Commitment, No More Excuses
I decided to write more on the subject of “No Time to Ride” which I discussed in my September editorial. I had a great deal of response to this article, which makes me feel there are many of you who relate to the struggle.
When I was in my twenties, I’d ride anything. I had no fear. After attending horsemanship college in Oregon, I came home with dreams of being a horse trainer. While my plans changed due to needing to earn a living, I still found ways to use what I had learned.
While at horsemanship college we had classroom time but most of the day was spent in the saddle. I’d brought my gelding, Bow, with me to school and we spent tons of time together. While I rode other horses too, I loved my time with Bow. Years later, I got busy with a full-time job, a husband, and other responsibilities but I still managed to sneak in riding time. I was young and full of energy.
After starting The Northwest Horse Source in December of 1995, I worked full time at another job until I got the magazine off the ground. That left me with very little horse time. Once I was able to do the magazine full-time I had more saddle time and wrote about my horse life for the magazine. Finding time to ride was much easier.
In the fall of 2000, I found April. She was my horse of a lifetime. She was just a yearling when I bought her, but the bond was almost instant.
After she was started, April and I attended one of the early AQHA rides in Eastern Washington. She was calm, tackled most any obstacle, and our path was set. We did trail riding, trail courses, reining, and all kinds of different events together. She was versatile, willing and safe.
Now in my senior years I long for that connection again. Buying an older gelding made me think I would be safe, but I soon found out there are no shortcuts to wet saddle pads and time in the saddle. Pulling a horse out and expecting a perfect ride after sitting for months doing nothing but eating is not realistic.
My dream is to one day get The Northwest Horse Source back to being my full-time job again and writing about my crazy adventures until I’m too old to throw the saddle up on his back.
“I choose to make the rest of my life the best of my life.”
Louise Hay (1926-2017) Motivational Speaker / Author
No Time to Ride – Part 1
See this article in the November 2025 Online Digital Edition:
November 2025
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. The Northwest Horse Source began as such a letter in December 1995, with a distribution of 1000 copies for its 12 black and white pages. Now 29 years later, it’s an online magazine and website with a reach of over 10,000 per month and growing! Not bad for the results of one woman’s dream to work with horses!
Today, Karen remains involved with every aspect of the magazine and treasures the community of thousands who share a common passion.
