Deb Harrison is taking the 5,000 Novice Horse Non Pro by storm this year. Currently sitting second in the NCHA World Standings with $17,628 won in 26 shows on her home-grown mare, Sophisticated Rey. Harrison, a successful and recognized veterinarian that specializes in equine reproduction, is finishing out the year in Arizona before she makes the final leg of the trip to Fort Worth, Texas. Western Twist Media sits down with fellow Canadian, Harrison, about the ups-and-downs o

With the NCHA World Finals on the horizon, Madison Melasky of Groesbeck, Texas, is sitting pretty in the 15,000 Amateur standings. As we go to press, with thirty shows under her belt and $6,701 won, she has found herself comfortably sitting at third out of the top fifteen. Third is a familiar placing for Melasky who placed in the top three in the Senior Youth this year, finishing the year with 109 youth points on two horses DR Cuzin and Smarty's Star. We sat down with Melasky

Why cutting? It’s a question that’s been on my mind lately. Lord knows I’ve had the time to ponder it as i’ve gone down the road this year. I’ve walked to the herd more times in the past four months than I ever have in my life, and as it goes, after the dust settles on this year, it may be awhile until I walk to the herd again. So, why cutting? I guess we could start at the starry-eyed scrawny kid who loved horses for no explainable reason, except… she just did. Unlike s

As the race heats up for the NCHA World Finals, it is not uncommon to scan the lists of top 15 riders across all weekend classes and determine that a large majority are coming from one barn, Mike Wood Performance Horses in Scottsdale, Arizona. The barn churns out a record amount of world finalists every year, and for the last three consecutive years, the 2,000 Limit Rider World Champion has come from their barn. This year, it seems that Mary Penner is going to be able to cont

On the surface, Horsethief Supply Co. is handcrafted soaps and candles with to-die-for scents and attention grabbing West-themed names. Recently, a burgeoning apparel line featuring cute prints and catchy slogans is perfectly rounding out the brands holistic approach to the western lifestyle. Yet, there’s a whole lot of sweat, soul and inspiration behind the company that proudly proclaims “Live. Love. Get Dirty. Wash. Repeat.” Western Twist Media spoke with founder, Natalie M

Krystal Meade was the Northern Alberta Reined Cow Horse Club's 2016 Green As Grass Rein-Box Reserve Champion with her horse, Herc. Photo Credit: Natalie Jackman/Have-Dog-Will-Travel Photography ------------------------------- When I dreamt up the “Influencers” series, I was thinking about people, horses and organizations that positively impact the horse industry. As many of you know, I am a huge supporter of beginner and novice competitors and I’m always on the lookout for

Just riding a unicorn, thinking about how I'd probably sell my soul to the devil to do this everyday. Photo Credit: Callaghan Creative Co. Cutting. It sucks. Like, really sucks. I know, you are probably thinking the cows, the ridiculously expensive horses, the fact you need a trainer, the hauling, the cost... Nope. none of that. Not this time around anyways... *refer to all the old Beginner's post if you want to hear me whine about other reasons why cutting sucks* It's th

I could tell you a Cinderella story, the trainers kid on her beloved aged event horse wins one of the biggest aged events in Canada, The Calgary Futurity Non Pro Classic. Yet I think it’s the struggle that makes the Cinderella stories all that more magical in the end, wouldn’t you agree? Emma Reinhardt and Miss Smoke Is Smooth had a year of ups and downs, and through the process learned what it means to become a team, stepping up to the plate, and what it takes to be a champi

If you are a female, and you've entered a show pen before, this post will probably relate to you. I don't care if you barrel race, ride reiners, show cow horse, are on a drill team, you mounted shoot, or you show breed specific - ladies, let's get together and agree on one thing, sometimes it's tough to be a girl in the show pen, and there are many things that we go through as female equestrians that our male counterparts will never have to deal with. Some of them, can be dow

Tao is a Chinese word signifying 'way', 'path', or 'route', or sometimes more loosely, 'doctrine' or 'principle'. Within the context of traditional Chinese philosophy and religion, the Tao is the intuitive knowing of "life" that cannot be grasped full-heartedly as just a concept but is known nonetheless through actual living experience of one's everyday being. So what does an ancient Chinese philosophy have to do with cleaning the stalls of horses? After many hours spent tryi

If you haven’t heard the name “Dufurrena” before, after the astounding year the family has had, I bet you’ve heard it now. The Dufurrena family has been successfully breeding, raising, training and showing cutting horses for years. The family is helmed by NCHA Trainer Ed Dufurrena, a million dollar trainer, his wife Shona, and their two children, Brandon and Rieta. For the family, it’s all about the horses, and the success they have achieved can be attributed to a strong fami

Jennifer Webster, after securing her championship at the Canadian Supreme, with family in tow. Photo Credit: Barb Glazer In late November I opened up my Facebook feed to see Western Horse Review had shared a blog post entitled, “Reflections of the Ride.” I eagerly opened up the piece and dove in, WHR is one of my most favourite horse publications, and the fact it centres in the West, and in Canada, makes it even better. Written by then Editor-in-Chief Ingrid Schulz, it was a

Alexis and Meeko (Ima Little Ichi) at the World Finals #Goals pretty much sums up my general feelings for Alexis Stephas. Maybe throw in a little #WomanCrush too, because heck, why not? The 23 year old Tennessee native is a force to be reckoned with in the cutting pen, in both the Weekend and Aged Event shows. Her lifetime earnings are currently sitting at over $500,000, and she has the accolades to show why. In 2011 she won the coveted NCHA Senior Youth title, and from that

Marla Gonnet grew up on a mixed far outside of Hanley, Saskatchewan, where her family grain farmed and raised purebred Maine Anjou cattle. She was active in 4-H beef and light horse until she graduated from High School, and always loved animals, but wasn’t passionate about horses in her younger years. Her true passion for horses came when she started working with now husband, Dustin Gonnet, eleven years ago. She witnessed the passion he had for horses, and the response that t