Equitana 2021 Recap

Equitana 2021, cantered into Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, October 1-3, showcasing world class clinicians, horse world celebrities, equine breed ambassadors and shopping. It attracted ardent horse fans in abundance. Picture Equitana as an equestrian’s version of Comic Con!

I was asked to be a speaker for the Social Responsibility for Influencers panel moderated by Heather Wallace (you might know her as The Timid Rider). Fellow panelists were Caitlin Gooch, @theblackcowgirl who is also the genius behind Saddle Up and Read, and the effervescent Emily and Sarah Harris from the vlog Sisters Horsing Around.

The stage was reminiscent of an Oprah-styled talk show set. Heather asked how or why we started our blogs/social media presence and what influence means to us. She actually used the work “icky” to describe influence which I think is awesome. I said influence is really about helping people and I try to share from my own experiences (both failures and successes).

I mentioned how my blog post on grieving a horse has touched fellow horse lovers from around the world and led to my book Strands of Hope: How to Grieve the Loss of a Horse.

I shared the story of my blog post that went viral Avoid This Dangerous Donut in the Saddle, when Knight’s bit got caught on the stirrup iron and we both fell (and miraculously were both okay).

Celebrity Sighting & Selfie

After our session ended and my fellow panelists and I got to talk a bit more in a small group, I spied the always-dapper Carson Kressley, who was about to speak on the next panel.

Without thinking I said, “I like your jacket,” referring to his horse-print blazer.

He replied, “Thank you. I like your top.” I was wearing my Rönner shirt–one I get compliments on every time I wear, and Carson asked, “Is that by ________________?” (I can’t remember the name of the designer).

I said, “No, it’s a Rönner. I’m not sure if that’s how you pronounce it.” He said he thought it was pronounced like “Renner” because of the umlaut. I then asked, “Can I get a selfie with you?” and told him I read his cover story in Sidelines magazine and he cheerfully said sure and the result is this fun snap.

Equitana Shopping

The highlight of my shopping began with a trip to the BOTORI booth. PJ, the owner and creative behind the brand, and I have known each other on Instagram for a while, but had yet to meet in person. I have several of her BOTORI riding tights (I’m not typically a riding tight girl, but hers are really good) and the Adler breech tights which I love and have ridden in lately for polo.

Wise Choice Tack of Lexington and Tattini boots shared a booth. I enjoyed getting to know the Illinois owners of Tattini and their great story of connecting with relatives who live about an hour outside of Rome, Italy to bring their line of boots to the equestrian market. By the way, if you’re near Lexington, be sure to shop at Wise Choice–they carry my latest book Unbridled Creativity: 101 Writing Exercises for the Horse Lover. (Go support your local brick and mortar tack shop!)

Straight Arrow (makers of Mane and Tail), Levade Kentucky and beautiful bespoke boot company, Impeccable Equerry were additional vendors who rocked.

Perhaps the most entertaining booth was one with an Equicizer, a mechanical horse. It was my first time in a jockey saddle and I’m glad this model had a long mane to grab onto. I literally had this thought, “If I fall off without a helmet and get injured, this is going to be funny and tragic,” as I “raced” on my jet black steed. I thought about how much harder it would be to employ my LandSafe Equestrian fall-off skills from the recent clinic I attended (read that blog post here.)

Fun Fact: Equicizers were used for the close up scenes of my favorite horse movie of all time–Seabiscuit!

If you’re thinking about going to Equitana next year, I know you’ll have fun shopping all the vendor booths.

Equitana Clinicians

Education was a huge component of the three-day Equitana weekend. Olympians and high performance equestrians both trained riders and demonstrated their skills. Polo player Nic Roldan, Olympic eventer Phillip Dutton, Olympic dressage rider Laura Graves, bodywork guru Jim Masterson and more shared their expertise with eager fans.

I got to watch Shawna Karrasch use positive reinforcement training techniques with two young horses in a reverse round pen, and Phillip Dutton train riders in a Jumping Gridwork session. Nic Roldan discussed equestrian fitness on the mainstage and demonstrated some workout moves on a Technogym bench while clothed in his Roldan lifestyle clothing line.

There were so many other fun exhibits and things to see I can’t record them all, but here are a few more worth mentioning:

• Parade of Champions (not affiliated with Equitana, but Kentucky Horse Park’s event that allows horse fans to meet, greet and learn about the retired racehorse residents of the park). We saw Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Funny Cide and the Preakness and Belmont Winner, and Horse of the Year for 2001 Point Given.

• The United States Hunter Jumper Association Horseless Horseshow. Heather and I wanted to jump a course of tiny fences on foot, but it started to rain. Next year.
• Toasties Gourmet food truck! I had the most delicious “Drunken Shroomy” sandwich. It was a grilled cheese with Bourbon-glazed mushrooms, herb cheese spread, brie and gouda. Yummy yummy!

Closing Thoughts on Equitana USA 2021

It’s nice to be in a place surrounded by equally-horse crazy folks. It makes one feel a part of something bigger. “I’m not nuts! There are tons of people just like me out there.” I remember having a thought along these lines, something like I thought that time I attended Rolex (when it was still Rolex) and rode the course (at a walk on a trail ride hosted by Leslie Law).

Hope to see you at Equitana next year! I’m excited to return.

Thanks for reading and tally ho! 

Leave a Comment:  Do you attend horse events like Equitana? Which ones are your favorite?

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