#HISTORY
Weird But True Horse Facts: History
Welcome to our newest column, Weird But True Horse Facts! This week we’ll be digging through a little history.
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Someone Named Kikkuli Was the First Horse Trainer
Or at least the first one who wrote things down.
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The Wild Horses of Namibia
HN film critic Amanda learns some interesting horse history while watching Running Free (1999).
The Only Flower Tough Enough: Pat Smythe
Pat Smythe was touring internationally with the British jumping team by 1948, but it would be almost a decade before she was allowed to compete in the Olympics. (more…)
Secret History: The Fascinating Story of Nautical, a Palomino Show Jumper with a Golden Career
Noelle Maxwell researches the life of a 1950s international show jumping star. (more…)
Track the Pony Express Re-Ride Online, NOW!
The only thing more amazing than the fact that the National Pony Express Association reruns the original route each year is that people did this in the 1860s without horse trailers or smartphones. (more…)
#TBT: The First Rodeo Gals
For this week’s #TBT, we are taking a look back — WAY back — at the first rodeo gals. These women were TOUGH.
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A Hollywood Starlet’s 1928 Ride Across America
Daring bets, tall tales, a drop dead gorgeous cowgirl-turned-starlet, a tragic demise and unsolved mysteries make this story one of the strangest in horse and Hollywood history. (more…)
Memorial Day: Horses of War
“As a person who has enjoyed the company of many horses over the years, I thank heaven that I have never had to take one to war.” ~ General Sir Frank Kitson (more…)
The Hoof Code: Debunked?
A popular urban legend claims the number of hooves in the air on Gettysburg’s equestrian monuments will tell the rider’s fate in battle. In honor of Memorial Day, Kristen Kovatch delves a little deeper. (more…)
A Chronological Index of Kentucky Derby Winners, Part 2: 1890-1909
These are the Derby’s deep cuts–racehorses that were winning the Kentucky Derby over 100 years ago! No video, but we did find pictures. (more…)
Breaking Through Barriers: The First Ladies of Eventing
Two women, one American and one British, helped destroy the cliche that eventing was too tough a sport for the fairer sex: Lana du Pont Wright and Sheila Willcox. (more…)
Horses in History: 10 nostalgic holiday horse photos
Horse Nation historian Lorraine Jackson takes a look at the various roles horses have played in Christmases past. (more…)
Remains of the Neigh: Ancient carriage horses buried standing up
Bulgarian archeologists unearthed 2,500-year-old remains of a Thracian carriage and two horses that appear to have been buried standing up. (more…)
Eventing Nation: History of eventing – the insanity begins
If you think eventers are crazy now, you should have seen ’em 77 years ago. Today we recount the fiasco that was the 1936 Olympic three-day event. (more…)
21 Cavalry Photos You Have to See to Believe
It’s official: People in the cavalry were INSANE–and we’ve got proof. Check out this craziness…. (more…)
HN Investigates: What’s up with those giant horse statues at P.F. Chang’s?
Horse Nation embarks upon a serious research mission (a.k.a. some heavy Googling) to find out. (more…)
Horses in History: The Dr. M. Phyllis Lose story
Horse Nation’s galloping historian Lorraine Jackson is back with this remarkable tale of the first female equine veterinarian in the United States. (more…)
Horses in History: The burdens they bore
This week, historian-in-residence Lorraine Jackson pays tribute to the role horses played in the development of industry in America and beyond. (more…)
Horses in History: A Hungarian Heroine, Part II
Lorraine Jackson’s deeply fascinating three-part series continues as Judith Gyurky and her Clover Horses survive another close call at the hands of war. (more…)
Horses in History: The Caparisoned Horse
Lorraine Jackson is as big a history dweeb as she is a horse-o-phile. So we’ve coerced her into writing a new series for us that combines the two. This week’s topic: horses and funerals. (more…)
Bit of Advice: A new column about bits
Australian bitting expert Anita Marchesani has agreed to help us out with a new series on the subject of bits. This week’s topic: Where did bits come from, anyway? (more…)