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.

Deb Taber, Managing Editor Deb is one of those crazy people who spends more time in front of a computer than up on a horse...by choice. She has a love of language and reading, and a soft spot for young adult horse novels, the very first kind of novel she read as a child. As a horse person, Deb is mostly a bystander with just a few handfuls of lessons and trail rides under her belt. Still, she has seen the Rocky Mountain National Forest and criss-crossed the Rio Grande on horseback, and enjoys learning more about horse care and riding each month as she edits the articles from NWHS's talented writers. She has found that the lessons of horsemanship are often applicable to other areas in life, including editing a horse magazine: prepare, be patient, and work for clear communication and understanding.

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

Brandon Enyeart, Writing Intern Brandon Enyeart lives in Ferndale, WA and specializes in writing, photography, web design, and social media. His current projects include a monthly webcast, “Throwing Lemons,” which focuses on local music and other entertainment. Brandon started writing articles for The Northwest Horse Source this past summer, which you can find on the Cyber Saddle blog each Thursday. He also maintains two websites: mountainsunphotography.com and foxbayfarm.com. When he isn't working, Brandon enjoys longboarding, hockey, soccer, and writing music.