Recreation & Lifestyle
Welcome to Recreation & Lifestyle, which includes leisure riding and other aspects of the equestrian lifestyle for you and your horse loving friends and family.
Looking for the perfect present? See the Gifts & Jewelry section. Redecorating? Find a Painting, Photograph or Sculpture in the Artwork section. Need to check out a movie or crawl up with a good book or magazine? See our Entertainment section where you will find and Books, Movies, Games, and Magazines. And don't forget about Fine Art in some specialty Museums that might surprise you.
Looking for love or a trail buddy? Riding Partners is the spot to seek other riders who share your passion. Find a place to ride with that special person in our Trail Riding section and if you need more time away, take a look at Vacations. Want to know about the next horse show or special event? Don’t miss it! Dates and locations are included in the Calendar of Events for Recreation & Lifestyle.
Do we need to add more? Please use the useful feedback link and let us know!
Story and photos by Gabriela Hasbun
The Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo celebrates the black men and women keeping the cowboy tradition alive.
I started getting interested in cowboys after my neighbor in Oakland invited me to join her at the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo in 2007 — my first ever. I was raised in cities (San Salvador and Miami) and had never experienced much of country life. Being out on a ranch and around horses was a new experience. Witnessing the connection the cowboys had with the horses and the glamour of riding was quite captivating. I was immediately hooked by the example of Americana and black history.
Initially, I was fascinated by the young cowboys and cowgirls who were fluent in both technology and tradition, something I was not expecting to witness. Later, I started meeting older cowboys who have been keeping black cowboy history alive in the West.
My fascination with the riders’ beauty and confidence led me to photograph this series on medium-format film. The process is slower, and I’m able to focus more on my subjects. Therefore, my images feel quieter than the typical rodeo pictures we see in the media. I’m also less interested in what happens inside the arena. Instead, my work focuses on the people who attend the rodeo and the participants who put their lives at risk each time they compete. I’m aiming to document the beauty of the tradition and culture of the black cowboys and their community.
As I returned to document these riders, I quickly realized how few people even knew of their existence, much less their cultural and historical significance. More than 8,000 black cowboys rode in the great Western cattle drives of the late 1860s. Black cowboys were renowned for their ability to ride the nastiest horses that white cowboys wouldn’t ride. The Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo is named after the man credited with inventing bulldogging, the precursor to the modern rodeo event of steer wrestling. The Bill Pickett rodeo, founded by Lu Vason in 1984, is the only touring black rodeo in the country and this year visits Memphis, Tennessee; Oakland and Los Angeles, California; Atlanta; and Washington, D.C.
by Laura Schreffler
When Ariana Rockefeller was asked to design a handbag for the inaugural Longines Masters of New York show jumping competition this past April, she (literally) jumped at the chance. The equestrian-handbag designer simply couldn’t pass up an opportunity to combine her two greatest passions and created a saddle-inspired leather bag beloved by the socialite set. Though she has only been riding professionally for the past five years, show jumping is a hugely important part of her life—it just happened to temporarily take a back seat to her design career. Nowadays, the 35-year-old heiress is focused on her equestrian career, dividing her time between England, Manhattan and Wellington, the opulent Palm Beach area of West Florida beloved by the world’s top equestrians during the winter months. We sat down with Rockefeller shortly before three major events in her life—The Masters, The Met Gala and the Christie’s auction of grandparents David and Peggy Rockefeller’s 2,000-piece, $500 million art collection, which has been called the most significant charitable art auction in history—to chat about her equestrian career, her love of art and the greatest lessons she learned from her philanthropic family role models.
HL: Have you always been into show jumping?
AR: I grew up riding on my family’s farm, and I’ve always had a passion for horses and equestrian sports. For the past five years, I’ve been pretty much full-time training and competing. I rode through high school, took a break in college and then got back into the training and show jumping. I love the behind-the-scenes of the sport, being an advocate for show jumping and really bringing it to more of a mainstream audience—especially in the United States, where the sport isn’t as understood as it might be in European countries.
