A Tribute to the True Horse Person
by Karen Pickering
This issue is for the person that gets out of bed at an unbelievable hour, with a smile, to feed horses and clean stalls. They yearn for the smell of fresh cut hay and the soft touch of a horse’s muzzle. These folks start and end the day with horses, drive pickups, dream about horse trailers and live for the next show, trail ride or equine related event. Most horse people are not independently wealthy and cannot afford a paid staff to do all barn chores. The fact is we would rather do it ourselves, simply for the sheer joy of doing it.
I live for horse events. While I prefer ones where I take my horse, the horse expos are a close second. It’s a chance to be completely immersed in horses and horse people for an entire weekend. It’s a chance to find new products to make our chores easier or riding more enjoyable, in addition to making new friends and building our local horse economy. We don’t realize just how HUGE an impact the horse industry has in our region. We have nearly 250,000 horses in Washington State (http://www.bchw.org/lnt/main/Economic%20Impact.htm). I look forward to seeing you at the Washington State Horse Expo February 19-21 at the Clark County Event Center. For details visit www.wastatehorseexpo.com. Be sure to stop by and see us.
More than clinics, expos and shows, the horse community provides an amazing network of support. Had it not been for Mark’s stroke, I would never have understood its true depth and heart. I have never felt so loved in all my life and look forward to the day when I can pay it forward.
Lastly, I am delighted to have such a beautiful stallion on our cover. Mark and Karen Plumlee of Mission Equine Inc. in Snohomish, WA purchased a dunalino stallion, Command Bux. Read all about him on page 6—and enjoy living the equestrian life!
Quote: “Every single thing that has ever happened in your life is preparing you for a moment that is yet to come.”
~ Author Unknown
Published in February 2016 Issue
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.
