field, a live string quartet performing Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, and a drone display overhead (which had to be cleared through the FAA given the site’s proximity to Burbank and Van Nuys airports). A separate multi-week residency, an immersive arts event called The Cortege, brought stilt performers and a silent disco to the grounds, all while, Nevin notes, the horses relaxed undisturbed in their stalls nearby. There’s also a more everyday version of that same openness. “We have a trading post that we do for people to come trade their tack and boots and things,” Nevin says. “It captures the communal atmosphere that LAEC seems to be aiming for. This season, the center will host events such as the LAWineFest, Pacific Ridge Show Jumping’s Grand Prix, and EquestFest, to name a few. Three years into its reinvention, the center’s ambitions are less about growth for its own sake than about visibility. LAEC is making sure that this unique communal land inside one of the country’s biggest cities doesn’t just disappear the way so much open space already has. The equestrian world has a reputation for gatekeeping, but LAEC seems more interested in what happens when it’s left wide open. INFO | PAGE 126

EQ G I V I N G B A C K

FLEET OF ANGELS Founder ELAINE NASH, is helping horses and the people who love them. our help at the right time is all that’s needed to keep a horse safe, well cared for, and right where it belongs. What makes us different is that we serve both individual owners and small rescues. When feasible, we help horses remain with their person because a temporary crisis shouldn’t become a permanent loss. We support whole communities recovering from disasters through emergency evacuation centers and hay banks. We’re committed to transparency and efficiency. We operate without an expensive facility or large administrative staff so more donor dollars go directly to helping horses.

Equestrian Living interviewed Nash about her life’s work in June 2026.

hat first drew you to horses, and how did that passion lead you to founding Fleet of Angels?

I grew up on a farm and ranch in New Mexico, where horses were my closest companions. They gave me freedom, confidence, and adventure. I can’t remember a time when they weren’t part of my life. Fleet of Angels began in 2011 when I sold my national champion gelding named Colorado, under an agreement that he would be returned to me if the buyer could no longer keep him. Instead, he disappeared. During the year it took to find him, I saw how many horses end up in dangerous or deadly hands through various unfortunate circumstances. That experience changed my life. I started Fleet of Angels initially as a volunteer transportation network to help get at-risk horses to safe havens. The pandemic essentially shut us down and since COVID-19 put many people with horses in crisis, we transitioned into a grantmaking nonprofit organization providing grants for emergency hay, veterinary care, and other critical needs for horses. Was there a particular moment that convinced you rescue work was your calling?

Yes. Losing Colorado opened my eyes to a problem I hadn’t recognized before. I discovered that countless horses were falling through the cracks, often just because good people were facing difficult 38 | EQ UE S T R I A N L I V IN G | FAL L | 2026

circumstances. What started as an urgent search for one horse became a lifelong commitment to helping equines in crisis. Even while building a career in journalism, public relations, and entertainment management in Nashville, I always made time for horses. Later, I returned to New Mexico to raise my family on a ranch near Santa Fe, where we all enjoyed having horses. Now living in Denver, this chapter of my life is about giving back to the animals that gave me so much. What is Fleet of Angels’ mission, and what makes it unique?

Fleet of Angels provides emergency assistance for equines affected by natural disasters and other major emergencies through a number of grant programs and services that we identified as essential to our cause. We’ve learned over the years that many crises are temporary. A wildfire, an illness, a job loss, or an unexpected veterinary emergency can overwhelm even the most devoted horse caregiver. Usually, having

Why did you choose a service model instead of operating a traditional rescue facility?

Our goal has never been to own a large rescue facility. By remaining a service organization instead of maintaining a large facility, we can help far more horses across the country. Horses are usually better off staying where they already have loving homes if we can provide the support needed to get their people through a crisis. When relocation is necessary, we work with trusted partners to place horses in safe homes or rescues. How many horses have you helped, and where?

Fleet of Angels has provided assistance to nearly 40,000 horses, donkeys, and other equines since we launched in 2011. Since transitioning into a grantmaking organization in 2020, we’ve awarded more than 18,500 grants. During Hurricane Helene, we helped more than 16,000 equines in six states

EQ G I V I N G B A C K

through grants, hay banks, evacuation assistance, and other services. Our primary focus is the U.S., where we’ve assisted equines in every state. We’ve also helped horses in Ukraine, a cart horse in Pakistan, and working donkeys in Belize. The process begins by submitting an online application through our website. We verify each request carefully. Then, if approved, we work directly with the applicant’s veterinarian, feed store, or other provider. Rather than sending money, we purchase what the horses need to ensure the funds are used as intended. Our goal is to help horses through an immediate crisis, giving their people time to find long-term solutions. How do you decide which horses need help first?

We look at the urgency of each situation and where our assistance can make the greatest impact. Most requests stem from unexpected hardships. Illness, job loss, or the death of a caregiver can leave people struggling to care for animals they love. Natural disasters such as wildfires, hurricanes, and floods are another major source of need, often destroying feed supplies, fencing, and shelters. If a horse requires urgent veterinary treatment that can’t begin without financial assistance, we try to help immediately. We also assist small rescues that suddenly find themselves overwhelmed after taking in neglected or abused horses. We approve as many requests as possible while being responsible stewards of donor dollars. Our goal is to use every contribution where it can do the most good for horses in crisis. What has been the most difficult rescue you’ve ever handled?

Without question, it was the 907 Hallelujah Horses project. In 2015, South Dakota authorities seized 907 starving, neglected horses 40 | EQ UE S T R I A N L I V IN G | FAL L | 2026

How can everyday equestrians help?

Fleet of Angels provides emergency assistance to equines affected by disasters and personal crises. from a failed program and placed them in Fleet of Angels’ care. It became the largest rescue of horses in U.S. history and required nearly two years of nonstop work. The horses needed urgent veterinary care, feed, and safe placement. Hundreds of adoptions were coordinated across the country. Initially a small team had to work through brutal winter conditions to gather and sort the horses while the rest of us raised funds and vetted adoption applications from spartan hotel rooms nearby. We also made it a priority to keep bonded horses together whenever possible. By the end of the project, those horses had found safe homes in nearly every state. That project garnered multiple awards for Fleet of Angels and exemplified what people can accomplish when they work together for a cause. Is there one success story that still stays with you?

After the California wildfires in 2025, we helped over 1,000 horses and their caregivers. One story I’ll never forget is Bob Williams, 80, who lost the stable he had operated for more than 40 years. Everything was destroyed. Thanks to generous donors, we funded care for the horses and purchased supplies so Bob could begin rebuilding. Today, his horses and others are back on the property, and the stable is alive again. Stories like Bob’s remind me that we’re helping people as much as horses.

Financial support is what allows us to respond when emergencies happen. It’s always been important to me that anyone who wants to help horses in crisis has a way to do so. Fleet of Angels gives people one trusted place to give, knowing their donations will be used to help horses wherever the need is greatest. People who want to help can also share FOA’s work on social media and tell anyone in crisis whose horses need help about us so they can reach out to us for assistance. What is your vision for Fleet of Angels over the next five years?

I don’t want to build a bigger organization. I want to build a stronger one. I’d like to expand our ability to respond to emergencies, develop new programs that address more needs, and add another team member so we can help more equines. We don’t want to ever lose the personal approach that defines Fleet of Angels. If we can help even more horses remain in good care during times of crisis, we’ll consider that success. Is there anything people don’t often ask about your work?

I wish more people asked what happens after the headlines fade. Long after a wildfire or hurricane disappears from the news and initial responders have moved on, horses still need hay, vet care, fencing, and a safe shelter while the humans in their lives regroup, repair, and start to recover. Recovery can take months or even years. I also wish more people realized that most people who reach out to us wish they didn’t have to. They simply need some help to get through a very challenging time. That’s how Fleet of Angels can make the greatest difference—by helping horses—which in turn protects the bond between horses and the people who love them, no matter what life has thrown INFO | PAGE 126 their way.

EQ B O O K S CL U OK

TH N S EE ER W V O C

FALLEN FOR FRANCE

Bestselling author ELIZABETH LETTS’S sweeping novel of a lost Arabian mare named Tassa.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Letts, beloved for The Eighty-Dollar Champion, The Perfect Horse, and The Ride of Her Life, comes a sweeping novel of a lost Arabian mare named Tassa, the boy who loves her, and his quest across North Africa and France to reclaim her. With her signature empathy, Letts brings into sharp focus the unique power of horses to draw us toward compassion, especially in times of conflict.

THE HORSE DAR AL MAKHZEN, THE SULTAN’S PALACE FES, MOROCCO, 1905

ear the Sultan Abdelaziz’s palace in the ancient city of Fes, the capital city of Morocco, the head groom, Omar, was awake, his mind in two places. Half remained with his wife, who’d felt the first squeeze of labor pains just as he was preparing to depart for his work, the other half was here in the Royal Stables, where he was anxiously preparing for another important birth. In a double-sized stall fragrant with barley straw, a mare was pacing, her eyes wide, her coat matted with sweat. On his head, Omar wore a conical red felt cap, a tarbouche, a black tassel suspended from the button on its flat top. The silk tassel swayed along the cap’s side in cadence with his movements. He’d been watching the mare carefully for several days

This exclusive excerpt from Fallen for France by Elizabeth Letts is published here courtesy of Ballantine Books.

now. He’d seen the waxy yellow substance form on her teats, the pawing and agitation. Now it was just a matter of hours. He peered inside the stall, watching the mare sweat and pace. He thought of his own wife and hoped that the night would pass well for both of them. It was winter, and the night air in Fes was cold. As he scanned the sky that glittered above the stable’s open courtyard, he caught sight of the dark form of a bird flapping slowly above him, and as he watched its progress over the stables his heart caught. What nighttime bird flew overhead? He squinted, his mouth dry. Was this winged creature an owl—the harbinger of death? Or was it a hawk out on a nighttime prowl, hunting for the mice that scurried among the stocks of grain in the Sultan’s stable? In a moment, the dark form flapped out of sight, leaving the groom unsettled. Among these hundred horses stabled within the recesses of the Sultan’s palace complex, this broodmare was the finest. Captured in battle from an Atlas chieftain, she was an excellent specimen of the Moroccan Barb, with her strong, convex profile, her short back and powerful haunches, and her temperament—intelligent, loyal, brave. When she’d first come into the stables, she’d been too hot to handle—angry to find herself confined to a box stall, restless, hostile. But Omar had spoken soothingly to her. He’d refilled her trough with fresh water five times a day, and hand selected only the finest grain. The young Sultan, Moulay Abdalaziz, who had Continued on page 44

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EQ F A V O R I T E S

FAVORITES BOOK SHOP Add these EQUESTRIAN CLASSICS to your library. BUY THESE BOOKS AT EQLIVING.COM/BOOKSHOP

Black Beauty: The original 1877 edition, by Anna Sewell With fifty million copies sold, Black Beauty is one of the best-selling books of all time.

My Friend Flicka: A novel about taming a wild horse on a Wyoming Ranch. For kids ages 8-12. By Mary O’Hara. Paperback.

Wild: The Legendary Horses of Sable Island, by Drew Doggett. Large-format coffee table book by the awardwinning photographer.

Stables: Beautiful Paddocks, Horse Barns, and Tack Rooms, by Kathryn Masson, a coffee-table Rizzoli book.

War Horse: (Scholastic Gold paperback) by Michael Morpurgo In 1914, Joey, a farm horse, is sold to the army and thrust into the midst of World War I.

The Magnificent Horse: by Bob Langrish and Nicola Jane Swinney. A beautiful coffee-table book celebrating this magnificent animal.

Horses: Portraits by Derry Moore. Elegant photos of the equestrian world, from the race courses of Keeneland in Kentucky to the training stables at Newmarket, England.

Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand. An underdog story about the horse who came out of nowhere to become a legend. (paperback).

The Sporting Horse: by Nicola Jane Swinney. A glorious celebration of the athletic abilities of these beautiful animals, and the unique relationship that has evolved between horse and rider.

National Velvet: by Enid Bagnold. This charming new edition features the original drawings by Laurian Jones, the author’s 13-year-old daughter.

Misty of Chincoteague: by Marguerite Henry, illustrations by Wesley Dennis. A wonder story enjoyed by children of all ages.

The Black Stallion: Book 1 of 20, by Walter Farley. The classic that introduced the world to “the most famous fictional horse of the century.”

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beautyforreal.com EQ B O O K S

FALLEN FOR FRANCE Continued from page 44

The young Sultan, Moulay Abdalaziz, who had acceded to the throne at only sixteen, took some interest in the exotic beasts of the palace menagerie—lions and oryxes, flamingoes and bears, but he had little time for horses. He loved bicycles and motorcars, his head turned by European things. So when Omar presented his plan to pair this captured mare with the Sultan’s best Arabian stallion, the young man had only waved a soft white hand. This, to Omar, was inexplicable. Horses were the crown jewels of the Sultan’s kingdom, more precious than all the Sultan’s gold. Like so many of his countrymen, Omar was himself a mix of country and city, of mountains and plains, of nomads and settled people, of Berbers and Arabs. His father was a well-off merchant from an old Fes family. His mother, an orphan, had come from the mountains 44 | EQ UE S T R I A N L I V IN G | FAL L | 2026

Elizabeth Letts and Lucy.

to work in the city where her beauty had inspired his father to marry her. Omar had been raised speaking his mother’s language and his father’s, and when a friend of his father’s had secured the bright young boy an important position inside the palace, his family had been proud. The royal horses of Morocco were among its finest treasures, symbols of the

splendor of the Sultan, who was himself revered as a direct lineal descendant of the Prophet. Omar had started as a boy apprentice, convinced that to serve the horses was to serve his Kingdom. He’d worked faithfully and diligently, gaining the Sultan’s trust. Now, he kept up his watch all night. The mare was frantic, circling, lying down, getting up, biting at her sides, and as she suffered, he could not help thinking of his wife. How he wished he could return to their home to ask for some word of her, but as head groom, he was responsible for the mare’s wellbeing, so he waited, refilling her water trough, watching her, speaking a soft word here or there. Letting her know she wasn’t alone. By the time a faint line of pearly light appeared over the green tile rooftops, the mare looked spent. The morning star hung on the horizon, and

EQ B O O K S

still, no foal had appeared. Soon it would be time for him to intervene, a last resort as it might cause injury to the mare or the foal. Omar heard the morning call to prayer sounding from the Lalla Mina Mosque, echoed by the braided threads of sound floating out from the hundreds of other muezzins in the hundreds of other minarets across the city. Down below the palace, he knew that the streets were filling with early risers—men on their way to prayers, carters loading their wagons with goods, children stirring as their mothers shook them awake. The thought of his wife had not once left his mind. The head groom stepped away from the stall to perform his ablutions, and laid his prayer rug facing east, in front the mare’s stall. His prayers finished, he stood up and turned his attention once more toward the mare. A miracle! There in the stall, a brand-new filly stood wobbling on long spindly legs, her giant

brown eyes staring at this new world that Allah had made. Her mother was licking her, and then the tiny foal poked her finely formed nose under her mother’s belly to suckle. The groom watched with quiet pride. His favorite mare had delivered a perfect first foal, and now was showing a natural talent for being a mother. His experienced eye looked over the filly and saw that she was born without flaws. She had the short couplings of her mother, and the arched crest and high set tail of her father. A moment’s observation revealed that she would grow up to be both fleet and strong. On her forehead, she had a large white patch. And just as his mind turned once again to his wife, worry picking at his thoughts as a child picks at a sore, he saw a young boy hurrying toward him—his wife’s cousin, come from their nearby home with news. The boy did not need to speak. His face told all. The head groom’s heart filled with sorrow.

