Featured Columns

Certified Sport Consultant, Kirsten Farris, has written on numerous topics for GoHorseShow.com.  With the added stress of the Congress, APHA and AQHA World Shows, the relationship between Trainer and Client will most likely be tested. Farris believes that the relationship between riders and trainers is similar to a marriage.  Hear each side of the story from a fictitious Client and Trainer and then from the "Marriage" Counselor.

Last November, I had the opportunity to show my horse, Lyles Al Lie, at the World Show in Amateur Hunter Under Saddle. If you are short on time, or don’t dwell on the past, I can quickly summarize it for you--I choked in the finals. After the finals in 2010, I vowed to myself, my family that I would learn from that experience.

After their final Youth World, Dakota Diamond Griffith and the class of 2011 are at a major crossroads in their lives. Dakota talked to Brooke Ingstad, Danielle Long, Nick Murphy, Theresa Moran, Christopher Luba, Katie Ralph and Lindsey McMullen, wanting to know what this class of 2011 has in store for their next chapter. They filled her in on how they're dealing with moving on and what they have on the horizon.

In the final segment of our Winning Strategy series, Team SmarPak rider, Jason Martin of Highpoint Performance Horses, discusses some tips of how to improve your western riding at the major shows. Martin has won the World and Congress over 30 times in this class alone and is largely considered to be the master showman of western riding. He has shown two of the greatest western riders of all time--Harley D Zip and Vital Signs Are Good.

Exclusive to GoHorseShow.com, GoSmart with Charlie and Jason gives our readers access to Charlie Cole and Jason Martin and the secrets to their success like never before. In this installment, Charlie takes us on his recent trip with Jason to Italy where they put on a very successful clinic and traveled through Italy in search of great food and shopping.

To honor Mother's Day weekend, I thought this was a great feel good story to share with all my GoHorseShow.com friends. My position at GHS has afforded me many great opportunities, including memorable celebrity interviews. With the finals of American Idol approaching, I thought it would be a great time to feature one of the Idol contestant who may not have finished first, but who sure had me at “Hello."

May 3, 2011 marked the third anniversary of the death of arguably one of the greatest horsemen our industry has ever known, the great Jerry Wells. GoHorseShow.com wanted to take the opportunity to look back at a story we ran two years ago where Troy Compton sat down with Jerry's widow, Betty Wells, in one of our all-time favorite stories we have ever had the honor of running.

GoHorseShow.com in partnership with SmartPak are pleased to introduce a new column, GoSmart with Charlie and Jason. Team SmartPak riders, Charlie Cole and Jason Martin have trained over 100 World Champions and 200 Congress Champions. GoSmart with Charlie and Jason will give you access to the secrets to their success like never before.

Something about Harleys and horses just seems to fit. With many of the major trainers and owners enjoying a Harley as their “second ride”, you have to admit that the whole Harley raffle thing is soooo cool. Thanks to our GoHorseShow.com friends and advertisers, Jim and Julie Brown, (owners of Finks Harley-Davidson in Zanesville, Ohio), the whole concept of the raffle has become a reality!

When my parents first explored the idea of “home schooling” for me 10+ years ago, my mother took a lot of flak for the idea – mostly from my Dad! It stirred a family debate that created a huge crisis at the time. For any of you who know how “passionate” my parents are when they get something in their brains, magnify that times 1000 and that is what is was like in our home as the homeschooling debate brewed for nearly a year.

If I had a dollar for every time a client asked me how they could get their lost confidence back, I would be sitting on a beach in Tahiti instead of writing this article. Most people seem to think that confidence is all or none; you have it or you don’t. Once you understand what confidence really is, you can create it any time you want, which beats trying to find something that was not really lost in the first place.

Reporting to you directly from the Bob Thomas Equestrian Center in Tampa, Florida, I’d like to share a little preview of last minute gifts for your special “someone” from my amazing sponsor, “All That” Show Clothing. Owner, Tammy Benes is always raising the bar, and this holiday season she is proud to feature several “exclusive vendors” with an international flair!

When my Dad, Sid Griffith, got the call from Alex Ross that he was being invited to judge the AQHA World Show this year, I knew immediately that it would rank as one of the highlights in his professional career. Although my Dad is a private person behind the scenes, I know it meant a lot to him to be asked to judge his first AQHA World Show.

I had the incredible opportunity to show my horse, Lyles Al Lie, at the AQHA World Championship Show in Amateur Hunter Under Saddle. The one and only time I showed in Oklahoma City at the World Show was in 1993, when Beanie Babies were launched and the cost of a gallon of gas was $1.16. Almost 20 years later, the one thing that hasn’t changed is the feeling that the World Show is a big deal, and everybody wants to have a great ride and do well.

There are many variables in determining a hottie, but it’s not an exact science. Qualities our readers were seeking included success in and out of the horse show arena, personality, charm, wit, attention to detail, swagger, fitness, work ethic, and even sexy voices.