let's talk: good reads

And by "good reads," I mean: this wonderful wild equestrian blogging community.

A little background, first:

first ride ever, at a local rent-a-pony trail joint!

A couple years ago, let's say around 2012ish, I was already well-ensconced into my post-college, career-track office job. And had finally started riding again after a ~4yr hiatus (broke college grad problems).

I already had a well-developed and curated set of bookmark folders for all my favorite various internet readings (favorite op-ed columnists, photo galleries, lifestyle blogs, internet comics, etc etc) but was just starting to scratch the surface of horse-focused sites.

Toby was one of the first horses i rode in a "show" (it was more like just a demonstration ride, and our group of lesson mates performed a drill to military tunes)

I'm pretty sure the first horse blog I found was Behind the Bit. Soon after followed by Wyvern Oaks, and The Reeling. I found myself eagerly devouring the full archives, suddenly rapacious for this new-to-me genre of online reading. Horse people, just like me, who were writing about and sharing all their adventures and experiences big and small.

And I wanted more. Was impatient for new posts. And started searching for others; reading through comments, googling various keywords, searching RSS feeds. Slowly, I started finding them. Cob Jockey, She Moved to Texas, SprinklerBandits, PONY'TUDE, Guinness on Tap.

Poor Woman Showing. House on a Hill. Viva Carlos. Hand Gallop. Fly on Over.

CJ lived at a trail barn that would let me do chores in exchange for free rides during the summers

The list was growing. And growing. And growing. With each new blog I found (each of which I voraciously read through all of the archives), more would bubble up to the surface - through linked profiles in the comments sections (pro tip: one of the easiest ways for people to find your blog is by commenting on others!), or links on each blog's "Reading List."

It's hard, really, to explain the impact these blogs had on me. I'd loved horses longer than I could remember. Had always worked hard to have horses in my life. To learn, and be better.

But.... I'd always somehow felt this separation between my own riding life and the glossy pictures in magazines like Equus or Practical Horseman. Those riders and their experiences were just.... so different from mine. Those horses looked nothing like the humble, fuzzy lesson ponies I knew. To the point where I didn't even really believe that type of reality was an option for me.

Snowy was a sensitive, humble appy pony. such a good girl tho, and a horse who taught me so much during my very formative high school years

When I found all these blogs tho? What struck me was.... so many of these authors are just like me. Sure, we all have somewhat different backgrounds, resources, hopes and dreams. But materially speaking, the JenJ who keeps her horses at home but trailers out to lessons... The Carly who had almost single-handedly brought her horse along to cruisin' N like nbd (complete with helmet cam footage sure to include epic commentary)...

The only difference I could see between me and these riders was that they were actively pursuing those goals. That they could make a choice to do a thing, and then do it.

It had never even occurred to me that I could have my own truck or trailer. That I could choose trainers at different barns and ride with them on my own terms. I had just gotten it stuck in my head that, you take lessons with a barn head trainer. And since there was no trainer at Isabel's barn... Whelp. Isabel just wasn't a horse I trained with, she was simply my exercise between lessons at my "real" barn.

at college, my barn would take 4-6 horses, each ridden by multiple students, to all the local schooling shows. my first season on Harry was very successful for us and got my name on a perpetual trophy!

But with the advent of all these great blogs, of all these riders sharing their stories, following their dreams, and writing about every step of the way... I realized that I could do that too. And that, actually, Isabel was looking more and more like a pretty cool horse when viewed through this new mindset. And that, maybe if I invested in her the way these bloggers were investing in their own horses, she could become something really special for me too.

And so I went all in. Got my truck and trailer. Found new trainers. Decided to event. And, in mid-2014, I started my own blog too.

One of the most important aspects, therefore, in the construction and layout of this blog, is my "Blog List" in the sidebar.

I had been so unexpectedly hungry to find new blogs as soon as I scratched the surface. And yet... they were so hard to find! Each newfound blog felt like a brand new portal into the horse world for me, full of new discoveries and ideas.

Ellie Mae was very fun for making the rounds at the local schooling shows too

So I wanted to collect all of those blogs in one easy to find place, easy to use and peruse for anyone else likewise interested and eager for more.

Thus. We finally get to my point today. "Good Reads."

I'm extremely fond of my blog list, updating and adding to it often. I try not to let it become too "curated" tho. I don't really want to be a "gate keeper" or "taste maker," handing down judgement on which blogs make the cut and which don't. Rather, I try to collect them as I find them, to share with anyone else looking for more to read.

My only real criteria is that I, personally, am less interested in commercial type blogs. Sponsored posts, paid content or teams of professional writers.... Those are all well and fine, but trend more in the direction of the Equus or Practical Horseman examples I wrote about above. They're less relatable and compelling to me as an individual rider on my own horse journey.

lad was one of my all time faves from rochester, and my days with him were what made me gravitate to a horse like charlie

There are SO MANY great bloggers now too. Even just this month I've found and added like.... 7 or 8 more. And I'm always surprised when I find one that has apparently already been well known to other readers for some time now.

SO. My question and request to all of you who also love reading and following along with equestrian blogs: Can you help me out? What are some of your favorite blogs? What am I missing from the sidebar? Care to share any new (or not so new!) links with me?? Do you have a blog that isn't already listed??

Or, if you don't necessarily have any links to share, maybe you can tell me about how you go about discovering new blogs? Or, more generally, what is it that draws you to reading equestrian blogs? How did you find this community, and what does it mean to you?