That night, the owl had flapped silently past the stable and visited the chambers where his wife was laboring. His child, a daughter, had been born still and blue and never took a single breath. Omar praised Allah for showing mercy to his wife, but it troubled his mind that the owl had come for his own infant and not the filly. For what reason had such a thing occurred? Why would the Almighty spare the foal and snatch away the child, causing such grief to himself and his wife? As he watched the perfect filly cavort beside her mother, Omar became convinced that she must have been born to some significant destiny. She would travel far. Beyond this courtyard, beyond the palace walls, into the great world. This thought provided some solace. And yet, this night had brought both joy and sorrow, and so it would be for this newborn foal, for this palace, his country, and his world. INFO | PAGE 129

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GEORGE K AMPER photographer | director georgekamper.com 305.528.2823

Four-time Olympian Kristina Makushenko Portrait appointments available with EQ Living’s photography director. by George Kamper.

Few shows blend elite show jumping and Irish tradition quite like Dublin. The Gallagher Dublin Horse Show brings top international competition into a distinctly Irish celebration, with Ladies Day fashion, Connemara ponies, foxhounds, the Shetland Pony Grand National and packed stands adding to the week’s unmistakable character. The 2026 show marked the 100th anniversary of the Nations’ Cup of Ireland and delivered a competition worthy of the occasion. Team USA, with Laura Kraut,

Natalie Dean, Karl Cook, and Paris Sellon, captured the Aga Khan Trophy just ahead of Ireland in a dramatic final round, with Switzerland finishing third. The week culminated in the €1 million Rolex Grand Prix of Ireland, where Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat and Albfuehren’s Iashin Sitte secured victory, narrowly beating Ireland’s Jordan Coyle. With its blend of elite sport, Irish tradition, and an electric crowd, Dublin remains unlike any other stop on the INFO | PAGE 126 international show-jumping calendar.

President of Ireland Catherine Connolly presenting the Aga Khan Trophy to Team USA (L-R )Karl Cook, Natalie Dean, Chef d’Equipe Robert Ridland, Laura Kraut, and Paris Sellon.

STYLE, SPORT, AND IRISH SPIRIT PHOTOS: ALDEN CORRIGAN

Ladies Day Best Dressed Competition.

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Ben Johnson & Beezie’s Nite Cruise in the Riding Horses (Small) class.

Nations Cup of Ireland for the Aga Khan Trophy Lap of Honor with The Defense Horses Band and Defense Horses Pipe Band.

Kent Farrington and Greya. Steve Guerdat Wins the €1M Rolex Grand Prix of Ireland CSIO 5* Photo: Helen Cruden / Rolex Series Equestrian

The Shetland Pony Grand National.

The Duhallow Foxhounds, the oldest continuously recorded foxhound pack in Ireland.

Parade of Champions and Reserve Champions Heavy-Weight, Bbk Flynn, ridden by Brian Murphy was the Supreme Hunter Champion.

The Connemara Pony Class.

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ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF RYERSS FARM

The main building is a 400-year-old Georgian manor. 50 | EQ UE S T R I A N L I V IN G | FAL L | 2026

BY STEPHANIE PETERS

“ THE HAPPIEST FARM “

ON EARTH

HOW RYERSS FARM TURNED A 19TH-CENTURY RESCUE MISSION INTO A CHESTER COUNTY SANCTUARY.

can’t say for certain what initially piqued my interest in Ryerss Farm for Aged Equines. It may have been references to its status as the oldest nonprofit organization in the U.S. dedicated to providing a comfortable retirement for horses, or the fact that a petite, feisty descendant of a prominent Philadelphia family was behind the charitable institution established in 1888. Fearless in confronting horse owners who mistreated their animals, Anne Waln Ryerss convinced them to allow their horses to be rehabilitated at her farm. Anne was considered one of the “Great Meddlers,” a nickname first given to Henry Bergh, the unrelenting animal rights advocate and founder of the ASPCA. A decade later, Anna Sewell, author of “Black Beauty,” emerged as another impassioned voice for the working horse’s plight. Today, Anne Waln Ryerss’ focus and passion remain a steadfast north star for those continuing her mission at Ryerss Farm 138 years later. I spoke with Samuel Griffin, president of the Ryerss’ Board of Managers since 2012, who has closely observed the farm’s growth across 380 acres in Chester County, Pennsylvania. Griffin doesn’t need much prompting to set the scene for how Ryerss came to be. “We set the stage for people by

reminding them what it was like in the 1880s, when horses provided everything,” he says. “They provided horsepower for transportation, farming, and industry, and they were considered expendable because they were just a tool.” It’s that context that makes Anne Waln Ryerss’ intervention so striking. “Going around and seeing a lame horse pulling a bread wagon, she would say to the owner, ‘Listen, why don’t you just give me the horse, and I will take him to my farm and care for him. When he’s better, you can come and get him,’” Griffin says. “And then she just never would give the horse back, especially if it was an elderly horse; she knew it was going to continue to be abused and put right back to work. The person was perfectly happy to get an expensive horse

off his hands. It’s a wonderful visual that explains why we are here,” he adds. Asked whether Anne would be pleased with what the farm has become, Griffin doesn’t hesitate: “Yes, I really do think that she would be pleased, because it’s perpetuating her view of humane treatment of horses to a great number of people.” For much of its history, Ryerss Farm operated quietly—a little too quietly, actually, as Griffin discovered when he joined the board 14 years ago. “We were the biggest secret in all of Chester County. No one knew anything about Ryerss Farm,” he admits. He’d even lived near the farm’s former West Whiteland property and, after it was sold for development, assumed the organization had closed. The fix was old-fashioned legwork. Staff or board members would give talks at Rotary clubs and retirement communities, fill dinner-speaker slots whenever needed, and eventually gain a foothold on the internet. Local television segments helped too, along with a longstanding presence at the Devon Horse Show. “Fourteen years ago, people would say, ‘So what is Ryerss Farm?’ Now, when Ryerss’ representatives are sitting at the table at Devon, people come up and say, ‘Oh, I love Ryerss. I know all about Ryerss.’” FA LL | 20 2 6 | EQ L I V I NG .CO M | 5 1

The change reshaped daily life on the farm. Originally, Griffin’s office was in a wonderfully quiet farm setting, somewhat removed from the day-to-day farm activities—a distance he enjoyed. Griffin says, “It remains a wonderful place to be, and now every single day of the year we have visitors.” When the first steady flow of visitors began, he jokingly wondered, “Are we giving away money? They come, love it, and are happy here,” Griffin says. “They tell their friends, who then bring their families, so it just becomes a self-fulfilling thing. We call Ryerss the happiest farm on earth because that’s what we try to make it.”

dmission to the farm is free; visitors can buy healthy feed for the horses, browse a small gift shop, or become sponsors for $500 a year. “Being a sponsor is a way to have a horse without having to own one,” Griffin says. “You can’t ride it or work it, but you can love it and learn a little bit about horsemanship.” Ask Griffin for one horse whose story sums up the farm’s mission, and he resists the premise. “Every one of the horses here has a story that captures what the farm is truly about,” he says. Still, two names come up immediately: Bear and Magoo, former search-and-rescue partners in Alaska who were flown to Ryerss once they aged out of service. “They were able to come here, have their shoes removed, and just live the life of a horse without having to worry about the kind of work they had done before.” The farm has also taken in Olympiccaliber show jumpers who spent most of their careers in a stall between competitions. “They come here, and they don’t have to do that anymore. They just get to go out and be with their buddies,” 52 | EQ UE S T R I A N L I V IN G | FAL L | 2026

Above: Anne Waln Ryerss, Founder of Ryerss Farm for Aged Equines; a happy equine resident. Bottom: (L) Ryerss’ resident full-time veterinarian, Colleen Meeuse; (R) Farm Manager, Cory Mowrer. Opposite: Horses heading out to graze in the pastures; the farm’s Animal Welfare Manager, Karen Moore checking on a resident.

Griffin says. “They bent to the will of their human carers for all of their lives, and now humans are sort of taking care of them.” That reversal resonates beyond the horse world. Griffin recalls a veteran who came to Ryerss as a volunteer, arriving

early each morning to feed the horses before anyone else was around. One day, he brought his psychiatrist to the barn. “He waved his arm at the horses and said, ‘They healed me, you know.’” Griffin credits that shift with broadening the farm’s donor base: “Now it’s a general love of animals,” he notes. “People who don’t live in the country and don’t own horses get to come here and enjoy it. That’s one of the great secrets for us in getting the word out.” Ryerss functions much the same way you would think about a human retirement community. Owners often place horses on the waiting list years before they’re eligible, simply to guarantee a spot once they turn 20, the farm’s minimum entry age. Many of those horses never actually come; their owners keep them but like having the option. Exceptions apply in genuine emergencies. Abused or neglected horses referred by the SPCA or the Large Animal Protection Society (LAPS) jump the line, provided they meet the age minimum. Griffin recalls one exception that became a lesson. LAPS once asked Ryerss to take in Albert, described as an abused, elderly donkey, without paperwork confirming his age. Once he was there, the vet checked him out and recognized the donkey was no more than 8 years old. “Donkeys live for a very long time, so Albert will be here forever,” Griffin laughs. New arrivals are settled in gradually: first walked to their own stall, then placed in a paddock beside a resident field, separated only by a fence line so horses can size each other up before meeting directly. Animal Welfare Manager Karen Moore oversees the introductions and “just has a sixth sense about that,” Griffin says. “Integration usually takes just a few days and is not dissimilar to when a child goes to camp.”

None of this happens without roughly 125 volunteers, some working in the stables a few days a week, others staffing the gift shop or showing up only for events. “We really couldn’t do as well as we do now without our volunteers,” Griffin says. “They’re a great source of love and devotion for the animals, but also a great source of labor for us. They’re really the backbone of what we do here.”

ull-time veterinary care is even rarer among sanctuaries, and Griffin considers it one of Ryerss’ defining features. The farm’s veterinarian came to them straight out of the military after training at the University of Pennsylvania. “If a horse is sick or beginning to colic, we have a vet here in minutes, instead of waiting for the vet on the other side of the county to arrive,” Griffin says. Ryerss is largely self-sufficient by design. A farmer and three full-time farmhands grow hay and straw on-site, rotating in crops like beans and corn to sell between plantings, sometimes even

Samuel W. M. Griffin President, Board of Managers

selling surplus straw to construction outfits. “This isn’t a job, it’s a lifestyle,” Griffin says of the farm’s staff. “They all have skin in the game.” The main barn, built roughly 40 years ago when the property was still a cattle operation, is now mid-renovation with a new standing-seam roof, wider windows for more light in the 80 stalls, and new siding. “We’re not moving anywhere again, at least not in any of our lifetimes,” Griffin says, laughing, “so we’ve decided to put down our marker.”

Asked what’s changed since 1888 and what hasn’t, Griffin points to the obvious shift first: horses, once central to daily life, are now largely unfamiliar to most people. What hasn’t moved is the instinct Anne Waln Ryerss acted on more than a century ago—the determination to give horses a dignified end to their working lives. The farm’s original name, Ryerss Infirmary for Dumb Animals, was eventually retired because young visitors kept mistaking “dumb” for an insult rather than its old meaning of mute. Griffin still laughs recalling one recent visitor who, after an hour of questions, admitted he still wasn’t sure what an equine was. Nearly 140 years after Anne Waln Ryerss stopped a lame horse pulling a bread wagon, her quiet act of defiance still echoes across Chester County’s rolling pastures. Today, the horses at Ryerss Farm no longer spend their days in service to people. Instead, people have chosen to be in service to them. It’s a simple reversal, but a powerful one—proof that compassion, once set in motion, can outlive the person who first CONTACT INFO | PAGE 126 imagined it. FA LL | 20 2 6 | EQ L I V I NG .CO M | 5 3

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Kat Fuqua EQUESTRIAN LIVING eqliving.com

Two Disciplines, One Dream The rising star of dressage and show jumping, is proving that specializing early isn’t the only path to the top.

BY SARAH LESSLER PHOTOS BY GEORGE KAMPER

t just 19, Kat Fuqua has already reached Grand Prix level in not one but two Olympic disciplines, won triple gold at the 2024 FEI North American Youth Championships, was USDF Young Rider of the Year, and was awarded the USET Foundation’s Lionel Guerrand-Hermès Trophy, for exemplifying the USET’s ideals of sportsmanship and horsemanship. She even secured a fifth-place freestyle finish at CHIO Aachen, equestrian sports’ most storied venue and recently placed fifth in her first 5-star grand prix. On paper, Kat reads like a rider who has achieved it all. In person, she’s still very

much a teenager figuring out the balance of two demanding riding careers, a full course load, and a life outside the barn, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. Her competitive drive traces back to a group lesson around age 5, when her trainer wouldn’t let her canter while an older girl in the same lesson got to. “I remember thinking the whole time, please, can I please canter? I want to do this,” she says. “That’s the moment I knew I wanted to really go far with riding. Every time I want to move up a level or do something new, I think about that moment.” Her mother, Shereen, remembers when Kat was 6, and already winning at the local shows, Continued on page 58

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ANNE GITTINS

PC ANNE GITTINS

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HOLLY JOHNSON

SARA HELLNER

FOREVER PHOTOS

USEF

ANDREW RYBACK.

LAUREN PITYLAK.

\ ANNE GITTINS\

1. 5-years-old in her first walk/trot class. 2. Awarded the USEF Leading Pony Hunter Owner in 2017 and 2018. 3. USEF Leading Pony Hunter Owner in 2017 and 2018. 4. Surprise 9th birthday at Collecting Gaits Farm. 5. Kat and Consent at PA National Horse Show 2021, Jr. Hunter Grand Champion. 6. WEF Champion Pony Powder Puff 2015. 7. Kat’s first Junior Hunter Horse Jett USEF Horse of the year 2018. 8. Rigoletto at USEF Dressage pathway 2025. 9. Reserve Champion at WEF 2016. 10. On Nate Archibald. 11. Kat with Dreamgirl and her mother and trainer, Shereen after winning triple gold FEI medals at NAYC in 2024.