Read more: How Ariana Rockefeller Indulges In Her Two Grand Passions: Show Jumping And Fashion
As The Queen became the first monarch to reach her Sapphire Coronation Jubilee on Saturday 2nd June, the “world’s first” gold quarter sovereign was released. Collectibles firm The Bradford Exchange released a brand new gold quarter sovereign to commemorate the Queen’s Sapphire Coronation Jubilee, marking Her Majesty’s incredible milestone when she became the first British monarch to reach the 65th anniversary of their coronation on Saturday 2nd June.
The 2018 Gold Quarter Sovereign features a portrait of The Queen on horseback, recalling a similar image which was used on the first commemorative coin of her reign, the 1953 Coronation Crown, and then on subsequent coins celebrating her Majesty’s Jubilees over the decades.
However, this is the first time the equestrian portrait has been used on a gold quarter sovereign, making it a world first to mark this historic occasion.
Read more: Gold Sovereign Coin Released for Queens Sapphire Coronation Jubilee
by Coconuts Bangkok
Every year, dozens of Thai Buddhists travel up the mountainous terrain in Chiang Rai province to watch Phra Kru Ba, the respected abbot and founder of Archa Thong Forest Monastery, bless the ponies in a ceremony called Bai Si Sukwan.
The Archa Thong Forest Monastery is known for the sight of Buddhist monks mounted on horses and the Dharma teaching of Phra Kru Ba.
The senior monk is a former Muay Thai fighter who has fought against the opium trade in the notorious Golden Triangle for the past 20 years by introducing Buddhism to the locals, bonding with the people via the practice of Muay Thai and his equestrian skills.
On the morning of the latest Bai Si Sukwan ceremony, locals dressed in white lined up with dry food in their hands as the famed Phra Kru Ba rode his horse down from the hilltop to accept alms from his worshippers.
“Who wants to get lucky? Raise your hands. Who wants to be wealthy? Raise your hands. Who wants to be safe? Now who wants to listen to Dharma?” Phra Kru Ba said to the cheering worshippers in a ceremony held on September 21.
Read more: Horseback Hero: How one Thai Monk Saves Animals from the Slaughterhouse with Buddhism
by Roger and Rhonda Adams
Our Journey began on a date that, we agree, neither one of us really liked the other person. In spite of that rocky beginning, on March 2, 2019 we will celebrate 40 years of marriage that has been full of life, laughter, adventures, sickness and truly learning the art of communication. Communication is the key to a Journey will lived.
Like so many other couples from different worlds, I was part of the corporate world, and Roger life was already in construction.
We were told early on in our marriage that—for reasons no one could determine at that time—we could never have children. We worked through our feelings, and thus began the life of riding horse and mules. Still, we knew that something was lacking: we wanted more for ourselves. Roger and I both had been reared in church, but had gone through a season of playing church. Our shared realization, that we were missing something, led us back to our roots, and to renewing our commitments to Christ.
Read more: A Team, Riding Out Life's Storms: 2RMules and Wyoming Saddlery
by Sue Weakley, photos by George Kamper
She may be little-known to the public, but this powerful woman is a major force in ending horse slaughter in America.
Victoria McCullough is soft-spoken, but in Washington, D.C., she’s acutely savvy and a born diplomat. She’s well-known inside the Beltway, sweetly twisting arms to end horse slaughter in the U.S. A horse rescuer with more than 10,000 horses and burros re-homed from the kill pen, she’s an advocate for recycling unwanted equines. The only child of the late Rexford Davis, founder of the country’s largest privately held petroleum company, she’s an accomplished pianist as well as the architect and engineer for her sprawling estate in Wellington, Florida. McCullough generally guards her privacy with the tough tenacity she shows in Washington—until Equestrian Living was invited for a glimpse of the home and stables she has lovingly restored and built. Welcome to the private world of Victoria McCullough.
The House
McCullough’s estate was purchased in 2012; renovations began the following year and have continued for three years and counting.
“It was for sale for years and no one would touch it, and I mean no one,” Victoria says. “In fact, Hunter Harrison (Double H Farm) said to me, ‘I think you are crazy to get that house. Kid, it’s the biggest money pit in the world, and the house is ugly.’” The house had lain empty for seven years while the South Florida weather fueled mold and mildew damage, but McCullough loved the light streaming in through the windows, the limestone flooring imported from France, and the building’s acoustics, so she overlooked the rest, recognizing the hidden gem.
