Kim Roe

Kim Roe grew up riding on the family ranch and competed in Western rail classes, trail horse, reining, working cow, and hunter/jumper. She trained her first horse for money at 12 years old, starting a pony for a neighbor. Kim has been a professional dressage instructor in Washington state for over 30 years, training hundreds of horses and students through the levels. In recent years Kim has become involved in Working Equitation and is a small ‘r’ Working Equitation judge with WE United. Kim is the editor of the Northwest Horse Source Magazine, and also a writer, photographer, and poet. She owns and manages Blue Gate Farm in Deming, Washington where she continues to be passionate about helping horses and riders in many disciplines.

Editor’s Postcard: Finding Peace with My Senior Horse

December 6, 2023 by Kim Roe

Gunner. Photo Courtesy Kim Roe

Treasuring Time with My Gunner I love my old horse, Gunner. And yes, it’s true I love all my horses, but I hold a special tenderness for the old ones, and Gunner holds my heart like few others. He’s been struggling with his health for about a year now. I’d …

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Editor’s Postcard: Nothing Forced is Beautiful

September 25, 2023 by Kim Roe

Photo Courtesy Kim Roe

Help a Horse Feel Good to Make Training Stick The summer I was 12 my father took my sister and me on a six-week long trip around the Western U.S. We hiked slot-canyons and the Grand Canyon, camped under the stars in Zion, and got soaked by thunderstorms in the …

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Editor’s Postcard: Are You Learning?

August 18, 2023 by Kim Roe

Kim’s education in working equitation began at a clinic with Nuno Matos. Photo credit Rose Anne Featherston

Let Your Passion Fuel Your Desire to Become Educated I’ve taken a lot of riding lessons in my life, and I continue to educate myself through lessons, clinics, seminars, and extensive reading. My passion for horses and riding has fueled this desire to learn. I’m currently taking a year-long writers’ …

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Feature: How to Encourage, Help, and Keep Youth Interested in Horses

August 1, 2023July 12, 2023 by Kim Roe

Photo Courtesy Kim Roe

8 Strategies to Keep Riding Fun Last summer I began teaching a pair of young riders—a 12-year-old girl and her 14-year-old brother—who wanted to learn more about the discipline of working equitation. The first time they came for a lesson I asked them about their strengths, weaknesses, and what their …

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Editor’s Postcard: Let’s Slow Down and Enjoy Summer

June 13, 2023June 2, 2023 by Kim Roe

Photo Courtesy Kim Roe

Horses Can Show Us How to Live if We Let Them “I’m gonna soak up the sun, I’m gonna tell everyone to lighten up…” – Sheryl Crow We Northwesterners endure late fall, winter, and early spring waiting for good summer weather and the chance to do all the things. When …

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Editor’s Postcard: The Changing World of Veterinary Care

June 13, 2023April 20, 2023 by Kim Roe

Photo by Aliena Hook

Appreciate Your Equine Veterinarian My beloved veterinarian of 28 years recently informed me she was giving up her equine veterinary practice and transitioning to small animal care. I’m devastated, but not surprised. Vets are dropping like flies in the equine industry, and those who are staying in it are setting …

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Trainer’s Corner: Seeking Unity

June 13, 2023February 24, 2023 by Kim Roe

Photo Courtesy Kim Roe

Step One: Say Hello “We are taught to watch or feel for external changes in the horses we work with but pay little attention to the internal changes. Even when we do look for internal changes in the horse, we often are paying little attention to what is going on …

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Editor’s Postcard: My Farm, My Home

June 13, 2023January 30, 2023 by Kim Roe

Photo Courtesy Kim Roe

Living with Horses is My Happy Place Where is my home?Every man needs a placeWith a little bit of space,A roof and four walls,For when the rain falls. – Forest Sun A friend of mine recently sold her two horses. She’d raised both from colts and worked hard to turn …

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Feature: Surviving Winter

June 13, 2023January 21, 2023 by Kim Roe

Photos by Kim Roe

Strategies for Barn, Farm, and Arena Every winter I create a to-do list of improvements for my farm that will make surviving the season with horses more bearable. I want to ride and train all winter comfortably, keep my horses fit, and spend less time miserably cold and performing drudgery …

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Editor’s Postcard: Will You Go the Distance with Your Senior Horse?

June 13, 2023November 22, 2022 by Kim Roe

Beowulf, May 1990 – June 2022. Owned and loved by Kim Roe. Credit Kim Roe

Give Your Horse a Happy Retirement “The closest thing to being cared for is to care for someone else.” – Carson McCullers May we speak for a moment about responsibility? I don’t want to sound like your mother…well, maybe I do. Here’s the thing—I regularly get phone calls, messages, or emails …

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Thank you for supporting the businesses that support The Northwest Horse Source

Thank you for supporting the businesses that support The Northwest Horse Source

Thank you for supporting the businesses that support The Northwest Horse Source

Thank you for supporting the businesses that support The Northwest Horse Source

Thank you for supporting the businesses that support The Northwest Horse Source

Thank you for supporting the businesses that support The Northwest Horse Source

Thank you for supporting the businesses that support The Northwest Horse Source

Thank you for supporting the businesses that support The Northwest Horse Source

Thank you for supporting the businesses that support The Northwest Horse Source

Thank you for supporting the businesses that support The Northwest Horse Source

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