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Continued from page 55

EQUESTRIAN LIVING

she asked her “do you want to be a big fish in a little pond, or eqliving.com Schockemöhle CEO and Show Jumper Trainer, Andreas a little fish in a big pond?” Without any hesitation or a blink Kreuzer. Her dressage work is anchored at home with her of her pretty blue eyes, she said, “Oh mommy, I want to be a mother and trainers Frederic Wandres and Steffen Peters. little fish in a big pond!” Fuqua came up through ponies and During one Wellington winter circuit, split between the hunters first, a chapter that peaked with Grand Remo, a difWinter Equestrian Festival and the Global Dressage Festival, ficult, testing young horse who matured into her best hunter she remembers a routine that would exhaust anyone, dashing and carried Kat to three WEF Circuit Championships, multiple from one ring to the next and back again. “The dressage starts Grand Junior Hunter Championships, and helped secure Kat pretty early in the morning, so I’d show my dressage horses, as Best Child Rider more than once. He was also the USEF immediately get off, run to my jumping classes, come back for Horse of the Year in 2020. Kat was working with a dressage dressage awards, put the horses away, and run back for another trainer on the basics with her hunter horses and told her plainly jumping class,” she says, laughing. “It’s a lot of juggling, but he wanted her on a real dressage horse. Enter Dreamgirl, the it’s fun. I love it.” Kat admits there are times when she’s been mare who’d become the most important partner of Kat’s career. mostly riding dressage and then gets back into her jumping sadFrom observing her mother, grand prix dressage rider Shereen dle, and she can barely walk. “The muscles you use for jumping Fuqua, the transition and dressage are just a came more naturally than lot different.” most. “I kind of already Being part of USEF’s had the basic idea and the Emerging Athletes and basic way of riding dresHigh Performance sage, so it wasn’t as big of Pathways has shaped her a change as people would not only in riding, but think.” By age 14, Kat everything around it. “You won USA Dressage Junior learn how to work with Champion, and earned her other people and to be USDF Bronze Medal. supportive of your teamHer current string of mates. They have seminars horses reflect where she’s headed next: Her dressage mount Toto on how you need to take care of your body, and what you should be Django, a 9-year-old with what she says has “a lot of talent for posting on social media—a broad range of things. It’s not just ridthe grand prix movements,” and Chanezzo PS, an 8-year-old ing. It helps you with everything you need to know.” stallion by Chacco Blue with “a lot of power” and a work ethic to match. “They have the exact same personality,” she says. A ACHEN “They’re both really sweet, and they both always try really hard, If one moment captures what Fuqua is chasing, it’s Aachen. even if they’re not really sure what we’re asking.” At Aachen in 2024, she and Dreamgirl finished fifth in the Dressage Young Rider Freestyle. It was the best show of her TWO D I S C I P LI N E S , ON E R I D E R life, she says without hesitation. “It’s chills when you enter the Most riders specialize, but for Kat, being a dressage and show arena,” Kat says. “I’d always wanted to show there, and everyjumping rider is her normal. “I feel like I’ve done both my one says it’s the best thing. And it really is.” The week closed whole life,” she says. “It doesn’t feel like I could do anything dif- with the Farewell of Nations ceremony in the main jumping ferent—it just comes naturally at this point.” She insists the two arena, where she found herself waving alongside Steffen Peters disciplines make each other better: “Dressage helps so much and McLain Ward. “It was so much fun. That was the best with the jumping—having your horse on the aids, listening to horse memory I’ve ever had.” you. And the jumping makes me a braver dressage rider. I can go for it a little more, for the big points.” HORSEM ANSHIP AND BALANCE That philosophy is easier to describe than to live. Her Ask Kat what she’s learned beyond the technical side of two jumping horses primarily live in Germany with trainer disciplines, and the answer keeps circling back to one word:

“MY MOM ALWAYS WANTS ME TO BELIEVE IN MYSELF, BELIEVE

I CAN BE THE BEST, AND GO IN 100 PERCENT.”

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Continued on page 62

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KAT IS ALL BUSINESS AT THE BARN. GROOMING AND TACKING HER OWN HORSES ISN’T AN AFTERTHOUGHT, IT’S CENTRAL TO HER FOCUS ON GOOD HORSEMANSHIP.

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EQUESTRIAN LIVING

consistency. “My mom always wants me to believe in myself, eqliving.com believe I can be the best, and go in 100 percent,” she says. “My jumping trainer Andreas wants me to stick to the same plan every day, not to stress about what other people are doing, or about one fault. Just stick with the plan.” To her, real horsemanship has little to do with ribbons. “I think it means understanding at all times what your horse is feeling. It also means being able to say, maybe today’s not our day, so we don’t jump today, we don’t go in for the test, if you really don’t think it’ll go well.” None of it happens alone, she’s quick to add—her mother manages both sides of her career, her trainers are unanimously supportive of the dual path, and some of her closest support comes from outside the industry entirely. “A lot of my best friends don’t have anything to do with horses. They don’t really understand what I’m doing, but they’re cheering for me all the time.” Outside the barn and the demands of competition, Kat’s life has plenty of room for the things she enjoys simply because they’re fun. A perfect day off might mean going to the beach or getting coffee with friends, exploring somewhere new, doing Pilates, or going out to dinner. Kat likes keeping a to-do list and checking things off to stay organized, but when there’s no show or training session on the calendar, she’s just as happy to slow down and spend time with her horses without the pressure of competition. “That’s my favorite thing to do, just ride my horses bareback,” she says. LOO KI N G A H E A D

Kat is among a very small number of young riders in the world competing seriously toward Grand Prix in two Olympic disciplines at once. All of it happens alongside her education. This fall, Kat is a freshman at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, majoring in business. She purposefully chose a smaller school so she can continue riding at home and maintain a more personal relationship with professors who understand her equestrian commitments. Her five-year vision is firmly rooted in both worlds: five-star Grand Prix and senior Nations Cup selection, in dressage and jumping alike. Behind both is the goal she’s carried since she was a 5-year-old begging to canter. “That’s my biggest goal,” she says of the Olympics. “I don’t have a date, 2028 or 2032, but Toto is definitely a prospect. It’s always there. We’re just taking it step by step.” Asked what keeps her going through the exhaustion and early mornings of a life split between two disciplines, she gives a simple answer. “Every time I feel stressed out, like I can’t do this, I take a moment to think about what I’d really rather be doing instead,” she says. “And I’m like—no. I love this. This is what I want to do.” 62 | EQ UE S T R I A N L I V IN G | FAL L | 2026

“MY FAVORITE THING TO DO, JUST RIDE MY HORSES BAREBACK.”

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A A C H E N

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PHOTO COURTESY ARND BRONKHORST

THE CROWN JEWEL OF EQUESTRIAN SPORT

STEVE GUERDAT and Dynamix de Belheme delivered the performance of the championship. The 44-year-old rider already had Olympic and European gold medals and three World Cup Final titles, but an individual World Championship title had remained the missing piece. At Aachen, he and the 13-year-old Selle Français mare never touched a rail across five rounds of jumping.

BY SARAH LESSLER MAJOR PHOTOS BY ALDEN CORRIGAN

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SIX DISCIPLINES, COUNTLESS STORIES, AND THE FINEST HORSE-AND-RIDER PARTNERSHIPS IN THE WORLD.

or two weeks in August, the Soers showgrounds once Eventing brought the drama that only a championship crossagain became the center of the equestrian world country day can provide. The demanding Aachen course tested as Aachen, Germany, hosted the 2026 FEI World even the most experienced combinations, with 20 of the 85 Championships. The world’s best horse-and-rider starters failing to complete the competition. Great Britain capcombinations gathtured team gold, while Germany’s ered to contest world Michael Jung added another titles across six disciplines: dresindividual World Championship sage, eventing, jumping, driving, title to his extraordinary collecvaulting, and para dressage. tion. The United States earned Additionally, seven Olympic team bronze, with Will Coleman qualification places for the 2028 and Diabolo finishing fourth Los Angeles Olympic Games individually. were on the line. Then came Show Jumping, In 2006, Aachen hosted the with Germany securing team gold FEI World Equestrian Games, on home soil. Marcus Ehning, drawing 576,000 spectators and Sophie Hinners, Daniel Deusser, cementing its place in the sport’s and Richard Vogel delivered the history. Twenty years later, the consistency needed to withstand venue again delivered what the pressure, while Belgium Aachen is famous for: packed took silver and Great Britain grandstands of knowledgeable bronze. Team USA just missed the and passionate crowds and podium, finishing fourth with an electric atmosphere where outstanding rounds from icons every rail, percentage point, Laura Kraut and McLain Ward. and second mattered. The Individually, Switzerland’s World Championships opened with a celebration Steve Guerdat and Dynamix de Belheme delivered Above: Brigitte Boss’ that reflected the breadth and tradition of Aachen the performance of the championship. The 44-yearbronze horse sculptures itself. More than 250 horses took part in equestrian old rider already had Olympic and European gold welcomed visitors. performances alongside dancers, musicians, and medals and three World Cup Final titles, but an Opposite, clockwise a parade of historic carriages from royal stables in from top: individual World Championship title had remained McLain Ward on High Britain, Denmark, and the Netherlands. Athletes the missing piece in an extraordinary career. At Star Hero. from nations around the world entered the stadium Laura Kraut and Baloutinue. Aachen, he and the 13-year-old Selle Français mare together under the “Welcome Home” banner. never touched a rail across five rounds of jumping, Germans in the audience cheering for their team. German rider Lisa Röckener and her horse Valoo carrying a score of just 0.86 penalties into the final. then jumped through the arch bridleless, a fitting The pressure was immense. Guerdat entered opening to two weeks of top-level sport centered on the final tied for the lead with Germany’s Daniel the partnership between horse and rider. Deusser, and when Deusser dropped a rail early in round one, Germany quickly established itself as the nation to beat. Guerdat suddenly had the advantage. However, he still had to In dressage, the home team of Katharina Hemmer, Raphael produce one more clear round over a demanding final course. Netz, Frederic Wandres, and Isabell Werth captured team gold. The crowd fell silent as Dynamix, athletic, careful, and seemGreat Britain’s Charlotte Fry and Glamourdale then successfully ingly effortless over massive fences, carried Guerdat through defended their individual World Championship titles, winning another faultless round. As they cleared the final fence, the both the Grand Prix Special and Freestyle. silence gave way to a roar. Guerdat had not only won the World

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ISABEL KUREK

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Championship; he had become the first Swiss rider to claim the individual title. As the emotion of the moment washed over him, Guerdat reached both hands out to Dynamix, in a gesture of sheer gratitude. After years of chasing the title, he was quick to credit the horse who had carried him there. Dynamix was the only horse not to have a fence down throughout the championship, a remarkable testament to the mare and the partnership. Belgium’s Thibeau Spits earned silver, while Great Britain’s Harry Charles produced perhaps the championship’s biggest comeback story, climbing from 23rd going into the final to win bronze with his mount LT Holst Freda, a mare he Top row: Marcus Ehning had partnered with for only three months. and Coolio. Iconic Aachen As the final competition came to a close, Aachen white handkerchiefs waved by the athletes and fans in returned to one of its most beloved traditions: the the farewell to nations durFarewell of Nations. Riders from the competing couning the closing ceremonies. tries paraded into the stadium as spectators waved Winner of the FEI Jumping white handkerchiefs in farewell, a tradition dating World Championship, Steve Guerdat and Dynamix de to 1953. It was a fitting final image for a championBelheme. ship that had delivered the very essence of elite show jumping. At Aachen, nothing is decided until the last Middle: Nayel Nassar and his childhood friend. Harry horse has jumped the last fence—where heartbreak Charles and Eve Jobs on the can turn to triumph in a matter of seconds, and where podium during the owner true athleticism demands everything from both horse recognition ceremony. and rider, proving why it occupies such a rare place in Daniel Deusser. Individual Championship podium equestrian sport. (L-R) Thibeau Spits, Steve The championships were about medals and Guerdat and Harry Charles. Olympic qualification, certainly, but also about Bottom: Individual something harder to quantify: the electricity of a Championship podium (L-R) great horse show, the weight of history, and the Thibeau Spits, an emotional feeling that when the world’s best horses walk into Steve Guerdat and Harry the Aachen arena, something important is about to Charles. The gold medal German team. Richard happen. INFO | PAGE 126 Vogel on United Touch S.

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THE 2O26 EQ

Now in its 13th year, the Equestrian Living Gold List is America’s leading survey of equestrians’ favorite brands, people, places, fashion, lifestyles, and more.

BEST PLACES TO LIVE MIDDLEBURG, VA

MIDDLEBURG combines historic charm with exceptional horse country, offering rolling farmland, foxhunting traditions, sophisticated shops, and beautiful properties surrounded by open countryside.

WELLINGTON, FL

LEXINGTON, KY

WELLINGTON is an international equestrian hub, attracting top riders, trainers, and horses for winter

LEXINGTON’S rolling Bluegrass countryside, legendary Thoroughbred farms, historic Keeneland racecourse, and deep equestrian heritage make it an exceptional place for horse owners seeking authentic country living.

competition, while offering beautiful farms, warm weather, polo, and sophisticated Palm Beach amenities.

Restaurant and cultural scores reflect proximity to metro areas; equestrian property averages from LandSearch Realmo 2025-2026; temperature ranges are based on monthly climate data; horsiness index rated by Claude AI. 1.

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GOLD LIST TOWNS MOST MENTIONED MIDDLEBURG, VA 17.10% WELLINGTON, FL 14.90% SANTA BARBARA, CA 8.40% Lexington, KY 7.40% Ocala, FL 7.40% North Salem, NY 7.20% Delmar, CA 7.20% Aiken, SC 6.10% Chester Co., PA 3.40% Tryon, NC 2.90% Parker, CO 2.30% Southern Pines, NC 2.10% Millbrook, NY 1.90% Paso Robles, CA 1.90% Woodside, CA 1.50% Camden, SC 1.50% Asheville, NC 1.30% Scottsdale, AZ 1.30% Franklin, KY 1.10% Traverse City, MI 1.00% Portola Valley, CA 1.00% Woodstock, VT 1.00%

YEAR-ROUND LIVING

V MIDDLEBURG, VA ● DEL MAR, SAN DIEGO, CA ● SANTA BARBARA, SANTA YNEZ, CA WINTER LIVING

V WELLINGTON, FL ● OCALA, FL ● SANTA BARBARA, SANTA YNEZ, CA SUMMER LIVING

V LEXINGTON, KY ● MIDDLEBURG, VA ● SANTA BARBARA, SANTA YNEZ, CA H Gold Winner ● Silver Winner ● Bronze Winner

NOTE: Percentages in some categories may total more than 100% because voters could choose more than one favorite.

35% Live in Florida

Florida 35.4% The South 31.9% N.E. & East 15.5% Calif & West 11.4% Midwest 5.7%

VOTE

49% Are hunter/ jumpers

49% are hunter/jumpers followed by dressage, trail riding, eventing, polo, and hunting.

VOTE

47% Own horse farms

47% own horse farms with 69% valued over $1 million and 14% in excess of $5 million.

VOTE

R S

Equestrian Living is their favorite, followed by the Chronicle of the Horse and Town & Country.

Favorite equestrian magazine

VOTE

GOLD LIST VOTERS BY THE NUMBERS

76% Have horses

76% own horses and 14.5% own 5 or more.

THE 2026 EQUESTRIAN LIVING

GOLD LIST

FAVORITE ATHLETES

GREATEST EVER

U25 YOUNG STARS

JUMPING HORSE

H MIMI GOCHMAN ● ELENA HAAS ● JJ TORANO

H GREYA, 43.2% ● BISQUETTA, 15.3% ● HIGH STAR HERO, 12.6%

THE EQ HALL OF FAME

JIM WOFFORD, 7.5%

SKYLAR WIREMAN

UNITED TOUCH S, 10.8%

Because some equestrian athletes have won year after year, we’ve elevated them to the EQ Hall of Fame, giving a new generation of athletes the opportunity to be honored, and they were not included in the voting: Jumpers: Kent Farrington Beezie Madden McLain Ward Eventers: Boyd Martin Dressage: Steffen Peters Polo: Adolfo Cambiaso Ignacio “Nacho” Figueras Reining: Mandy McCutcheon

RODNEY JENKINS, 6%

KAT FUQUA

CARACOLE DE LA ROQUE, 9.9%

KENT FARRINGTON, 5.5%

CHRISTIAN SIMONSON

CHECKER 47, 5.4%

H A dominant force in American show

H MIMI GOCHMAN is an accom-

H GREYA, Kent Farrington’s mount in

jumping, McLAIN WARD is a multiple Olympic medalist renowned for precision, consistency, and championship performances at the highest level.

plished American show jumper known for her competitive success at major international venues and her emergence as a powerful young talent.

his 2026 Longines FEI Jumping World Cup Final victory.; Bisquetta, Laura Kraut multiple 5-star winner; High Star Hero for rider McLain Ward, a multiple 5-star winner.

