RECREATION & LIFESTYLE

Recreation & Lifestyle

Welcome to Recreation & Lifestyle, which includes leisure riding and other aspects of the equestrian lifestyle for you and your horse loving friends and family.

Looking for the perfect present? See the Gifts & Jewelry section. Redecorating? Find a Painting, Photograph or Sculpture in the Artwork section. Need to check out a movie or crawl up with a good book or magazine? See our Entertainment section where you will find and Books, Movies, Games, and Magazines. And don't forget about Fine Art in some specialty Museums that might surprise you.

Looking for love or a trail buddy? Riding Partners is the spot to seek other riders who share your passion. Find a place to ride with that special person in our Trail Riding section and if you need more time away, take a look at Vacations. Want to know about the next horse show or special event? Don’t miss it! Dates and locations are included in the Calendar of Events for Recreation & Lifestyle.

Do we need to add more? Please use the useful feedback link and let us know!

April Anderson, Head Instigator of production company Art As Air, shares the story of how the documentary Tails of Iceland, featuring Icelandic horses and their connection with the Icelandic people, came to be. The film premiered in Reykjavík in March 2019 and will be screened at the EQUUS Film Festival in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, USA, in December.

We began our Tails of Iceland journey of creation with the purpose of exploring and filming the differing and varied special relationships between the Icelandic people and their unusual horses. It is about the culture and the connection, and there have been thousands of stories in the hundreds of years since these horses were brought to this fiercely unforgiving and magnificent island. Our goal was to capture some of the tales and a lot of the history, but more importantly, to illustrate how deep this unique kinship goes.

Iceland. To the rest of the world, just speaking the name of this tiny country brings to mind images of fierce Vikings, harsh climate, erupting volcanos and lots of…ice. Kind of inaccurate, as much if it is covered with a beautiful brilliant green moss for a good part of the year.

Adding the romance and mystery of Nordic and Celtic mythology and lore to this delightful travel stew, you’ve got the recipe for the adventure destination of dreams, complete with a different lunar landscape every few miles.

Read more: The Tale of Tails of Iceland

'She's a bit feisty, and I'm a bit feisty,' said Danielle Goldstein about the similarities between herself and her horse, Lizziemary. (Photo: Courtesy Eric Sultan)

by Benyamin Cohen

ON June 1st, Danielle Goldstein had the kind of picture-perfect wedding you'd find in bridal magazines. It took place on a private yacht off the coast of Italy. She was dressed in a haute couture wedding gown by designer Roberto Cavalli and surrounded by dozens of friends and family. So when we caught up with her today, less than two weeks later, you'd think she'd be recovering from her honeymoon, opening presents or looking through her wedding album. Instead, she has spent just about every moment since the nuptials training eight hours per day for what she hopes will be a career-defining moment. In two weeks, Goldstein will be competing to qualify for the Olympics.

Girl Forward: A Tale of One Woman’s Unlikely Adventure in Mongolia

by Heather Wallace

Sitting on the unique mix of grass, rock, and sand, I look out in the distance. I’ve traveled the world but nothing before could compare to the view before me. As I sift my fingers through the ground, it strikes me that it likely holds secrets of nomads and travelers before me. Did they feel the same thing? Were they struck by how small they felt, looking 50 kilometers or so into the horizon as the sun began its lazy descent? Did they feel alone? Or, like me, did they instead connect with themselves and imagine the possibilities?

Perhaps some travelers would be bored, staring at seemingly nothing as they rode the sturdy Mongolian horses for an entire day without spotting another human being. I look to the south while sitting outside the door of my ger, a large round tent commonly used as a residence by the nomads, at basecamp. The doors always face south or southeast.

There, the herders check the traditional horse line and begin to loosen the horses from the line for the evening, giving them freedom to wander and graze in the night. Some wear hobbles and others are haltered two-by-two to prevent them from going too far from camp. If there is water nearby the horses are content to stay close, and I look forward to hearing them outside the ger while I sleep. I make a note to wear my headlamp if I need the bathroom so I don’t accidentally run into one and scare the both of us.

This moment of quiet contemplation gives me a much-needed reprieve and chance to acknowledge how lucky I am to be an unlikely adventurer here in the innermost regions of Mongolia. My family and friends were shocked when I announced that I would be traveling to Asia, camping, and working with an endurance horse race. After all, those things are completely outside my comfort zone. Yet here I am and loving every moment.

Emily Shields on how she went back to her first true love - in a big way - to get over a failed relationship.

Heartbreak causes rational people to react in strange ways. Some press on like nothing happened, stoic and brave. Some curl up in a ball and cry while watching movies for days on end. I run away.

Not in the literal sense, although that works for some. Just hours after I had my heart broken, I put my two 4-year-olds in the car and drove over ten hours to see the Grand Canyon for the first time. I desperately wanted to experience something greater and vastly more permanent than one relationship, and start building up enough new memories that I could put distance between me and my failed relationship. The Grand Canyon was a dazzling and peaceful experience, but I’m a horseperson by trade and visiting racetracks, with their sprawling grounds and mammoth grandstands, is what really appeals.

That is how I came to visit 27 tracks in 2018.

Fylicia Barr and Galloway Sunrise. Photo by Amy Flemming-Waters Photography.

by Shelby Allen

Galloway Sunrise has been a horse of many firsts for 24-year-old Fylicia Barr. She was the first person to sit on “Sunny” after she and her mother found the mare listed on Craiglist for $500. Since then, they’ve tackled it all together: from their first Preliminary to their first International win, which they accomplished today in the CCI4*-L at Jersey Fresh.

