I’ve been watching horses for years, first wistfully as a horse-crazy girl from the spectator seating at the Royal Winter Fair, and later making my living watching horses as a horse trainer, riding coach, and judge. As a trainer, I’ve studied horses circling around me on the end of a lunge line, recognizing signs of tension, relaxation, or hints of gait irregularities.

With only nine weeks to prepare, Miranda and Ryan Kent, owners of RMK Trailer Sales, recognized a need for an equine educational exposition and decided to make it happen. Although they had no experience running an event of this kind, they brought together horse-related vendors, clinicians, and associations, sold tickets, and opened the doors to the first Ontario Equine Expo at the Markham Fairgrounds in March 2025. By focusing on educational clinics that appealed to a wide range of equestrian enthusiasts, they created a learning environment for guests while discovering what worked and what did not.

Where Should You Start? By Jec A. Ballou. When spring finally arrives, the sunny riding season ahead can greet riders with both excitement and anxiety. Where do I start, you might wonder as you calculate how unfit your horse has become from a winter of being off work. How long will it take to ease him back to fitness? What sorts of exercises and timelines should I use? In this article, I’ll answer these questions plus offer a simple schedule in addition to some rules you never want to break.

After many years as a dressage instructor and trainer, I received a phone call requesting help for an unlikely candidate — an Icelandic mare whose natural gait had disappeared, replaced by a shuffling amble-like movement. Little did I realize how many other gaited horses — from Foxtrotters to Tennessee Walkers — would soon follow.