ALDEN CORRIGAN

H McLAIN WARD, 22% ● BEEZIE MADDEN, 17.5% ● BILL STEINKRAUS, 10%

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JUMPERS

DRESSAGE

EVENTING

H LAURA KRAUT, 23.8%

H ISABELL WERTH, 26.3%

H PHILLIP DUTTON, 24%

● MARGIE ENGLE, 20.1% ● JESSICA SPRINGSTEEN, 12.8%

● LAURA GRAVES, 25.4% ● CHARLOTTE JORST, 12.7%

LILLIE KEENAN, 9.8%

ADRIENNE LYLE, 9.3%

● WILL COLEMAN, 19.2% ● BUCK DAVIDSON, 9.6% (TIE) ● MICHAEL JUNG, 9.6% (TIE)

KARL COOK, 9.1%

ASHLEY HOLZER, 8.5%

WILLIAM FOX-PITT 8.9% (TIE)

ALEX MATZ, 6.1%

CHRISTIAN SIMONSON, 5.9%

SHARON WHITE, 8.9% (TIE)

H An American show jumping legend,

H Widely regarded as dressage’s greatest

H Australian-born American eventer

LAURA KRAUT has represented the U.S. at multiple Olympic Games, earning team gold and becoming one of the sport’s most accomplished riders.

rider, Germany’s ISABELL WERTH is an Olympic record-holder whose extraordinary career spans decades and numerous championship victories.

PHILLIP DUTTON is a two-time Olympic team gold medalist and one of eventing’s most accomplished and enduring competitors.

THE 2026 EQUESTRIAN LIVING

GOLD LIST

ATHLETES

“

VOTERS LIST BIGGEST COMEBACKS

RICHARD SPOONER took HALCON from 1.10m Jumper 1 to Grand Prix winner — patience paying off beautifully.

“

One extraordinary mare gave HILARIO ULLOA a string — and carried him from a 1-goal player to a 9.

After a three-year absence from five-star eventing, MICHAEL JUNG returned to Kentucky, broke his own dressage record, and went on to claim a record fifth victory. After being off for three years modeling, EVE JOBS returned to the 5* level in show jumping in 2024.

Back in the saddle after injury, JONATHON MILLAR’S greatest victory is simply the joy of riding again.

At age 20, show jumper CITOKI overcame colic, a broken pelvis, losing an eye, and major surgeries, returned to high-level FEI competition.

POLO

REINING

H HOPE ARELLANO, 23.3% (TIE)

H CADE McCUTCHEON, 19%

H NIC ROLDAN, 23.3% (TIE) ● POROTO CAMBIASO, JR., 17.8% ● DAVID STIRLING, 11%

H TOM McCUTCHEON, 19% ● TIM McQUAY, 15.1% ● ANDREA FAPPANI, 12.9%

PABLO MAC DONOUGH, 5.5%

CASEY DEARY (TIE) 9.7%

BARTOLOMÉ CASTAGNOLA, 5.5%

SHAWN FLARIDA, (TIE) 9.7%

H A rising star in American polo, HOPE

H CADE McCUTCHEON has

ARELLANO became one of the youngest women to reach the sport’s highest handi‑ cap, earning recognition for her exceptional talent.

become one of reining’s brightest stars, earning over $3 million and multiple major titles through exceptional tal‑ ent, precision, and consistent top‑level performances.

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THE 2026 EQUESTRIAN LIVING

GOLD LIST

FASHION & DÉCOR

ENGLISH RIDING CLOTHES

BACKGROUND PHOTO: COURTESY OF POLO RALPH LAUREN.

H ARIAT, 13.2% ● PIKEUR, 11.4% ● EQUILINE, 10.5%

STREET FASHION

H ARIAT, 25.5% ● RALPH LAUREN, 22.9% ● BARBOUR, 16.7%

CHARLES ANCONA, 8.8%

HERMÈS, 9.9%

TAILORED SPORTSMAN, 7.9%

DUBARRY, 5.2%

KERRITS, 5.3%

EUPHORIC, 3.1%

JEWELRY

H HERMÈS, 26.9% ● DAVID YURMAN, 16% ● RALPH LAUREN, 15.8% KELLY HERD, 6.7% (TIE) LUGANO, (TIE) 6.7% KARINA BREZ, 5.9%

Ralph Lauren Polo Blaze Large Shoulder Bag, and Wool-Blend Herringbone Balmacaan Coat.

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THE 2026 EQUESTRIAN LIVING

GOLD LIST

ATHLETES

VOTE

75%

Buy Riding Clothes

VOTE

R S

GOLD LIST VOTERS BY THE NUMBERS

78%

Wear Equestrian Style

ARIAT

Founded in 1993, Ariat built its reputation by combining innovative performance technology with classic Western and English riding traditions, becoming a favorite among equestrians worldwide.

Purchased equestrian Wear equestrian style clothing in the last year. in everyday life..

LEATHER GOODS

H HERMÈS, 25.7% ● COACH, 12.8% ● RALPH LAUREN, 12.2%

RALPH LAUREN

Ralph Lauren has long drawn inspiration from equestrian sport and country life, weaving riding, polo, and refined sporting style into its iconic American luxury aesthetic.

LONGCHAMPS, 9.5% DOONEY & BOURKE, 8.8%

COURTESY RALPH LAUREN

TUCKER TWEED, 8.1%

DÉCOR

H RALPH LAUREN, 42.5% ● HERMÈS, 33.3% ● HORSE & HOUND, 26.9% HORSE COUNTRY, WARRENTON, 22% KEENELAND SHOP, 15.1% STYLISH EQUESTRIAN, 14.5%

HERMÈS

For more than a century, Hermès has been intertwined with equestrian culture, beginning with finely crafted harnesses and saddlery and evolving into an enduring symbol of equestrian luxury.

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THE 2026 EQUESTRIAN LIVING

GOLD LIST

FAVORITE COMPETITIONS NORTH AMERICAN SHOWS

EVENT WISH LIST

After many years of Wellington winning this category, we congratulate Upperville in 2026.

Voters chose the equestrian event they would most like to attend.

H UPPERVILLE, VA, 27% ● WINTER EQ. FESTIVAL, WELLINGTON, 26.2% ● KENTUCKY 3 DAY EVENT, 20.3%

H AACHEN, GERMANY 24% ● THE OLYMPICS, 13.4% ● SAUT HERMÈS, PARIS, 8.9%

WORLD EQUEST. CENTER, OCALA, 14.9 %

DUBLIN HORSE SHOW, 7.8%

DEVON HORSE SHOW, 13.9%

BADMINTON, UK, 6.7%

HAMPTON CLASSIC, 13.5% (TIE)

KENTUCKY DERBY, 6.7%

NATIONAL HORSE SHOW, 13.5% (TIE)

ROYAL HORSE SHOW (UK), 6.1%

DRESSAGE AT DEVON, 12.7%

SPRUCE MEADOWS, 5%

DEL MAR, 11.4%

ROYAL ASCOT, 4.5%

SPRUCE MEADOWS, 10.5%

LA BAULE, FRANCE, 3.9%

WASHINGTON INTERNATIONAL, 10.1%

WELLINGTON (WEF), 3.4%

DESERT HORSE PARK (THERMAL), 8.0%

LONGINES MASTERS PARIS, 2.8%

LAKE PLACID, 7.9%

DEVON, 2.2%

HITS (VARIOUS), 7.6%

KENTUCKY 3 DAY, 2.2%

CAPITAL CHALLENGE, 6.8%

UPPERVILLE, VA, 2.2%

Background: The Upperville Colt & Horse Show, founded in 1853, is America’s oldest horse show, celebrating elite hunter/ jumper sport, Virginia tradition, and generations of equestrian excellence.

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WEST

FLORIDA

Paso Robles horse shows combine top-level competition with California wine-country charm, offering beautiful venues, welcoming hospitality and an appealing laid-back atmosphere.

Terra Nova Equestrian Events are known for exceptional footing, thoughtfully designed courses, and a friendly atmosphere that attracts riders seeking quality competition.

H PASO ROBLES ● PACIFIC RIDGE AT LA EQUEST CENTER ● WEST PALMS EVENTS

H TERRA NOVA ● THE RIDGE ● LIVE OAK

THE 2026 EQUESTRIAN LIVING

ATHLETES

GOLD LIST

“

VOTERS SUGGEST LOCAL FAVORITES

“

THE RIDGE at Wellington.

WEST PALMS shows in Woodside, CA.

The PACIFIC RIDGE SHOW JUMPING Show Series launched in 2026 at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center. BLOWING ROCK Charity Horse Show, the oldest continual outdoor horse show in the country. THE OAKS, San Juan Capistrano.

TRYON INTERNATIONAL EQUESTRIAN CENTER is an awesome place to meet up with friends, watch the horses go, have some drinks and catch dinner. PIN OAK IN TEXAS.

All the events at the GREEN MOUNTAIN HORSE ASSOC. (GMHA) in Vermont. The FESTIVAL AT LAMPLIGHT.

SOUTH

NEW ENGLAND/EAST

Blowing Rock Horse Show blends historic tradition, outstanding competition, and mountain scenery, creating one of the country’s most distinctive and beloved equestrian experiences.

Old Salem Farm shows are renowned for exceptional facilities, world-class competition, and beautiful grounds, combining hospitality with the tradition of top-level equestrian sport.

H BLOWING ROCK ● TRYON SHOWS ● WARRENTON

H OLD SALEM FARM ● DEVON FALL CLASSIC ● GREEN MT. HORSE ASSOC. (GMHA)

MIDWEST

Lamplight Equestrian Center offers elegant grounds, top-tier competition, and a deep showjumping tradition, making it a favorite destination for riders and spectators alike.

H LAMPLIGHT ● WORLD EQUESTRIAN CENTER ● MIDWEST HORSE FAIR

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THE 2026 EQUESTRIAN LIVING

GOLD LIST

EQUESTRIAN TRAVEL

INSPIRATIONS

DREAM WINNERS H GIRAFFE MANOR, KENYA, 17.6% ● CASTLE LESLIE, 15.2% ● PATAGONIA, 10% LONE MTN RANCH, MT., 14.4% ALENTEJO MARMORIS, PORTUGAL, 6.6% ROYAL ASCOT UK, (TIE) 6.4% WHITE ROSE CATTLE DRIVE, (TIE) 5.6% FIFE ARMS, SCOTLAND, (TIE) 5.6%

2O14

HOTELS H RED FOX INN, VA, 32.6% ● EQUESTRIAN HOTEL, WEC, 26.6% ● SALAMANDER, MIDDLEBURG, 17.4% WOODSTOCK INN, 16.8% GOODSTONE INN, MIDDLEBURG, 16.3% THE COLONY, PALM BEACH, 15.2%

2O18

WILLCOX, AIKEN, (TIE) 13% BRAZILIAN COURT, PALM BEACH (TIE)13%

VOTE

AIRBNB AND OTHERS

R S

GOLD LIST VOTERS BY THE NUMBERS

RENTALS

57%

Travel a Month or More

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SPRINGMAID MOUNTAIN, 16 individual cabins (ranging from 1 to 16 bedrooms) in Spruce Pine, NC. springmaidmountain.com

THE HAYLOFT, One-of-a-kind bank barn Middleburg, VA. airbnb.com/ rooms/1228372329472916267

THE 2026 EQUESTRIAN LIVING

GOLD LIST

ATHLETES

Visit some inspired vacation ideas at 13 YEARS OF TRAVEL DESTINATIONS in Equestrian Living magazine at eqliving/newsstand

2O16

2O17

2O24

2O26

FARM STAY, Farm animals, wildlife, and peaceful country living in Bel Air, MD. airbnb.com/ rooms/860133078853153630

OGDEN MILL, private 2-br cottage on a 250-acre horse farm in Hartland, VT., near GMHA. airbnb.com/rooms/36767959

PORTICO COTTAGE, 2-br cottage in the Santa Ynez valley, CA. porticocottage.com/

TOP SHELF, 3-br, the only Airbnb in KY above a distillery. airbnb.com/rooms/42682785

THE 2026 EQUESTRIAN LIVING

VOTERS’ INSIDER TIPS

GOLD LIST

NATIONAL CHARITIES H DANNY & RON’S RESCUE ● FLEET OF ANGELS ● BROOKE USA

DANNY & RON help so many and teach charity at an early age. Bravo.

EQUESTRIAN AID FOUNDATION

Wellington’s TONY COPPOLA: salt of the earth, hard working, rightfully proud, respectful man with smarts.

“

There is nothing like the two weeks of horse showing at the UPPERVILLE Colt & Horse Show followed right behind by the local LOUDOUN Benefit Horse Show. It is two weeks of bliss.

EQUUS FOUNDATION JUST WORLD

SOCIAL MEDIA

I love the interior design of the Yellow Pony and the buzzing atmosphere in the evening after horse show days at WEC.

H BOYD MARTIN, 7.0% ● KATIE VAN SLYKE, 4.65% ● ALEX MATZ, 2.33% (TIE)

The staff at IDYLLWILD TAVERN in Burbank California are amazing by the LA Equestrian Center.

● JESSICA SPRINGSTEEN, 2.33% (TIE) ● DRESSAGE RADIO SHOW, 2.33% (TIE) ● PHILLIP DUTTON 2.33% (TIE)

FLEET OF ANGELS, they are always looking out for horses and their owners in times of crisis and hardship.

TRYON INTERNATIONAL EQUESTRIAN CENTER is an awesome place.

THE GLADSTONE TAVERN is historic with an authentic horsey atmosphere because it’s 10 minutes away from USET Headquarters,

PODCASTS H PLAID HORSE, 17% ● NOELLE FLOYD, 14.6% ● THE SCOPE 7.3%

MIDDLEBURG is one of my favorite equestrian towns anywhere. Between the historic hunt country, beautiful stone walls, local tack shops, and welcoming horse community, it has a timeless feel.

HORSES IN THE MORNING, 4.9% AMELIA NEWCOMB DRESSAGE, 4.9%

HAYFIELDS, because every single horse person in North Salem, NY, will turn up there. I’m moving to HOLLAND because they talk about horses not “style.”

CLIP MY HORSE allows you to watch shows from everywhere. CAMDEN, SC, and ALPHARETTA, GA, are great horse towns.

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EQ BUSINESSWOMEN, 4.5%

APPS H SHOWGROUNDS LIVE, 45% ● BARN MANAGER, 20.2% ● EQ MASTERCLASS, 14.7% CLIP MY HORSE, 14% HORSE RIDE TRACKER, TIE 9.2% RIDE IQ, (TIE) 9.2%

THE 2026 EQUESTRIAN LIVING

“

GOLD LIST

ATHLETES

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE EQUESTRIAN LIVING?

A living with horses fantasy...DREAM, WISH, HEAVEN.

Love the BEAUTIFUL LAYOUT AND DESIGN. I used to work for SPUR Magazine years ago and EQLiving is the closest publication I know of to the stories and photos of SPUR.

“

I love the magazine, however it is geared to an economic class of people that I am not part of. You forget that A LOT OF US MUCK OUR OWN STALLS... It’s so FUN TO READ THE ADS! Oh, and the articles are usually good, too.

Dislike that ONLY VERY AFFLUENT people featured. THE BEST COFFEE-TABLE equestrian lifestyle magazine in print!

A place where I get to see BEAUTIFULLY CURATED IMAGERY and read INTERESTING STORIES about talented people— from artists, to riders, to designers.

Well-writen stories FOR THOUGHTFUL, AFFLUENT FANS of horse sports, horse shows, and celebrities. They appreciate the finer things in life such as well-designed fashionable clothes, jewelry, and artwork.

IT’S INSPIRING whether you’re an equestrian or not. Great architecture, lifestyle ideas, and fashion finds beyond the expected. EQLiving has great articles, the PHOTOGRAPHY AND ART FEATURES are always outstanding, organizations that help horses are featured, and even the ads are interesting.