At the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event, April 26-29th, the rain from earlier in the week cleared in time for a perfect four days of showing, demonstrations…and of course shopping from a variety of amazing vendors!
We witnessed world class riders with their brave equine partners as they cleared and splashed through obstacles in Cross Country, performed Dressage with precision, and carefully cleared fences in Show Jumping.
Ultimately, in a nail-biting finish filled with gasps and thrills, Oliver Townend of Great Britain did the seemingly impossible: he beat Germany’s Michael Jung at the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event.
by Heather Wallace for Equine Info Exchange
The pounding of hooves echoed throughout New York’s Nassau Coliseum the last long weekend in April 2018 for the first Longines Masters New York presented by EEM, the final leg of the Grand Slam of Showjumping.
Founded in 2009, Longines Masters was created to bring together the greatest equestrians in the world's most elegant cities: Paris, Hong Kong and, in 2014—Los Angeles. In May of 2017, it was announced that in 2018, the third leg of event would move the prestigious Longines Masters from its established American home in Los Angeles to the Nassau Coliseum in New York, bringing the event and subsequent awareness from American coast-to-coast.
The seamless move to New York showcased the thrill of international showjumping to the East Coast audience that craves this most-elegant of equestrian sports. The weekend of April 26 - 29 was the grand finale, with total prize earnings up to 4,500,000€ (approx $5.3M USD at time of this posting)--over the course of the series.
Combining the sophistication of New York’s elite with the adrenaline rush of beating the clock over 1.5m fences, the event was more than a horse show: it was a social event of multinational proportions.
Luxury storefronts lined the Prestige Village including Hermes, Sam Edelman, Voltaire, CWD and of course, Longines. Visitors toured the high-end wares and fine art galleries while sipping champagne, listening to live music and mingling with top-ranked equestrian athletes from around the globe.
Read more: United States Duels Europe in the Longines Masters / Riders Masters Cup, New York, 2018
Going to the Kentucky Derby and don't have a hat? Good news! There is a great selection of hats in the gift shop at Churchill Downs!
We attended opening night of Churchill Downs on Saturday April 28th and found these beautiful hats.
by Elizabeth Goldsmith
Wanted: Women willing to ride 100-120 miles per week through rural Kentucky, rain or shine, carrying library books to the state’s most isolated residents. Must provide own horse or mule and be prepared to walk if the terrain is too rough. Pay is $28 per month. Sound like something you’d like to do?
The Pack Horse Library initiative was part of President Franklin Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration (WPA), created to help lift America out of the Great Depression. Illiteracy was a real problem. In 1930 as many as 31% of eastern Kentuckians couldn’t read, although most wanted to learn. They saw literacy as their road out of impoverishment.
In 1936, packhorse librarians served 50,000 families, and, by 1937, 155 public schools. Children loved the program; many mountain schools didn’t have libraries, and since they were so far from public libraries, most students had never checked out a book. ”‘Bring me a book to read,’ is the cry of every child as he runs to meet the librarian with whom he has become acquainted,” wrote one Pack Horse Library supervisor. “Not a certain book, but any kind of book. The child has read none of them.”
Read more: The Heroic Horseback Librarians of the Great Depression
- The Traveling Librarians of the Great Depression
- Tell It to My Heart
- Remington and Russell – The “Titans of Western Art"
- AETA Trade Show Features New Equestrian Products and Designs
- Choose Ireland for a Vacation This Year – Ireland's Best Racecourses
- “Golden Genes: The Secret of Dutch Jumpers” Film Review
- So, Your Spouse Doesn’t Love Horses?
- EIE Exclusive Interview with Rob Bick, Winner of the Arabian Western Pleasure Pro/Am Class in the Arabian U.S. Open Competition at the 2017 Rolex Central Park Horse Show
- Rolex Central Park Horse Show 2017 Inaugurates an Exciting New Class – Arena Eventing
- Waterford Crystal's Rich Heritage: Horse Racing Trophies