Only one rail came down in an otherwise masterful ride to give Fylicia and Shannon Barr’s 10-year-old American Warmblood a final score of 38.2.

Carly Dahlkemper, 12, left, thanks Denise Olczak, executive director of Mystic Mountain Training Center, for helping grant her wish of horse Emmy during a Make-A-Wish Greater Pennsylvania and West Virginia event inside the Ambassador Center ballroom in Summit Township on Wednesday. Dahlkemper, who also received riding gear, has been riding Emmy at the center and has created a bond with the animal. Diagnosed with a respiratory and digestive disorder, she said she was surprised to learn that her wish had been granted. [GREG WOHLFORD/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

by David Bruce

Truth be told, Carly Dahlkemper knew she was getting a horse as her Make-A-Wish gift.

What the 12-year-old Mill Village girl didn't realize was that Emmy, her favorite horse in the entire world, was going to be led through the doors of the Ambassador Center ballroom Wednesday morning and be given to her.

"I have been riding Emmy all winter," Dahlkemper said. "She's very sweet. Emmy nudges me and loves me, and I love her back."

Bringing an American Bashkir Curly Horse into one of Erie County's most glamorous rooms culminated a nearly two-year wish fulfillment for Make-A-Wish's Greater Pennsylvania and West Virginia chapter.

Dahlkemper, who suffers from a respiratory and digestive disorder, first fell in love with horse riding as a preschooler attending Waterford Days each summer.

"Carly would ride the ponies so many times at Waterford Days that the vendor would tell us that she should get a free buggy ride," said Dahlkemper's mother, Lori Landfried.

"Riding makes me feel free from my medical condition," Dahlkemper said.

by CL Cimino

Here are photo galleries with highlights from an exciting week in Kentucky attending an exciting array of equestrian events.

Land Rover Three-Day Event - Lexington, KY April 2019 (click any image to view larger)

Spending time at the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event at the Kentucky Horse Park should be on everyone’s bucket list. Arguably the one of the most spectacular shows in the world, we were thrilled to see the fabulous riders with their brave horses compete in Dressage, Show Jumping, and the daunting Cross Country course.

by CL Cimino

We just spent an exciting week in Kentucky at a spectacular assortment of equestrian events! Here are some photos galleries with the highlights of our trip.

Keeneland - Lexington, KY April 2019 (click any image to view larger)

Catching closing day at Keeneland Racecourse was amazing, meeting with famous racehorse painter Robert Clark and being invited to sit in racetrack owner Frank Stronach’s box provided us with a beautiful view of this historic facility.

Ringmaster Andy posing for the camera before tossing out the Desert Flight t-shirts.

Uniondale, NY, April 29, 2019 -- As their cheers filled the air and they pumped their fists, it was clear the eight women who had won the Desert Flight VIP Experience at the world class Longines Masters of New York on Saturday night, April 27, were thrilled. The team behind the Desert Flight movie had done it again and won the hearts and souls of not only that night’s winners but those who had a chance to view the trailer on the jumbotron.

The plan was simple. Each afternoon and evening of this four-day show, April 25-28, after showing the trailer the ringmaster would come out and announce to the audience that he was about to make one group extra happy.

It began with a Desert Flight t-shirt tossed into the stands but in one of those was wrapped a unique VIP Experience. The person or person(s) who caught the winning t-shirt would go on a fun afternoon or evening journey. Combined with that VIP wristband was dinner in the lounge, souvenirs and photo ops at some memorable sites around the Nassau Coliseum, before being escorted to the VIP seating area to get the perfect view of this powerful sport.

For the Saturday evening toss, the winning t-shirt was the last to explode into the stands. Suddenly a cheer was heard when a woman caught the final t-shirt and as she and her friends looked inside another screamed. She spied and grabbed the wristband and ran up and down the steps while the group of eight started jumping for joy.

In no time, Desert Flight team leader Stephen Williams, who had come up with the idea, was by their side explaining what they just won and guiding them down the stairs to kick-off their evening.

Second Annual Longines Masters New York, Photo credit: Heather Wallace

by Heather Wallace

The Longines Masters of New York returned for its second annual event at the Nassau Coliseum, April 25-28, 2019 and was broadcast live on www.EEM.TV and on CBS Sports.

Following in the footsteps of Paris and Hong Kong, New York is the third event in the Longines Masters series held worldwide and reputed to be a luxury equestrian event, bringing socialites and families together in one venue on United States soil.

The Masters One 1.45m event on Thursday, April 25th introduced five-star riders to New York, followed by the Masters Two 1.15m- 1.40m speed event. Day Two was all about speed and considered the fastest class in the world on a 1.50m track designed by Frank Rothenberger. The exciting class resulted in Egyptian Nayel Nassar winning the Longines Speed Challenge on Lucifer V.

The highlight of Day Three was the Riders Masters Cup, a unique team-based event pitting five members from the USA against five European riders in a head-to-head battle. Despite strong rides from McLain Ward and Kristen Vanderveen, teammate Laura Chapot’s mount refused a fence in the first round, resulting in the US riders falling behind in points. As a result, the European team won for the third consecutive year much to the disappointment of local fans cheering on their home riders.