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THE 2026 EQUESTRIAN LIVING

GOLD LIST

LOCAL FAVORITES

*Coming Soon: EQ LIVING’S DIRECTORY OF EXPERT EQUESTRIAN REALTORS

FLORIDA

THE SOUTH

HANGOUTS

H KALUZ, WELLINGTON, 45.7% ● OLI’S FASHION CUISINE, WELLINGTON, 34.3% ● YELLOW PONY, WEC, OCALA, (TIE) 34.3% ● HORSE & HOUNDS, OCALA, 25.7%%

H RED FOX INN, MIDDLEBURG, VA, 43% ● RED HORSE TAVERN, MIDDLEBURG, VA, 24.5% ● SALAMANDER, MIDDLEBURG, 22.6%

AVOCADO GRILL, W. PALM BEACH, 14.3%

STABLE CAFE, BILTMORE, (TIE) 13.2%

JOJO’S RAW BAR, WELLINGTON, 8.6%

POLO GROUNDS CAFE, AIKEN, (TIE) 13,.2%

STIRRUPS, WEC, 5.7%

CARSON’S ON MAIN, LEXINGTON, 7.5%

E X P E R T R E A LT O R S *

H DANNY & RON’S RESCUE ● BIG DOG RANCH ● SOUTHWEST FLA HORSE RESCUE

TA C K S H O P

H TACKERIA, WELLINGTON ● TACK SHACK, OCALA ● EQUILINE, WELLINGTON

E X P E R T R E A LT O R S * RESCUE McLEAN, VA H DANNY & RON’S COMPASS, ● FLEET OF ANGELS ● GENTLE GIANTS, MD

TA C K S H O P

H TACK BOX, MIDDLEBURG, VA ● TACK ROOM, CAMDEN, SC ● MIDDLEBURG TACK EXCHANGE

ADAPTIVE RIDING

H VINCEREMOS, LOXAHATCHEE ● EQUINE ASSISTED THERAPY, COCONUT CREEK ● FREEDOM RIDE, ORLANDO

H CENTRAL KENTUCKY RIDING FOR HOPE ● PRANCING HORSE, HOFFMAN, NC ● GREAT OAK, AIKEN, SC

RESCUES

H DANNY & RON’S RESCUE ● BIG DOG RANCH ● SOUTHWEST FLA HORSE RESCUE 82 | EQ UE S T R I A N L I V IN G | FAL L | 2026

DUDLEY’S ON SHORT, LEX, 15.2%

H DANNY & RON’S RESCUE ● FLEET OF ANGELS ● GENTLE GIANTS, MD

THE 2026 EQUESTRIAN LIVING

GOLD LIST

ATHLETES

NEW ENGLAND & EAST

THE WEST

THE MIDWEST

HANGOUTS

H THE WHIP, COATESVILLE, PA, 27.6% ● RALPH LAUREN POLO BAR, NYC, 19% ● WOODSTOCK INN, VT, 17.2%

H HITCHING POST, BUELTON, CA, 22.9% ● POLO LOUNGE, BEVERLY HILLS, 20.0% ● ALICE’S RESTAURANT, WOODSIDE, 14.3%

H BUBBA’S, TRAVERSE CITY, 46.7% ● WHITE HORSE INN, METAMORA, MI, 33.3% ● MILLION DOLLAR COWBOY BAR, JACKSON, 26.7%

GLADSTONE TAVERN, NJ, 13.8%

BUCKS, WOODSIDE, (TIE) 11.4%

BEACON LOUNGE, TRAVERSE CITY, 20%

BEMELMANS BAR, NYC, (TIE) 12.2%

VILLAGE PUB/BAKERY, (TIE) 11.4%

COOK’S HOUSE, TRAVERSE CITY, (TIE) 13.3%

HAYFIELDS, N. SALEM, NY, (TIE) 12.2%

MILLE FLEURS, RANCHO SANTA FE, (TIE) 8.6%

PADDOCK CLUB, WEC, (TIE) 13.3%

121 RESTAURANT, N. SALEM, NY, 11.8%

JAKES DEL MAR, (TIE) 8,6%

MINN. HORSE & HUNT CLUB, 6.7%

E X P E R T R E A LT O R S *

H FLEET OF ANGELS ● NEW ENGLAND EQUINE RESCUE, MA ● LUCY MACKENZIE, VT

TA C K S H O P

H MARYLAND SADDLERY ● HORSE COUNTRY, WARRENTON, VA ● MALVERN SADDLERY, PA ADAPTIVE RIDING

H WINDRUSH FARM, MA ● GALLOP NYC ● PEGASUS, NY RESCUES

H FLEET OF ANGELS ● NEW ENGLAND EQUINE RESCUE, MA ● LUCY MACKENZIE, VT

E X P E R T R E A LT O R S *

H EASTWOOD RANCH, CA ● HANAELEH HORSE RESCUE, CA ● AMERICAN WILD HORSE CONSERVATION

TA C K S H O P

H CALABASAS SADDLERY, CA ● MARY’S TACK & FEED, CA ● JEDLICKAS, CA ADAPTIVE RIDING

H SHEA CENTER, CA ● SANTA YNEZ VALLEY, CA ● RIDE ON HORSEMSNSHIP, CA RESCUES

H EASTWOOD RANCH, CA ● HANAELEH HORSE RESCUE, CA ● AMERICAN WILD HORSE CONSERVATION

E X P E R T R E A LT O R S *

H LONGMEADOW RESCUE RANCH, MO ● MIDWEST ANIMAL RESCUE, MN ● THIS OLD HORSE, MN

TA C K S H O P

H ST. CROIX SADDLERY, MN ● SADDLERS ROW, IL ● EQUUS NOW, OH ADAPTIVE RIDING

H BRAVEHEARTS, IL ● DETROIT HORSEPOWER, MI ● MIRACLES IN MOTION, IA RESCUES

H LONGMEADOW RESCUE RANCH, MO ● MIDWEST ANIMAL RESCUE, MN ● THIS OLD HORSE, MN FA LL | 20 2 6 | EQ L I V I NG .CO M | 8 3

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A PERSONAL

TRAVEL DIARY

A TEXAS LEGEND BECOMES TAYLOR SHERIDAN’S LIVING HERITAGE BRAND

THE FOUR SIXES RANCH BY REBECCA BALDRIDGE

id you see Jimmy?” “Jimmy’s not real,” I snap. Every time I mention my recent visit to the storied Four Sixes Ranch in Guthrie, Texas, this is the first thing I hear. Jimmy is one of Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan’s most beloved characters, a hapless ranch hand who arrives a bumbling greenhorn, the butt of every bunkhouse joke, then gets shipped off to the Four Sixes to earn his spurs and become an honest-to-God cowboy. That storyline, rather than the ranch’s 150-year history, is how most people beyond the ranching world have come to know the 6666. Within American ranching, though, few names carry more weight. This West Texas institution ranks among the most respected cattle and Quarter Horse operations in the country. Now owned by a group of investors led by screenwriter, producer, director—and cowboy—Taylor Sheridan, the ranch honors its legacy by marrying the traditional cowboy way of

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life with cutting-edge breeding technology and progressive cattle management. A LEGACY DATING TO 1 8 7 0

The story begins with Samuel “Burk” Burnett, a Missouri-born cattleman who moved to Denton, Texas, as a child and learned the business at his father’s side. Legend claims he won the ranch with a hand of four sixes in a poker game. The truth is more prosaic: at 19, he bought 100 head of cattle and the rights to the 6666 brand from a local rancher. Among the first cattlemen to buy stock and graze the cattle for market, he secured a lease for 300,000 acres of Comanche land from Comanche Chief Quanah Parker. He never stopped acquiring, folding two more ranches into his growing empire, and in 1917 spent an unheard-of $100,000 to raise the most magnificent ranch house in West Texas at the Guthrie headquarters. Burnett was no minor figure. He served for years as president of the Fort Worth Stock Show and lent his name to Burnett Park and the Burnett Building in FA LL | 20 2 6 | EQ L I V I NG .CO M | 8 5

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Fort Worth. He cultivated ties with the most influential men of his era, famously hosting President Theodore Roosevelt and Chief Quanah Parker on a weeklong wolf hunting expedition in 1905. The family’s influence reached far beyond cattle. Burk’s second wife, Mary Couts Burnett, endowed the library that bears her name at Texas Christian University (TCU) with a $3 million gift in 1923. Granddaughter Anne Burnett Tandy became one of the world’s largest landowners, holding more than half a million acres, and was involved with the founding of the American Quarter Horse Association. Great-granddaughter Anne Burnett Marion, the last Burnett to own the Four Sixes, was a celebrated philanthropist and patron of the arts, a driving force behind the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, and founder of the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe. The School of Medicine at TCU carries her name. When Marion died in 2020, her 86 | EQ UE S T R I A N L I V IN G | FAL L | 2026

will directed that the ranching operations be sold. A NEW ERA FOR THE FOUR SI X ES

heridan first showcased the Four Sixes in Yellowstone’s third season, which aired in 2020, so when the property came to market, he seized the chance to own one of the most storied spreads in the American West. He assembled a group of investors to meet the roughly $350 million asking price for the Four Sixes and its Dixon Creek and Frisco Creek divisions, more than 266,000 acres in all, and closed the deal in 2022. Soon after, he took a controlling stake. He manages the ranch actively, weighing in on every business decision, guided by a single principle: protect what makes the Four Sixes historically significant while positioning it for profitability.

TECHNOLOGY M EET S TRADITION IN GUT H R I E

The Four Sixes headquarters may house one of the world’s most advanced horse breeding operations. It is also one of the most remote. Ninety-three miles east of Lubbock and 117 miles west of Wichita Falls, Guthrie sits in the Rolling Plains of northwest Texas, where low hills and endless vistas run to the horizon. Cell service is spotty, traffic is sparse, and the occasional pickup and stock trailer offer the only reminder that it is the 21st century—until the Four Sixes airstrip appears. Another mile of open road, and the sprawling red barns and outbuildings come into view. My host is Dr. Nathan Canaday, the ranch’s resident veterinarian and Horse Division Manager. After a brief introduction, he leads me straight into the heart of the breeding operation. I am about to learn

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more about horse semen than I ever dreamed possible. The first thing to understand about producing top-tier performance horses is that, unlike in the Thoroughbred industry, live cover is not the standard. The process begins with collection, followed by computer-assisted analysis of stallion fertility. Digital imaging and specialized software track sperm concentration, motility, and morphology, judging each sample on progressive motility (not all sperm swim directly toward the goal, who knew?), along with volume. Once approved, the semen is stored in quarter-cc straws (eight is a breeding dose) and frozen in liquid nitrogen. It can be shipped for insemination off-site, or mares may be bred on the ranch. The breeding shed rivals the lab for sophistication: a computerized system tracks each mare’s progress, overhead screens display her status,

Above: The L Barn, one of the working heartbeats of the ranch, is primarily to house the horses used by ranch cowboys.

and both veterinary staff and cowboys monitor updates through a smartphone app. During peak season, 2,000 mares may be in residence. The ranch produces more than 100 foals of its own each year, plus another 150 or so for clients. A SHOWCASE FOR STALLIONS

fter acquiring the Four Sixes, Sheridan faced a singular challenge: how to take an operation already defined by cutting-edge technology and advanced management to the next level. There seemed to be no worlds left to conquer. His answer was to build a

facility that would showcase the ranch’s top studs against a backdrop as luxurious as any of the great Thoroughbred farms of Kentucky. Thus was born the Granbury Stallion Station. Set outside Weatherford, Texas, at Sheridan’s Bosque Ranch, the Stallion Station offers a level of Western elegance that rivals the finest Lexington has to offer. No mares are bred on-site; instead, the station functions purely as a showcase, collection site, and event venue. Resident sires such as Smooth Talkin Style, Fiddle and Steel, Kit Kat Sugar, and Reyzin the Cash enjoy every comfort a horse could desire, including a coldwater spa and an underwater treadmill. All contracts and semen orders are managed through Guthrie, but the strictly by-appointment facility welcomes clients who wish to breed their mares to elite performance stallions. Continued on page 90

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The Four Sixes ranks among the most respected cattle and Quarter Horse operations in the country.

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Continued from page 87

W HE RE ’ S T HE B E E F?

The Four Sixes runs a breeding herd of roughly 7,000 cows across Guthrie, Dixon Creek, and Frisco Creek. Committed to the most progressive cattle management practices while preserving genetics and tradition, the ranch relies on a surprisingly small crew to work both herd and land. With five hands at Guthrie, five at Dixon Creek, and two at Frisco, each cowboy manages 40,000 to 50,000 acres and 800 to 1,000 head. Beyond the health of the animals, they serve as stewards of the range itself. And while they embrace tools like electronic ID and digital recordkeeping, tradition still runs deep. Every cowboy keeps his own string of 7 to 10 horses; you won’t catch a Four Sixes hand riding the range on a four-wheeler. When it comes to the strength of today’s herd, no one deserves greater credit than Joe Leathers, the recently retired president of operations. A lifelong cowboy, Leathers gave 27 years to 90 | EQ UE S T R I A N L I V IN G | FAL L | 2026

Top: the Stallion Station offers a level of Western elegance that rivals the finest Lexington has to offer. No mares are bred on-site; instead, the station functions purely as a showcase, collection site, and event venue. Lower right: Happy guests turned cowboys and cowgirls; Dr. Nathan Canaday.

the Four Sixes and proved indispensable during the drought of 2011, when many ranchers were forced to sell their cattle and surrender irreplaceable genetic lines. Leathers moved all 7,000 head to leased ranches in Nebraska, Nevada, Arizona, South Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana, with a plan to bring the herd home by 2019. His foresight carried the ranch through that punishing stretch without the loss of a single valuable bloodline. While neighboring operations reeled, not one Four Sixes employee lost a job. In 2026, Leathers was appointed to

the Four Sixes Board of Directors and inducted into the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame. PRESERV ING THE C OWBOY WAY OF LIFE

No one has done more to preserve and promote the Western way of life than Taylor Sheridan. Through his storytelling, he has brought ranching and cowboying to a mass audience and single-handedly sparked new enthusiasm for Western culture. But Sheridan does more than portray the West onscreen. He has invested heavily in ranching, performance horses, breeding, and competition infrastructure. With the Four Sixes, he is working to transform a historic ranch identity into a broader heritage lifestyle brand—one built to keep this Texas legend economically viable, culturally visible, and emotionally compelling for generations to come. PAGE 126

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INTERVIEW STEPHANIE PETERS PHOTOS GEORGE KAMPER

LAURA KING

KING WORKS WITH EQUESTRIANS, COMBINING HYPNOSIS AND NEUROLINGUISTIC PROGRAMMING WITH MENTAL PERFORMANCE TRAINING FOR RIDERS.

QUESTIONS Laura King became a certified hypnotist in 2001 and founded Summit Dynamics and Summit Press shortly after. In 2004, she published The Power to Win: Achieving Peak Performances with Hypnosis & NLP, establishing herself as an early advocate for mental performance and mindset training in the equestrian community. King expanded her work in 2006 by founding Summit Hypnosis & Wellness, where she developed programs for riders, trainers, executives, medical professionals, and caregivers. In 2009, King appeared on “The Rachael Ray Show,” demonstrating hypnosis techniques and introducing a national audience to the role of mindset training in performance and personal development. She continues to speak and write books about performance psychology and self-hypnosis techniques for athletes and individuals across a range of disciplines. EQLiving’s editor interviewed King in Wellington, Florida, in March 2026.

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“MANY ATHLETES GET TRAPPED TRYING TO BE PERFECT. I PREFER THE CONCEPT OF BEING YOUR PERSONAL BEST.”

How did you start your equestrian journey as a child?

