Allison McKenzie Sporthorses

05/15/2026

Dude… walk pirouettes.

Blogger Lauren Sprieser's got her own top-10 list of things to dislike in the world of dressage. Assuming the worst of others and a dependance on the left rein feature heavily.

05/11/2026

There was a time when I boarded my horse and got heated, Jamie Sindell writes. I’m talking full-blown righteous fury over what I saw as egregious examples of poor care. Mistakes that made me seethe with rage. But now? I own my own farm. I’ve spent almost three years caring for my own horses. And I can say, with absolute certainty, that most of the time when I threw an inner-temper tantrum, I needed to relax.

Caring for horses is hard work. Caring for horses is not a perfect science. If I could go back in time, I’d tell Past Me to chill. Because now I understand things like…

Horses drink water.
I would show up to the barn, see an empty bucket, and my inner alarm bell screamed: NEGLECT. What I know now is it’s not like horses say, “Hey, I’m extra thirsty today, lady. I’m going to drain my bucket the minute you turn your back.” Odds are your horse went on a little water bender, and the staff just hasn’t been back around to top it off. He’s not dying of dehydration. He just drank a lot.

Horses hurt themselves.
I used to find a scratch or bump and immediately stew over it: Why didn’t anyone tell me about this? Maybe it’s because no one saw it? Your horse could’ve done it in the privacy of his own stall, or while playing in turnout, when it didn’t look like much. Just because you see it now doesn’t mean it was obvious earlier. So maybe don’t go full psycho until you get the scoop.

Sometimes it’s best to skip turnout.
Back then, I was always complaining that my horse didn’t get enough turnout. If he was especially spicy, I’d blame it on that. Now? I’ve seen my ponies wipe out on the flattest, driest paddocks because they were acting like drunk frat boys. Add mud, ice, or sketchy weather, and the risk goes way up. Sometimes, a shorter turnout or zero turnout means your horse stays in one piece. So, ask yourself: do you want a fresh horse… or a broken one?

Horses don’t require a hay buffet.
If your horse maintains a healthy weight, most likely he’s getting enough food. I used to sneak my horse extra flakes to ensure he was “living his best life.” In hindsight, that was inconsiderate and unnecessary. Hay is expensive, and horses love to p*e all over the extra. Also, my horse didn’t need to be a porker to be happy–he needed not to founder.

Horses p**p. A lot.
I remember walking into a stall and thinking: Why is this so gross today? But some days, horses p**p more than others. And if they were kept in due to weather, it’s going to look (and smell) nastier. A bad stall day here or there doesn’t automatically equal poor care.

📎 Continue reading this article at https://www.theplaidhorse.com/2025/05/15/confessions-of-a-reformed-boarder-karen/
📸 Photo © Jamie Sindell

04/17/2026

Now that I finally own my own barn after years of boarding, there’s SO much I didn’t realize as a boarder that I TOTALLY get now, Jamie Sindell writes.

Dear Barn Owners of My Past:

I would sincerely like to apologize for believing it was appropriate to grab hay whenever I wanted. I had to stuff Precious Pony’s face full. Heaven forbid she stands for an hour deprived of hay. What I didn’t realize is that Precious wasn’t wasting away. Hay is freaking expensive. Every. Single. Flake. Is money.

It was obnoxious to snag hay. If I believed you were truly starving Precious, I owed you a conversation. Sorry!

I also extend an apology for not thanking you regularly. I now comprehend what it takes to haul my butt out of my cozy bed on a frigid morning. I feel the pain of wrestling a frozen hose and slinging manure pucks into the wheelbarrow. I would absolutely prefer to skip chores and arrive in my heated vest to ride Precious Pony. You never had the choice to ditch the horses and sip a latte by the fire. Instead, you were out there caring for the herd.

In the summer, scorching fly-filled days when sweat soaked every fiber of your clothes, you ensured the horses stayed comfortable and healthy. I’m genuinely sorry I didn’t express my gratitude enough or bring you a Strawberry Acai on the regular. What I understand now is that one thank you or kind gesture makes a stressful barn day less painful.

