Horse Illustrated Magazine

Note: This is day nine of my 30-day blogging challenge. What the heck is a 30-day blogging challenge? Read about it here. 

Happy Friday, everyone. I hope you’re all staying relatively warm out there. Here’s what’s been going on in the horse world this week.

• A waste of a perfectly good horse barn. Look, I try not to judge people whose lifestyle and interests are different from mine, but I cannot wrap my brain around the decision to turn what was probably a really nice stable into a house. The house has its own gym, fitness center and pizza kitchen (what?) but none of these things are as good as having horses and you won’t convince me otherwise.
• Happy birthday, Orchid! An Anglo-Arab mare in the UK could be the world’s oldest horse at age 49. Her caretakers say she still enjoys galloping and playing in the field.

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Is this the world’s oldest horse as Orchid celebrates 49th birthday http://t.co/QCAMVrjLeu pic.twitter.com/U6UfSJfTij

— Daily Mirror (@DailyMirror) January 2, 2015

• Wanna be on TV? Horse Master with Julie Goodnight is seeking participants for an upcoming season. Apply here.
• Good news for fans of helmet cams (and you know we are.) The USEF has repealed its prohibition on helmet cams, although individual event organizers can still opt to ban them.
• Sunshine and palm trees. The Washington Post published a photo essay from the Winter Equestrian Festival Wellington, Florida, a mystical land where I bet people can feel their fingers AND toes when they go outside.
• Again, not everyone has to like horses. I don’t get it, but there it is. At least this guy’s essay about his horse-aversion is an entertaining read.
• Man vs. Horse. Was your New Year’s resolution to train for a marathon? How about one where you compete against horses? At 24 miles, it’s a bit shy of a full marathon, but it’s over hilly, cross-country terrain to challenge even seasoned runners. The race is in June, but you can register now. (Sorry, non-runners. Horse registration is already full.)
• Got design skills? The National Collegiate Equestrian Association is hosting a contest to create the program cover and t-shirt design for the organization’s national championships. Deadline is Feb. 15.

That’s it for this week. Bundle up and get riding this weekend! Only 70 days ‘til spring.

Back to The Near Side

Leslie Potter is Sr. Associate Web Editor of HorseChannel.com. Follow her on Twitter: @LeslieInLex.