I grew up in Pahokee, Florida, and my father was a cattle farmer, so I was around horses from a very early age. As a little girl, I rode cow ponies and helped herd cattle. One summer I went to camp and was introduced to English riding. When I came home, I begged my parents for a different kind of horse. My uncle sent me an English saddle from Tennessee, and I practiced riding in it. Eventually my parents took me to my first horse show at the Posse Grounds in Palm Beach County. I had the right clothes and thought I was doing a wonderful job, but I didn’t win a ribbon. I was so upset that I asked the judge what was wrong. She said, “Honey, you have a saddle-seat saddle, and this is a hunt-seat class. You need the right saddle.” It was a great lesson, and I’ve never forgotten it.

Q: How did you get introduced to hypnotherapy, and how did your career evolve?

See the video of the interview at eqliving. com/lauraking EQLiving’s crew included George Kamper, EQ Photo Director; C.W. Medinger, Publisher; Stephanie Peters, Editor; James Wooster, Videographer; Leslie Munsell, Hair & Makeup.

About 48 years ago, when I was in my early 20s, I went through a lot of depression. My mother found a hypnotherapist who helped me change the way I thought, manage my emotions, and see how powerful the mind can be. I continued practicing the techniques she taught me for many years. When she passed away 25 years ago, I inherited her research and materials, which included extensive information on the mind and how to use it effectively. When I came home from her funeral, my husband said, “You should become a hypnotherapist.” I told him there was no way because I was terrified of speaking in public. But I enrolled in school, became certified, and I’ve been doing this ever since. I often joke that I got hypnotized into my career. Q: How did you end up focusing on athletes?

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My first client was a professional golfer, and I found myself traveling around the country. I realized I needed to learn more about sports performance, so I attended a hypnosis convention. A presenter was teaching hypnosis for golfers, and the topics included performance anxiety, concentration, and peak performance. I realized the lessons being taught for golfers could easily be adapted to help equestrians as well. I started writing my first equestrian performance scripts right there in class. When I returned to Wellington, I began working with horse people because that was the world I already knew.

conscious mind starts chattering with “what ifs” and self-doubt. My goal is to help riders trust the skills they already have so they can ride with ability, confidence, and freedom. Q: You also discuss NLP. What is the difference between hypnosis and NLP?

Q: You often say horses are the ultimate mirrors. What do you mean?

A horse feels what the human feels. The horse mirrors the rider, and the rider mirrors the horse. They constantly influence each other. Most of our brain operates through long-term memory, habits, patterns, and emotions. When riders learn a skill, they develop unconscious competence and confidence. Problems occur when the 96 | EQ UE S T R I A N L I V IN G | FAL L | 2026

Books by Laura King.

NLP, or neuro-linguistic programming, is essentially a form of waking hypnosis. It focuses on the words we use and the neurological pathways connected to our thoughts and emotions. Hypnosis itself is simply a relaxed state of focused attention. People move in and out of it every day. When someone worries and turns a molehill into a mountain, they are hypnotizing themselves with negative thoughts. I use hypnosis and NLP together to help people reframe those thoughts and create healthier patterns. Q: How do you help riders who have lost confidence?

When a negative experience becomes attached to riding, we first identify what created that association. Then we help

the rider release the emotional charge connected to it and reconnect with the reason they ride in the first place. For most equestrians, that reason is their love for their horses. When we reconnect with that passion, the joy of riding often returns.

wife improve her riding. That became The Power to Win. I also had a wonderful ghostwriter who could type faster than I could talk. That was important because I’m dyslexic, and writing has always been more challenging for me than speaking. Hypnosis actually helped me get through college despite my learning disability.

Q: You work with athletes in many different sports. What do they all have in common?

Whether it’s horseback riding, golf, hockey, skating, or snowboarding, the foundation is the same: unconscious competence and unconscious confidence. I don’t need to be an expert in every sport. I ask the athlete what their coach is always telling them to do and what they are trying to achieve. Many athletes get trapped trying to be perfect. I prefer the concept of being your personal best. The subconscious mind responds better to clear, positive instructions than to words like “don’t”and “not.” Q: You’ve written many books. Is writing a passion?

My first book came about because a publisher approached me after I helped his

Laura King and Equestrian Living editor, Stephanie Peters.

Q: What do you hope will be the lasting impact of your work?

My goal has always been to help people, one person at a time. If horses are the doorway that helps someone become happier, then that’s wonderful. I want people to find joy in their lives. We only get one life, and being your personal best and being happy are incredibly important. When riders rediscover joy with their horses, they carry that joy home. It affects their families, their relationships, and the way they move through the world. CONTACT INFO | PAGE 126

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DESIGN MASTER CLASS

INSPIRATION FROM PREMIER DESIGNER S

AN EQUESTRIAN ESTATE WORTHY OF ITS ENVIRONMENT

CHICKERING TRAVERSE CITY

or 13 weeks every summer, Northern Michigan becomes the center of the equestrian world. From June through September, Traverse City Horse Shows hosts Olympic-level jumper, hunter, and equitation competitions at the state-of-the-art Flintfields Horse Park, a few short miles from Lake Michigan. Across the street from the facility known for providing a top-tier experience for horses, riders, and spectators alike, another stunning equestrian

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facility appeared just in time for the 2025 events: Chickering Traverse City, an 18,500-square-foot custom barn and residence built for businessman, philanthropist, and decorated amateur-owner hunter champion John Ingram and his family. John’s robust résumé encompasses multi-generational family business interests, philanthropic efforts, and equestrian pursuits. He is chairman of

Photography by Jana Bannan and Gary Howe

Ingram Industries and one of the company’s two operating units, Ingram Content Group, as well as the team owner of Nashville SC in Major League Soccer. John serves on the board of trustees for numerous organizations, including the National Book Foundation, the National Center for Learning Disabilities, and Vanderbilt University, among others. As a child growing up in Tennessee, the Nashville native was surrounded by horses. His uncle, Henry Hooker, was master of hounds at the illustrious Hillsboro Hounds hunt club, and his

earliest memories involve riding with his cousins and his Aunt Alice at the Hookers’ farm. “Back then, we’d get on our ponies, go right across the street, jump a little coop, and we were off into the countryside, visiting other cousins an hour’s ride away,” he recalls. “We were free to go— just be home by dinner.” A FA M I LY ’ S PA SSI ON

John’s wife, Stephanie (Currey) Ingram, is an avid rider who also comes from a family of equestrian enthusiasts. Her parents were part owners of Touch of Class,

the jumper Joseph Fargis rode to individual and team gold in the 1984 Olympics. This combined legacy now continues with John and Stephanie’s daughter, Martha, an accomplished amateur rider who has been competing since her junior days. In 2022, she and her father swept the Amateur-Owner Classics at the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival in Traverse City, with Martha winning the 3’3” division and John taking the 3’6” division. The Ingrams compete at world-class equestrian facilities throughout the United States, but Traverse City has a unique appeal that compelled them to

invest in building there. The high quality of the Flintfields Horse Park itself played an integral role in the decision. John is quick to praise the investments the team at Traverse City Horse Shows has put into the properties. In particular, he calls out the excellent footing. “For most horsemen, that is one of the top things you care about,” John says. “Good horses are all fragile—they’ve only got so many jumps in them. As much as possible, you want to show them on footing that is as good as they are.” But Traverse City is more than horses —a fact the non-equestrian members of FA LL | 20 2 6 | EQ L I V I NG .CO M | 9 9

the Ingram family has appreciated for years, and another key reason John chose to build there. Located on the Grand Traverse Bay of Lake Michigan, the area offers water recreation as well as tennis, golf, hiking, and more during the summer horse show season. The third reason John cites for building in Traverse City is an infinitely practical one: the weather. “Tennessee is home, but Tennessee gets really hot in the summer. And it stays hot,” he emphasizes. “Traverse City can see a few hot days, but they’re isolated, making 10 0 | E Q UE S T R I A N L I VIN G | FAL L | 2026

the weather much nicer for people and horses.” John makes it clear that the horses were always the priority, pointing out the biggest difference between equestrian sports and other pursuits: “It’s not like a golf club or tennis racket that’s an inanimate object,” he says. “These are living, breathing animals, and when you’re competing, you’re a team.” Creating a peaceful respite for them just a 10-minute walk from the show ring where they can decompress was the real mission. It keeps the horses at their best when they

Project Team and Materials Architect: Eldon Stoltzfus General Contractor: B&D Builders Timber Frame: Mid-Atlantic Timberframes Stall Fronts: Blackwood Equestrian Stalls Custom Doors, Cabinetry, and Millwork: Vintage Millwork & Restoration Siding: Boral Roof: Standing Seam Metal Roof

can go out to the paddock, roll around, eat grass, and “just be horses,” as John describes it.

ohn, Stephanie, and Martha Ingram, along with members of their professional equestrian staff, shared their perspectives with the design team from B&D Builders. John credits his wife with much of the aesthetic vision. Trainer Tom Wright’s sharp eye for quality and detail was also important, while Barn Manager Torrey Hardison was there

to ensure that the design remained functional and efficient. The combination of utility and beauty was the north star for the Ingrams through the design process. As the first barn built in the area, John felt a responsibility to make Chickering TC worthy of its environment and of being seen by everyone approaching the entrance of the horse show. B&D fully embraced that goal and worked in partnership with the Ingrams to achieve it. “I appreciated that we were really a team working on this,” John says of

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B&D’s collaborative approach. “It was

a nice process, dealing with someone trying to create what you want, not shoehorn you into whatever they want to do.” The team met on weekly Zoom calls for nearly a year, sharing pictures, ideas, and inspirations that the builders integrated to create the design. Staying in close contact throughout the design and building process was essential to the success of the project. DESIGNED FOR GENERATIONS

Balancing multiple uses in a single structure influenced how the designers

approached the project. “The Ingrams wanted a space that worked hard day-today for the horses and staff, while also supporting lifestyle amenities and entertaining,” explains Daniel Glick, B&D co-owner and co-founder. Rather than looking at this as a series of separate rooms and objectives, the designers viewed the project holistically, designing Chickering TC as a complete environment. Thoughtfully created zones within the structure ensured the functionality of the barn, allowing equestrian operations to operate efficiently while residential and recreational

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spaces remained distinct yet connected. Circulation paths were intentionally planned to keep horses, equipment, and people moving safely and intuitively. While the beautiful summer weather of the horse show season attracted the Ingrams, the facility had to be built to perform reliably through harsh Michigan winters. The team carefully considered temperatures, snow loads, freeze-thaw cycles, and moisture management and focused on constructing a building envelope, material palette, and interior finishes that could maintain comfort and safety year-round.

At 65, John isn’t content to look back on past accomplishments. He believes the future still holds more opportunities to achieve greatness in his sport and his life. And Chickering TC is part of that future for him and his family. “What we’ve designed here will be as functional a facility in 50 or 100 years as it is today,” John says, “And it will be just as beautiful.” He envisions a time when the barn’s residents may include some little ponies to inspire the children of future generations of Ingrams to begin their own love affair with horses. INFO | PAGE 126

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HORSE AND HOUND PORTRAITS OF INSTINCT

ROMY ELLIOTT THROUGH LAYERED TEXTURE AND NUANCED LIGHT, THE ARTIST CAPTURES THE CHARACTER BENEATH THE COAT.

INTERVIEW BY STEPHANIE PETERS

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Artist Romy Elliott Self Portrait with Slinky London-based artist Romy Elliott studied sculpture, drawing, and painting at the Florence Academy of Art from 2013 to 2016. Fascinated by anatomy and physiology, she explores the connection between humans, dogs, and horses, developing recent motifs of handlers and their animals through gestural paintings with contrasting light and shadow. Since returning to the UK, Elliott has taught fine art while producing commissions and personal work on varying scales. Her paintings favor atmosphere, energy, and impression, a departure from the stillness of her portraiture. After numerous group exhibitions, Elliott made her solo debut at London’s Portland Gallery in February 2026.

EQ: Your painting techniques, all marvelous, vary significantly. Do you sense, from the outset, which style will best serve an image?

Romy Elliott: Yes, absolutely. When I get an idea for a painting, I quickly sketch it in charcoal to see whether the composition feels interesting, to understand the figures’ gestures, and to think carefully about how I want to approach it. My work is quite varied in style, and the way I paint really depends on the subject. Sometimes I’m trying to distill something down to its essence, so the work becomes bolder and more simplified. Other times, I feel a subject needs to be approached more realistically, with a greater focus on light and direct representation. It’s important to have a fairly clear idea of my approach before I begin, but I also like to leave room for the painting to evolve. Once I start working, I want to respond to what is happening on the canvas and see where it takes me. EQ: Classically trained at the Florence Academy of Art, did you initially feel bound to a more traditional approach, drawing and painting your subjects with close attention to anatomy and physiology? If so, when did you begin to shift toward your looser, more atmospheric style? 10 6 | E Q UE S T R I A N L I VIN G | FAL L | 2026

RE: I studied sculpture for three years at the Florence Academy of Art, which was a fantastic starting point for my art career. When you go to a place like the Florence Academy, you learn the alphabet, and once you leave, you have to use those skills—those letters, if you will—to write your own book. It certainly takes time to find your own voice when you’ve been trained in such a classical way, as I was. After leaving Florence, I spent 10 years doing animal portraiture. The drawings and paintings were much more traditional in style, but they were invaluable in developing my draftsmanship. It took several years and a lot of experimentation to move away from the very traditional approach I had spent so long learning to master. Gradually changing my materials and thinking differently about how I work allowed me to break away from that and develop something that feels more instinctive. I hope that, as a result, my work now has a distinctive voice that is recognizably my own. EQ: In your more abstracted works, how do you know when a painting has kept enough of the horse or the dog, and when you’ve pushed too far?

RE: It’s a really careful line to walk when I’m abstracting my work but still want

to retain a sense of realism, which is why I’m so grateful for my roots in drawing. Ultimately, if you want to push something in a more contemporary direction while keeping it familiar, you need a strong understanding of anatomy underneath it. Sometimes I do push things too far, but it’s important to me—and to the success of the work—that I paint quickly and keep my brushstrokes loose and instinctive. That way of working relies on a solid foundation in drawing because I need to get the lines right the first time. If I overwork a piece, it can quickly start to feel static, particularly when I’m trying to suggest movement. For me, keeping things fast, loose, and responsive is key. EQ: You’ve written about your lifetime love of horses and dogs, the enduring subjects of your work. What matters most to you when depicting them?

RE: I paint dogs and horses simply because I feel such a deep fondness for them. I’m incredibly lucky to have spent my whole life surrounded by them, and I suppose that familiarity is a big part of what draws me to them as subjects. When I paint them, I’m interested in something honest and recognizable— the little moments and expressions that people who have lived with animals will immediately understand. Making something that makes you feel something is integral to my practice. Rather than creating a direct representation of a particular animal or encounter, I’m more interested in distilling it down to something universal. I hope that means the work can resonate with anyone who has loved a dog or a horse, rather than belonging to one person or one specific moment. I’m interested in maintaining anatomical accuracy while still pushing things a little, keeping the work painterly, playful, and expressive. Continued on page 110

Dennis

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Fence Three

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Green Chair

Hello Friend

Whoops

Thistle Reclining

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Slumbering Sighthound

feel familiar and characterful. But it also means I can spot the problems very easily. I’m not trying to create a perfect anatomical representation. I want the horse to feel grounded and believable, with an intelligent understanding of its structure, without taking it so far that the painting becomes stiff or overworked. Sometimes I’ll deliberately leave a leg slightly wrong rather than sacrifice the work’s freedom. For me, there has to be a balance between knowing the anatomy and knowing when to let go of it. EQ: Can you describe what you like about capturing horses in a working or cultural setting, rather than a studio or arena? Is it their interactions with their handlers or owners?

