About Us

The Northwest Horse Source is an independently owned and operated print and online magazine for horse owners and enthusiasts of all breeds and disciplines in the Pacific Northwest. Our contemporary editorial columns are predominantly written by experts in the region, covering the care, training, keeping and enjoyment of horses, with an eye to the specific concerns in our region. In print since 1995, we distribute over 22,500 magazines monthly to 11 states in the U.S. and to British Columbia, Canada.

Want to know more about the history of The Northwest Horse Source? Read our 10th anniversary story.

American Horse Publications, the premier association for the equine publishing industry, has recognized NWHS for General Excellence at their annual awards program two years in a row.

Meet the NWHS Office Staff:

Karen Pickering, Owner/Publisher Karen's lifelong love of horses began at a very early age when she wore out a couple of rocking horses before convincing her parents to get her the real thing. That ill-tempered bay gelding, Brandy, was a challenge for the young horsewoman, but it drove her ambition to become a horse trainer. After attending Canyonview Equestrian College's Horsemanship Program, Karen realized she needed work that was a little more lucrative than training, so she took a job with Customs Brokerage to pay the bills. There, she discovered an affinity for computers and a talent for creating informative, entertaining newsletters. Northwest Horse Source began as such a letter in December 1995, with a distribution of 1000 copies for its 12 black and white pages. Since then, it has grown into a 64+ page, gloss-covered magazine with a distribution of 23,000+. Not bad for the results of one woman's dream to work with horses!

Today, Karen remains involved with every aspect of the magazine. Somewhere in the wee hours of the early mornings and late evenings, she still finds time to care for April, her gorgeous and sweet-tempered Quarter Horse.

Mark Pickering, Accounting, Distribution Management, and I/T Mark is the hard-working behind-the-scenes man who makes NWHS run smoothly. Though not a horse person himself, he shares custody of two American Quarter Horses by virtue of being married to their owner. He enjoys figuring out how things work, and patches all kinds of things together around the office when they fall apart. Whenever a staff member can't make the technology work, Mark is the one they call on to get the systems up and running again. He may not be able to offer horse advice, but ask him a question about movies and you'll receive an education. Even if it's a horse movie.

Heather Chatterjee, Graphic Design: Advertising Design and Overall Magazine Layout Heather is originally from Texas, but her family moved to Oklahoma when she was 11. She attended college at Evangel University in Springfield, MO, where she majored in Graphic Design. Horse-crazy from a young age, she would jump at any opportunity to ride a friend's horse. She owns just about every book in the "Saddle Club" series. She never got a horse of her own, but managed to interact with horses by volunteering as a groom and side-walker with a therapeutic riding organization in Lawton, OK, called "Giddy Up 'N Go." She loved interacting with both the kids and the horses!

Randy Bourland, Graphic Design: Editorial Layout and Cover Design