I would be remiss if I didn’t say MY BAD for believing everything in the barn should look like an Instagram reel. Days the stalls weren’t done ASAP, water was lowish, or the ring wasn’t dragged with a pretty pattern…. Well, now I recognize crap happens! You have a life beyond Precious Pony, and gasp, maybe even a family to care for too!

Things come up. I’ve had sick kids upchucking into bowls, a spouse stuck at the airport, and busted-frozen pipes cramping my watering style. Crazy days make it extra hard to get everything looking just so. If the horses are regularly getting good care, blips aren’t a crisis. Precious Pony will survive to trot another day!

Turnout! Ugh. I was a brat. When I believed Precious Pony MUST go out to frolic, but the fields were a mucky mess, that wasn’t my call at your barn. In fact, Precious Pony would not only destroy your sopping fields, but she might pull shoes or come in limping.

Currently, my fields are moats. Every time the horses gallop through the mud, I cringe. Turnout all the time isn’t always feasible or a solution.

I am also sorry if I didn’t respect your barn rules. Your barn is your pride and joy (when you can muster up joy after caring for Precious Ponies all day). I know I now savor my crossties clipped, halters hung on a bias, and aisle neatly swept. At the end of a longggg day, these details matter. Forgive me for the days I left my brushes strewn about or my muddy blanket heaped in a mountain on the floor.

Finally, my biggest regret… I wish I lent you a hand more often. On days you were overwhelmed and rushed, I wish I hadn’t zipped out of the barn. An extra set of hands for turnout or holding Precious Pony for the farrier goes a long way. Presently, those extra free minutes mean I can grab my daughter from preschool on time instead of dashing in late, a hay-covered-mom-failure.

Let’s face it. Most people don’t board because it’s a cash cow. They do it because they love horses, even if down the line they become a little jaded. If I disagreed with some of YOUR decisions at YOUR barn, I hope I was respectful and kind. If I wasn’t, shame on me. No matter how strongly I felt about Precious Pony’s care, hushed whispers among disgruntled boarders wasn’t the way to go.

Now, when I take on a boarder at my farm, it is my choice. Though I will tolerate the owner and love Precious Pony like my own, at the end of the day, I own this joint. I want respect. You deserved the same.

Sincerely,

Jamie Sindell (Exhausted Owner of Wish List Farm est. 2022)

📎 Save and share this article at https://www.theplaidhorse.com/2024/04/17/dear-barn-owners-of-my-past/

04/10/2026

Raven AMS is a 2022 mare by Ridley who is ready to be started and taken any direction. She is intelligent and inquisitive and has a very in-your-pocket personality. Raven loves attention and has handled wearing tack like a champ. She is up-to-date on vaccinations and stands for the farrier and vet. She should mature to around 15.3 - 16 hands. With her breathtaking gaits and movement she will turn heads in the ring. She has been handled extensively from day one and will make someone a great partner. Priced fairly in the low ✋ figures. For more information please visit www.allisonmckenziesporthorses.com

04/08/2026

I’m writing this anonymously because, frankly, this isn’t about me. For those who feel they need a wall of credentials before they’ll listen, I’ll save you some time: I’m not a social media influencer, and I’m not a big-name trainer.

I’m a professional dressage rider—and a perfectly average one at that. Over my thirty years as a dressage rider, I’ve produced some great amateur horses, won some things, and coached a satisfying number of riders to victory laps at Regional Championships, US Finals, and the AECs. In the grand ecosystem of our sport, that makes me pretty underwhelming. But it’s exactly this averageness that gives me a front-row seat to the fracturing of our community.

Dressage participation is in decline. While we can blame the economy and “ride it out” (pun intended), there is a deeper, more painful issue: the widening chasm between the “Elite” and the rest of us.

When I started at twelve years old, that gap existed, but it was aspirational. We used to host barn parties to watch months-old VHS tapes of European championships. We dreamed of riding like them. Today, that inspiration has curdled into disdain. The “haves” and the “have-nots” are now so far apart that the top tier of the sport, the Wellington and Southern California circuits, feels like a different planet. What used to be a dream now feels entirely unobtainable, even in our imagination.