Continued from page 106

EQ: Many of your dog portraits are set in environments rich with patterns—in fabrics, artwork, and floor coverings. Are these true to the portrait settings, or do you take artistic liberties for effect?

RE: Having painted portraits for many years, I feel lucky that I can now choose my own subjects. So, while some of my paintings might initially look like portraits, I’ve often deliberately sought out a particular animal, setting, or piece of patterned textile because I think they will make an interesting painting together. I’m really inspired by artists such as Édouard Vuillard and Pierre Bonnard, particularly by the way they use pattern to flatten, abstract, and play with the design of a composition. I often come across an interesting fabric or piece of furniture and think about how I could use it in a painting. I might encourage a dog onto a particular sofa, 11 0 | E Q UE S T R I A N L I VIN G | FAL L | 2026

for example, simply because I like the combination of the animal, the pattern, and the setting. Sometimes the environment is almost as important as the subject itself. EQ: As a lifetime equestrian, is there something you notice in a horse’s movement or anatomy that a non-rider might miss on canvas?

RE: Horses are difficult to paint because there’s so much anatomy visible beneath their fine skin. When I studied from life models, we would often work with very thin models because you could see more of the underlying anatomy, which posed a greater challenge from a drawing perspective. If the anatomy is wrong, it really shows. Having spent my life around horses, I think it helps me understand how their bodies work and move, and which poses

RE: Horses have been represented by artists for centuries, but certainly within Western art they have traditionally been portrayed in a more formal and conventional way—perhaps celebrating the pomp and ceremony of a racehorse in profile after winning a grand race. My hope is to approach the horse in a more subtle, contemporary way, focusing on the intimate moments of connection people experience when working with horses day to day. I’m drawn to small, familiar moments that might otherwise go unnoticed—a particular expression, a gesture, or the way a horse interacts with the person around it. I’m interested in the character of the horse and the feeling of the encounter, rather than striving for perfect anatomical or representational accuracy. For me, allowing the work to remain painterly and expressive is an important part of that. I want the brushwork to retain a sense of freedom and movement, so the painting captures not just what the horse looks like, but something of what it feels like to be around them. CONTACT INFO | PAGE 126

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THE IDEAL MAINE SUMMER RESIDENCE

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WINDLEDGE FARM For Sale by Owner Offered at $3,995,000

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IDEAL EQUINE SUMMER RESIDENCE • Franklin County, Maine - July highs average in the mid-to-upper 70s°F, with overnight lows near 50°F to 55°F. • Approx 308 acre gated private estate, with extraordinary mountain views in the High Peaks Region of Maine. • 8 stall barn, with tack room, wash stall, pharmacy room, and 2nd floor-full apartment guest quarters. • 10 paddocks, 3 multi-acre turnout pastures, round pen, 3 miles of hiking and riding trails, and ~7 acre hay pastures. • Equipment Garage with 5 double bays and large standup hay loft, with space for storage of tractors, hay equipment, utility vehicles, and plow truck. • ~4,000 sq. ft. steel-framed house with open floorplan and high-end materials.

YOUR MAINE RETREAT

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merica’s leading equestrian estates can pair expansive landholdings with world‑class facilities and architecturally significant residences, drawing committed riders and discerning investors to celebrated horse regions across the country. At press time, these listings were publicly available, though the ultra‑luxury equestrian market is notably fluid—prices may be withheld, properties can trade quietly off‑market, and top‑tier offerings often shift without broad announcement. Prospective buyers should reach out to the respective listing agents to verify current status, as proper‑ ties at this level may sell, change terms, or be removed from circulation with minimal public visibility.

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OCALA, FL $18,750,000 7 bed/7.5 baths 73.47 acres This stunning estate offers privacy and convenience, located just 3 minutes from the World Equestrian Center. Fully fenced and thoughtfully designed for equestrian enthusiasts, the property features 10 paddocks, an 18-stall barn with a large barn apartment, feed and tack rooms, a round pen, and a covered arena for year-round training and care. The home includes spacious balconies overlooking the beautifully landscaped pool area, an in-home theater, gym, and a 4-car garage with a carport. Listed by Matt Varney ocalahorseproperties.com

PROPERTIES of NOTE

GALLATIN GATEWAY, MT $15,400,000 6 bed/5 bath 55.12 acres Spanning over 55 acres across both banks of the West Gallatin River, this is a once-in-a-generation Montana ranch, minutes from Bozeman, Yellowstone, and Big Sky, yet a world entirely its own. For the horse enthusiast, the property is fully equipped and thoughtfully designed, with 21 horse bays, three fenced pastures with water access, a dry lot, and three round pens. A level riding area sets the stage for private training, rodeos, or recreational polo beneath an open Montana sky. On the water, a beautiful stretch of private West Gallatin River frontage delivers direct access to some of the finest blue-ribbon trout fishing in the region. Listed by Joy Vance The Agency Bozeman joyvanceandco.com

NORTH SALEM, NY $7,950,000 8 bed/8.5 bath 11.25 acres One of Northern Westchester’s most significant country estates. Magnificent and majestic stone and shingle residence originally built in the 1850s. Renovated by Stanford White for Ulysses S. Grant, Jr. Magnificent oak paneled Great Hall with grand staircase and ceiling of Tiffany stained glass. Over eleven park-like acres with specimen trees, flowering shrubs, and verdant lawns. Incredible old-world stonewalls and terraces. The perfect retreat complete with swimming pool, tennis, and half-basketball court. Listed by Mary Dowdle Ginnel Real Estate ginnel.com

*Properties selected by EQLiving editors. Photos and information from the realtors’ web listings at presstime. 11 4| LUX E Q UE S T R I A N | E QLIV IN G | FAL L | 2026

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WHY FLORIDA HORSES EAT HAY ALL YEAR Up north, hay is a winter expense. Florida doesn’t work that way.

BY DELMAR ROPP

ost people move to Florida picturing horses knee-deep in grass. That’s fair for about half the year. The other half catches out almost everyone who relocates a horse from a colder climate. Up north, hay is a winter expense. Pasture carries the horse from spring through fall, hay is stored for the cold months, and the barn empties by May. Florida doesn’t work that way. Hay is a standing line item on the feed bill in February and in August alike, and the reason has more to do with arithmetic than weather. A N U M B E R T HAT SU R PR I SE S

The University of Florida’s extension service is blunt about it: A mature, 1,100-pound horse needs 2 to 2.5 acres of bahiagrass pasture, on average. Even on a well-managed, productive site, that number rarely drops below 1 to 1.5 acres. Consider what that means for a typical five-acre farm with three horses. It isn’t a pasture operation — it’s a dry lot with grass on it, and the grass functions more as decoration than as feed. That’s not a knock on the farm; it’s simply what the land yields in this climate. The intake numbers explain the rest. Horses eat 1.5% to 2.5% of their body weight in forage daily, measured as dry matter. For a 1,000-pound horse, that’s roughly 15 to 25 pounds of dry matter, or about 18 to 29 pounds of hay a day. Multiply that by three horses and 365 days, and it’s clear why hay in Florida isn’t seasonal — it’s the foundation of the ration, year-round. Farmers Direct Hay and Feed is a fifthgeneration family business in Williston, FL. 11 6| LUX E Q UE S T R I A N | E QLIV IN G | S U MMER | 2026

HUMIDITY IS THE ADVERSARY

H OW GOOD HAY LOOK S

Owners get plenty of hay advice and little guidance on how to judge it. The extension service’s benchmarks are more concrete: Hay suitable for horses generally runs 12% to 20% crude protein, with grass hays at the lower end and legumes such as alfalfa toward the top. Fiber matters too — look for 30% to 40% acid detergent fiber and 50% to 70% neutral detergent fiber. Those figures aren’t something an owner can eyeball, which is the point. A forage analysis is inexpensive relative to a season’s hay supply, and it turns a subjective argument about quality into something verifiable. A supplier who can produce an analysis for the load in front of you says as much about their reliability as the hay itself. What can be judged in the barn aisle is narrower, but it’s worth doing with every delivery. Open a bale — don’t just eyeball the stack. Good hay smells sweet and faintly grassy. It should be green throughout, not just on the outside; soft enough to handle without gloves; and free of dust when shaken out. Reject anything that smells sour, musty or like hot dust. Your nose is the better instrument here, and it works before the horse’s lungs have to.

Buying good hay and keeping good hay are two different achievements. Florida’s climate favors mold in a way a barn in Vermont, for example, simply doesn’t, and hay that arrives in excellent condition can decline fast in a hot, still building. The fixes are unglamorous but effective: Keep hay off concrete, which wicks moisture into the bottom layer; use pallets, the cheapest insurance available; give the stack airflow on more than one side, since an open-sided structure with a solid roof often beats a sealed one; buy only what can be used in a reasonable window rather than filling a loft in June; and rotate stock so older bales get used first. Fresh hay needs early attention, too. Bales baled with excess moisture will generate heat, and a stack that feels warm in the middle is a signal to act, not a detail to note and move past. A LIFESTYLE , NOT A C H OR E

This can read like a maintenance checklist, but the underlying decision is more interesting than that. A horse in Florida eats hay every day of the year, and the climate works against that hay the entire time. The owners who manage this well aren’t necessarily the ones with the biggest budgets — they’re the ones who decided early what they were buying, built storage suited to the climate rather than fighting it, and made a habit of opening a bale instead of trusting the stack. Do that, and hay stops being a recurring worry. It becomes what it should be: the quietest, most dependable part of a horse’s day. CONTACT INFO FARMERSDIRECTHAY.COM

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BARN IN THE

BACKYARD This huge, timber-frame hay barn, originally built circa 1850 in New York’s Hudson River Valley, traveled to Texas and now lives in Greenwich, Connecticut. This barn-design feature was originally published in Equestrian Living, August 2017.

FA LL | 2026 | LUXEQUESTRIA N | EQ L I V I NG .CO M | 1 1 9

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his barn-turned-guesthouse in Greenwich, Connecticut, began life in 1850 as a pine and hemlock barn from New Scotland, New York. The Hudson River Valley structure was found and purchased by Kevin Durkin and his team at Heritage Barns, who shipped it to their workshop in Texas, where it was refinished and fumigated for insects. The structure is an English-framed hay barn from an era when barns began to get larger following the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825. The canal transformed agriculture in New England and New York. With a new ability to ship products by the water, hay was becoming a cash crop. Farmers began specializing—growing all corn or all hay, for example—rather than continuing the diverse agriculture that was prevalent in the 1700s. Historically, the original barn was remarkable in that it was The original upstate Hudson Valley, New York, barn before restoration. both large and hand-hewn. With the advent of sawmills, such hand-hewn, timber-frame structures died out. Luckily, this barn’s beauty lives on today, enhanced by new finishes and furnishings as CONTACT INFO HERITAGEDBARNS.COM well as a solarium and a wine cellar. 12 0| LUX E Q UE S T R I A N | E QLIV IN G | FAL L | 2026

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N A N C Y B AT C H E L O R . C O M

EVERYTHING THE SPORT ASKS FOR. 2 6 2 5 S W 1 4 8 T H AV E | D AV I E , F L 8 BD • 5.5 BA • 6,380 SF • 4.68 ACRES • $7, 299,000

Next Level was built new in 2022 for riders operating at the highest level of the sport — engineered the way top programs actually run. Concrete construction, underground drainage beneath every stall, footing that holds through a Florida summer. Two professional arenas, one covered. Irrigated paddocks, a six-horse walker, a round pen, treadmills, mirrors. Above it all, a three-story clubhouse overlooking the arenas, a bar, a trainer’s apartment, and staff quarters — because a barn like this runs on more than horses. Forty minutes from Miami, thirty from Fort Lauderdale Beach, an hour from Wellington showgrounds. 1 0 0 ’ × 2 0 0 ’ C O V E R E D A R E N A • 1 7 5 ’ × 2 7 5 ’ L I G H T E D O U T D O O R R I N G • R Ö W E R & R Ü B S TA L L S

NANCY BATCHELOR

RENIER CASANOVA

M: 305.903.2850 nanc@ynancybatchelor.com

M: 305.989.6884 renier.casanova@compass.com

DISCOVER THE PROPERTY

Not intended to solicit currently listed property. © Compass Florida, LLC. Equal Housing Opportunity. All information furnished regarding property for sale or rent or regarding financing is from sources deemed reliable, but Compass makes no warranty or representation as to the accuracy thereof. All property information is presented subject to errors, omissions, price changes, changed property conditions, and withdrawal of the property from the market, without notice.

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THE HIDDEN DANGER IN PASTURES

Plants that threaten farm dogs and horses.

everal plants common on North American farms are toxic enough to kill a horse or a dog. Some act within hours; others cause damage that only shows up after weeks of repeated exposure. The list below covers the main offenders, how they cause harm, and the warning signs to watch for. WATER HEMLOCK AND POISON HEMLOCK

Water hemlock (Cicuta species) is often described as the most violently toxic plant native to North America. It contains cicutoxin, which attacks the central nervous system. As little as 8 ounces can be fatal to a horse. The toxin is most concentrated in the tuberous roots, though the leaves and stems are also poisonous. It grows in wet ground: irrigation ditches, marshes, and low-lying pasture. Poison hemlock (Conium maculatum) looks similar and is often confused with it, but the two are different plants. Poison hemlock contains the neurotoxic alkaloids coniine and gamma-coniine, and a horse needs to eat roughly 4 to 5 pounds for a lethal dose. Toxicity rises as the plant matures through the season, especially in the seeds. Both hemlocks can end up in cut hay, not just standing pasture. RED MAPLE Fresh red maple (Acer rubrum) leaves are generally harmless on the tree, but wilted, dried, or fallen leaves are dangerous to horses, the kind that pile up after a storm or during autumn leaf drop. The toxin 12 2| LUX E Q UE S T R I A N | E QLIV IN G | FAL L | 2026

damages red blood cells, cutting their oxygen-carrying capacity and harming the kidneys. About 1.5 pounds of leaves can cause poisoning. Signs include lethargy, jaundiced or brown gums, dark brown urine, rapid breathing, and a fast heart rate, showing up anywhere from a few hours to a few days after ingestion. Leaves stay toxic for roughly a month after falling. Other maples, including sugar maple, silver maple, and box elder, get the same caution from extension services, though red maple accounts for most confirmed cases. BLACK WALNUT Every part of the black walnut tree (Juglans nigra), bark, wood, nuts, roots, is toxic. But horses are most often poisoned not by eating the tree, rather through bedding: shavings that are 20 percent or more black walnut can cause toxicity within 10 to 12 hours, through skin contact or ingestion. Affected horses may be reluctant to move, shift weight between limbs, have warm hooves, swollen legs, an increased digital pulse, and laminitis. Because of this, extension guidance is to remove black walnut trees from horse pastures and to check bedding shavings for contamination before use. OLEANDER, FOXGLOVE, RHODODENDRON, AZALEA, AND MOUNTAIN LAUREL

These plants aren’t related botanically, but they share the same danger: cardiac toxins. Oleander (Nerium oleander) and foxglove (Digitalis species) contain cardenolides that cause arrhythmias and low blood pressure, and can be fatal to dogs,

cats, and horses. Rhododendron, azalea, and mountain laurel, all in the heath family, contain grayanotoxins, which can cause muscle tremors, drooling, loss of coordination, colic, diarrhea, and abnormal heart rhythm, and can progress to death. Even small ingestions are a concern. Toxicity is more likely when other forage is scarce, or when these plants get baled into hay. TANSY RAGWORT

