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3 weeks ago | 
useventing.com | Helen Townes
This article originally appeared on Sidelinesmagazine.com.
The equestrian story of four-star eventer Alexa Ehlers Thompson starts with a little hand-me-down Shetland pony named Panda, brought home in the back of her dad’s pickup truck. Panda was intended for her 10-year-old older sister, Kelsey, but Alexa was smitten and had other ideas.
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2 months ago | 
useventing.com | Helen Townes
Apr 14, 2025 Dedication, Talent, and Two Special Mounts Lead Texas IEL Rider Mia Holstien to Eventing Success Based on the steady and successful trajectory of Texas-based junior rider Mia Holstien through the lower levels of eventing, you might never guess she almost gave it up completely. Mia, now 15, started riding at age 9 and tried hunters first. After trying her hand at eventing, she found she “loved the adrenaline rush.” The road to success was a bit bumpy, however. Her first...
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2 months ago | 
useventing.com | Helen Townes
Apr 13, 2025 Amber Birtcil: The Power of Yes This article originally appeared on Sidelinesmagazine.com.
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Feb 7, 2025 | 
useventing.com | Helen Townes
Feb 07, 2025 Maddy Temkin: Bringing Young Horses Along, One Talent at a Time This article originally appeared on sidelinesmagazine.com.
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Feb 6, 2025 | 
sidelinesmagazine.com | Helen Townes |Michelle Greene
By Helen TownesPortraits by Sara FarrellThe equestrian story of four-star eventer Alexa Ehlers Thompson starts with a little hand-me-down Shetland pony named Panda, brought home in the back of her dad’s pickup truck. Panda was intended for her 10-year-old older sister, Kelsey, but Alexa was smitten and had other ideas. “I was the classic younger child wanting to do everything my sister did, so I’d sneak out in the field, try to put a halter on Panda, and get stepped on,” Alexa laughed.
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Jan 16, 2025 | 
noellefloyd.com | Helen Townes
As equestrians, we usually think that our time spent riding creates most of our learning and progress. After all, our goals are centered on improving equitation, making adjustments that resonate with our horse(s), and becoming experts in our chosen discipline. Naturally those goals are met in the saddle, with many miles in an arena or a show ring. But there are times when life intervenes. You live in Nebraska and the temperature plunges to 10 degrees below zero.
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Nov 19, 2024 | 
sidelinesmagazine.com | Helen Townes |Michelle Green
By Helen TownesPortraits by Kacy BrownShawn and Samantha Mack found themselves crossing paths many times over the years, at all the big hunter-jumper shows in the Northeast and Florida. It just took them until 2022 to really find each other. Shawn, 48, is a successful Grand Prix rider and trainer whose business, Sandstone International, is based out of Long Island, New York, and Ocala, Florida.
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Nov 18, 2024 | 
sidelinesmagazine.com | Helen Townes |Michelle Green
By Helen TownesPortraits by Sara FarrellFor some, riding is a casual hobby, taken up in childhood and lasting a few years before fading as the demands of “real life” take over. For others, it’s an all-consuming way of life, worth all the tremendous expense and pressure. Eventer Maddy Temkin is wholeheartedly in the second category. Now 24 years old, Maddy first “rode” a horse before she was born.
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Nov 14, 2024 | 
chronofhorse.com | Camilla Mortensen |Helen Townes |Hannah Sherk |Melissa Wright
We’ve all seen gasp-inducing cross-country rides. Maybe it’s because someone was flying around at a reckless speed, repeatedly finding poor distances, or maybe it’s because they were arriving at fences so slowly their horse was struggling to get to the other side. In some cases, those riders appear fine on paper. They don’t have cross-country stops littering their record, or tons of rails in show jumping, and maybe they even keep earning the necessary qualifications to move up the levels.
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Nov 12, 2024 | 
chronofhorse.com | Helen Townes |Christina Keim |Sarah K. Susa |Kimberly Loushin
Last year, Molly Duda and her quirky Oldenburg gelding Disco Traveler (Donatelli—Cadence) shot up the levels from training to CCI3*-L in less than 12 months, earning a slew of accolades on the way.