We need to talk about the term “grassroots.” I kind of hate it. The USDF, our GMOs, and the USEF use it constantly, but consider the imagery. Roots are underground. They are in the dirt, unseen.

This framing suggests that the majority of our riders exist only to be the “underground factor” that supports the flowers at the top. But we aren’t just the dirt beneath the elite; we are the lifeblood of the sport itself. In a world that increasingly values visibility, we need to stop acting like the heart of the industry should be content to stay buried and uncelebrated.

📎 Continue reading this article at https://www.theplaidhorse.com/2026/04/02/the-dressage-chasm-reclaiming-the-middle-class/
📸 © The Plaid Horse

03/23/2026

We've marked our calendars, you should too! Excited to have so many wonderful judges this year at Waterloo🌟

Questions? Email us at [email protected]

03/17/2026

STOP IT! Stop it! Stop it! For feck’s sake just stop!!!!

03/04/2026

“You’re still a rockstar,”
I whisper to myself

As I turn off the yard lights
Re-fill the haynet I already filled
Get home and
And get into bed at 9pm…

Because 5:12am comes quickly
And someone with four legs and no concept of weekends
Will be waiting.

Once upon a time
Rockstar meant late nights, loud music, chaos.

Now?

Rockstar means:

• remembering which rug is on who
• spotting the tiniest change in their eye
• knowing when to push and when to give them a day off
• choosing sleep over scrolling
• saying no to things that clash with morning feed

It means standing in the dark in your pyjamas
Muck boots on
Hair in a cap....
Whispering, “You’re worth it”
As you lock up.

It’s not glamorous.

It’s not loud.

But it’s devotion.
It’s discipline.
It’s love in its most practical form.

And honestly?

If being in bed by 9pm means I’ve loved my horses well today…

I’ll take rockstar status.

Every. Single. Time. 🐴✨

02/26/2026

Since this is making the rounds 👀
A little eventing dressage refresher never hurts.🎉❤️

02/14/2026

🔥 CONTROVERSIAL OPINION INCOMING… 🔥

When life gives you lemons… apparently some people think you’re supposed to buy a better tree. 🍋

But let’s talk about horses for a second.

Not the flashy £50k mover.
Not the 70% regular.
Not the “made for it” combination everyone whispers about at the side of the arena.

I’m talking about the ordinary ones.
The ones people politely overlook.
The ones you get told are “limited.”

You might not be a world-beating rider.
You might not have the flashiest horse.
But you have a goal. So you graft.

Hours and hours.
Early mornings.
Late nights.
Different coaches.
Dents in your bank account.

Slowly… the scores creep up. 61%. 63%. 65%.
Not headline-worthy.
But progress.

Meanwhile, social media is screaming 70%+ like that’s the only thing that counts and the sidelines?
“Oh… that’s ambitious.”
“Is that horse really capable?”
“Interesting choice of test…”

Here’s the controversial bit:

🚨 Not everyone winning at 70% built it from scratch.
Some did and that’s incredible but some started ten steps ahead.

There is NOTHING more powerful than building something people said you couldn’t.

Then one day… you ride that test.
Not first place.
Not a sash.
But a solid score.
Qualification points.
Proof.

But to you and your village?
You’ve won. 🏆

Because you didn’t just beat other combinations.
You beat doubt.
You beat opinion.
You beat the narrative.

So here’s the takeaway:

✨ Stay true to yourself.
✨ Build your village carefully.
✨ Take constructive criticism, ignore the noise.
✨ And if you and your horse aren’t enjoying it… what’s the point?

Dressage (and life) isn’t about looking the part.
It’s about becoming it.

If you’re out there grinding with your “ordinary” horse trying to do extraordinary things… this is your sign to keep going.
Drop a 🐴 and picture in the comments if you’re building, not buying.
Tag your village.
Share this if you resonate with it and also with someone who needs to hear it today. 💛

Picture: This rider is Lauren Bennett and horse Luna and work their socks off to get where they have 😍😍😍