Tansy ragwort is a 2- to 4-foot weed with clusters of yellow flowers. Eating it causes liver damage in horses that doesn’t heal. Because the damage builds with repeated exposure and can’t be reversed, the only real safeguard is keeping it out of the pasture in the first place. BRACKEN FERN

Bracken fern (Pteridium aquilinum) works differently from the plants above: the damage is gradual, not acute. It contains thiaminase, an enzyme that destroys thiamine (vitamin B1). Signs (weakness, tremors, poor coordination, a crouching stance, eventually convulsions) usually show up only after weeks or months of repeated ingestion, or within seven to ten days if it makes up the whole diet. The condition is known as “bracken staggers,” and if it’s caught early, it responds well to thiamine supplementation. Cattle exposed to bracken fern face a different, more acute risk: bone marrow suppression from a separate toxic component in the plant. SAGO PALM

Sago palm (Cycas revoluta) is more common as a landscaping or houseplant than a pasture plant, but it belongs on this list because it’s one of the most dangerous plants for dogs specifically. All parts are toxic, and the seeds carry the highest

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HIDDEN DANGERS concentration. Ingestion can cause severe vomiting and diarrhea, liver damage, low blood sugar, bleeding disorders, seizures, and death, even from small exposures. YEW

Yew (Taxus species) is one of the most acutely lethal ornamentals for horses. As little as half a pound of needles or seeds can be a lethal dose, and death can come quickly, with both gastrointestinal and neurological symptoms. Because yew is a common landscaping evergreen, the standard guidance is simple: keep it out of any area a horse can reach. ALSO WORTH KNOWING

- Autumn crocus (Colchicum

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autumnale): toxic to dogs, cats, and horses even in small amounts, causing severe gastrointestinal upset, heart arrhythmias, liver and kidney failure, and abnormal bleeding. Tulip (Tulipa species): toxic to dogs, cats, and horses. Can cause stomach upset, depression, and intestinal obstruction if bulbs are eaten. Pokeweed: common along fence lines. Eating the roots, stems, or leaves can cause diarrhea, colic, and mouth burning in horses. Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia): all visible parts are toxic to horses and can be fatal in sufficient quantity, with gastrointestinal and cardiac symptoms. RECOGNIZING TROUBLE

Symptoms vary by plant and toxin, but a few patterns are worth flagging to a vet

right away: colic, red or brown-tinged urine, seizures, disorientation, and stocking-up or founder-like leg swelling. Extension veterinarians tie these specifically to wilted maple, bracken fern or horsetail, locoweed, and black walnut shavings, respectively. PREVENTION

Rutgers extension agronomists recommend a simple habit: walk pastures regularly to find and remove poisonous plants, whether by herbicide, handdigging, or mowing, or fence them off. Check three to four feet beyond the fence line itself, since animals will reach through or over it to forage. Hedgerows bordering pasture deserve the same scrutiny, since ornamental and volunteer trees just outside a fence are a common source of exposure. If a dog or horse may have eaten a toxic plant, the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center runs a 24-hour hotline at (888) 426-4435.

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Oklahoma Equestrian Estate Just minutes from Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees

40+ Acres for $2,500,000

This property strikes a thoughtful balance of scale, function, and design, making it well-suited as a private residence, recreational retreat, or working estate — all within close proximity to Grove, Oklahoma.

33021 S 625 Road, Jay, Oklahoma 74346

Property Features 5 BEDS | 7 BATHS | 6,000 SF | 40+ ACRES

• DESIGNED BY JACK ARNOLD • 40 FT HEATED & COOLED POOL • 1,400 (SF MOL) POOL HOUSE WITH GUEST ACCOMMODATIONS

• BARN WITH PRIEFERT HORSE STALLS • DOG RUNS • BOAT & RV STORAGE • 1,000 GALLON IN-GROUND PROPANE TANK

• PICKELBALL COURT

• SPRING-FED CREEK RUNS THROUGH PROPERTY

David G. Oliver O 405.748.0405 M 405.532.3800 david@ davidoliverhomes.com DavidOliverHomes.com

Sage Sotheby’s International Realty | 1047 NW 68th Street, Oklahoma City © 2026 Sage Sotheby’s International Realty. All Rights Reserved. Sotheby’s International Realty® is a registered trademark and used with permission. Each Sotheby’s International Realty office is independently owned and operated, except those operated by Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. All offerings are subject to errors, omissions, and changes including price or withdrawal without notice. Equal Housing Opportunity.

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WHERE TO FIND IT Look for the symbol throughout the magazine to find out about featured products and services.

FAVORITES Page 16

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Elevated Entertaining 2Modern 2modern.com Bergdorf Goodman bergdorfgoodman.com Bloomingdale’s bloomingdales.com Hudson | Grace hudsongracesf.com Neiman Marcus neimanmarcus.com West Elm westelm.com Williams Sonoma williams-sonoma.com

Ryerss Farm ryerssfarm.org

FOOD + DRINK Page 20 Icelandic Delectable Hotel Rangá hotelranga.is STYLE Page 22 Stirrup Your Style Fairfax & Favor fairfaxandfavor.com Gigi New York giginewyork.com Hermès hermes.com JW Pei jwpei.com 0cm 0cm.com Penelope Chilvers penelopechilvers.com Polène eng.polene-paris.com SCIENCE Page 24 The Artisan Meets the Algorithm LM Boots lmboots.com FASHION Page 28 Heritage Retailored Jack Murphy jackmurphy.ie/en-us Katherine Hooker katherinehooker.com Schöffel schoffelcountry.com DÉCOR Page 32 Take a Seat 1stDibs 1stdibs.com Crate and Barrel crateandbarrel.com Kathy Kuo Home kathykuohome.com Knoll knoll.com Lumens lumens.com LA EQUESTRIAN CENTER REINVENTED Page 34 Los Angeles Equestrian Center thelaec.com GIVING BACK Page 38 Elaine Nash Fleet of Angels fleetofangels.org BOOK Page 42 Fallen for France Ballantine Books randomhousebooks.com/imprint/ ballantine-books STYLE, SPORT, AND IRISH SPIRIT Page 48 The Dublin Horse Show Dublin Horse Show dublinhorseshow.com

AACHEN Page 64 2026 FEI World Championships aachen2026.com THE GOLD LIST Page 70 REAL ESTATE East Sally Slater, Douglas Elliman, Bedford, NY elliman.com Krissy Blake, Sotheby’s, Greenwich krissyblake.com Candy Anderson, Compass, Millbrook, NY compass.com Florida Abby & Brian Jones, Sotheby’s Equestrian Realty, Wellington sothebysrealty.com Nancy Batchelor, Compass nancybatchelor.com Robert Ross, Keller Williams, Wellington robertrosspa.com California Caren Kelley, Compass, San Diego equestrianre.com/ Sean Cadell, Sotheby’s, San Diego seancadell.com Allyson Green, Windermere, Washington allysongreenrealestatebroker.withwre.com/ Midwest Lesley Sweeney, Sotheby’s, Indiana lesleysweeney.com Erica Uribes, Mir Ranch Group, Colorado mirranchgroup.com Rachel Carson, Sotheby’s, Nevada sothebysrealty.com South Cindy Polk, Compass, Middleburg, VA compass.com/agents/cindy-polk/ Cricket Bedford, Thomas & Talbot, Middleburg thomasandtalbot.com/Agent/Cricket_Bedford Jaime Nyheim, Sotheby’s, Virginia atlanticsir.com FASHION & DECOR Ariat ariat.com Pikeur pikeur.de Equiline equiline.it Ralph Lauren ralphlauren.com Barbour barbour.com Hermès hermes.com David Yurman davidyurman.com Coach coach.com Horse & Hound (shop) horseandhound.com LOCAL COMPETITIONS Paso Robles pasorobleshorsepark.com Pacific Ridge at LA Equestrian Center pacificridgeshowjumping.com West Palms Events westpalmsevents.com Terra Nova terranovaequestrian.com The Ridge (Wellington) ridgeshowjumping.com Live Oak liveoakinternational.com Blowing Rock brchs.org Tryon International Equestrian Center tryon.com Old Salem Farm oldsalemfarm.net Devon Fall Classic devonhorseshow.net Green Mountain Horse Association gmhainc.org Festival at Lamplight hitsshows.com

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Lamplight hitsshows.com Midwest Horse Fair midwesthorsefair.com DREAM TRAVEL Giraffe Manor, Kenya thesafaricollection.com Castle Leslie castleleslie.com Lone Mountain Ranch, MT lonemountainranch.com Alentejo Marmoris, Portugal marmorishotels.com White Rose Cattle Drive theranchatwildrose.com Fife Arms, Scotland thefifearms.com HOTELS Red Fox Inn, VA redfox.com Equestrian Hotel, WEC worldequestriancenter.com Salamander, Middleburg salamanderresort.com Woodstock Inn woodstockinn.com Goodstone Inn, Middleburg goodstone.com The Colony, Palm Beach thecolonypalmbeach.com Willcox, Aiken thewillcox.com Brazilian Court, Palm Beach thebraziliancourt.com NATIONAL CHARITIES Danny & Ron’s Rescue dannyronsrescue.org Brooke USA brookeusa.org Equestrian Aid Foundation equestrianaidfoundation.org Equus Foundation equusfoundation.org Just World justworldinternational.org PODCASTS & MEDIA Plaid Horse theplaidhorse.com Noelle Floyd noellefloyd.com The Scope thescopepodcast.com Horses in the Morning horseradionetwork.com Amelia Newcomb Dressage amelianewcombdressage.com APPS Showgrounds Live showgroundslive.com Barn Manager barnmanager.com EQ Masterclass noellefloydplus.com Clip My Horse clipmyhorse.tv Horse Ride Tracker horseridingtracker.com Ride IQ ride-iq.com LOCAL FAVORITES Florida Kaluz, Wellington kaluzrestaurant.com Oli’s Fashion Cuisine, Wellington olisfashioncuisine.com Yellow Pony, WEC, Ocala worldequestriancenter.com Horse & Hounds, Ocala horseandhoundsrestaurant.com Tackeria, Wellington tackeria.com Tack Shack, Ocala tackshackocala.com Equiline (tack shop), Wellington Vinceremos, Loxahatchee vinceremos.org Equine Assisted Therapy, Coconut Creek equineatsf.org Freedom Ride, Orlando freedomride.com Big Dog Ranch bdrr.org Southwest FLA Horse Rescue swfhr.org

The South Red Horse Tavern, Middleburg, VA redhorsetavern.net Dudley’s on Short, Lexington dudleysonshort.com Stable Cafe, Biltmore biltmore.com/restaurant/stable-cafe Tack Box, Middleburg, VA thetackboxinc.com Tack Room, Camden, SC tackroomonline.com Middleburg Tack Exchange middleburgtack.com Central Kentucky Riding for Hope ckrh.org Prancing Horse, Hoffman, NC prancing-horse.org Great Oak, Aiken, SC greatoakeap.org Gentle Giants, MD gentlegiantsdrafthorserescue.org New England & East The Whip, Coatesville, PA thewhiptavern.com Ralph Lauren Polo Bar, NYC ralphlauren.com/global-restaurants Gladstone Tavern, NJ gladstonetavern.com Maryland Saddlery marylandsaddlery.com Malvern Saddlery, PA malvernsaddlery.com Windrush Farm, MA windrushfarm.org Gallop NYC gallopnyc.org Pegasus, NY pegasustr.org New England Equine Rescue, MA neernorth.org

Lucy Mackenzie, VT lucymac.org The West Hitching Post, Buellton, CA hitchingpost2.com Polo Lounge, Beverly Hills dorchestercollection.com/los-angeles/ the-beverly-hills-hotel/dining/polo-lounge Alice’s Restaurant, Woodside alicesrestaurant.com Calabasas Saddlery, CA calabasassaddlery.com Mary’s Tack & Feed, CA marystack.com Jedlickas, CA jedlickas.com Shea Center, CA sheacenter.org Ride On Horsemanship, CA rideon.org Eastwood Ranch, CA eastwoodranch.org Hanaeleh Horse Rescue, CA hanaeleh.org American Wild Horse Conservation americanwildhorse.org The Midwest Bubba’s, Traverse City tcbubbas.com White Horse Inn, Metamora, MI thewhitehorseinn.com Million Dollar Cowboy Bar, Jackson milliondollarcowboybar.com St. Croix Saddlery, MN stcroixsaddlery.com Saddlers Row, IL saddlersrow.com Equus Now, OH equusnow.com

Bravehearts, IL braveheartsriding.org Detroit Horsepower, MI detroithorsepower.org Miracles in Motion, IA miraclesinmotion.com Longmeadow Rescue Ranch, MO longmeadowrescueranch.org Midwest Animal Rescue, MN midwestanimalrescue.org This Old Horse, MN thisoldhorse.org THE FOUR SIXES RANCH Page 84 Four Sixes Ranch 6666ranch.com LAURA KING Page 92 Laura King Coaching / Laura King Hypnosis laurakinghypnosis.com CHICKERING TRAVERSE CITY Page 98 B&D Builders banddbuilders.com ROMY ELLIOTT Page 104 Romy Elliott romyelliott.com BARN DOG Page 130 Jane Goodall The Wildlife Conservation Network wildnet.org

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JANE GOODALL’S BEST BIRTHDAY For her 90th birthday, she went to the beach WITH 90 DOGS at an off-leash stretch of coastline in Carmel, California. BY JILL NOVOTNY

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when I was greeted on the beach by 90 dogs.” She described throwing sticks into the sea while the dogs bounded around her, the rain coming in and then clearing, the whole scene dissolving into something she called simply amazing. There was a photograph taken of her sitting in front of the water, all the dogs and their owners gathered behind her, the Pacific in the background. It is, in retrospect, a perfect image of who she was. Goodall had written and spoken throughout her life about what dogs offer—their attentiveness, their honesty, their gift for being fully present. “A dog gives a walk a purpose,” she once said. “You are making someone else happy.” For a woman who had devoted her entire life to advocating for creatures who could not speak for themselves, there was something entirely fitting about spending a milestone birthday in exactly that kind of uncomplicated, mutual joy, without an agenda or podium—just a stretch of California coastline and 90 dogs who had no idea they were celebrating anyone at all. She was 91 when she died, still traveling, still speaking. We are lucky she told that story when she did. WIKIPEDIA

hen Jane Goodall was asked, in one of her final interviews, how she had celebrated her 90th birthday, she didn’t mention the parties in New York or the fundraising galas held in her honor across multiple countries. What she wanted to talk about was a beach in Carmel-by-the-Sea and 90 dogs. Goodall, who passed away on October 1, 2025, at the age of 91 while on a speaking tour in Los Angeles, spent more than six decades transforming our understanding of the natural world. Beginning in 1960, when she arrived at Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania as a young and largely selftaught researcher, she conducted the longest-running study of wild chimpanzees in history. What she discovered there —that chimps use tools, form complex social bonds, and experience something very much like grief—upended the scientific consensus about what separates humans from other animals. She went on to become one of the most recognized conservationists and environmental advocates on earth, traveling relentlessly into her 90s, still giving talks, still making the case for the planet she never stopped believing could be saved.

For a woman who had devoted her entire life to advocating for creatures who could not speak for themselves, there was something entirely fitting about this milestone birthday.

But on March 23, 2024, to celebrate her 90th birthday, she went to the beach. The Wildlife Conservation Network organized what they called a “90-Dog Salute” at an off-leash stretch of coastline in Carmel, where owners brought their dogs to greet her. Goodall recalled the morning on Alex Cooper’s “Call Her Daddy” podcast in May 2025, just months before her death. “The only thing I really liked,” she said, “was

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HORSES PROMOTE ENHANCED SENSORY PERCEPTION

and smiles