Making horse sport, or any sport, safer for LGBTQIA people requires global thinking, such as using inclusive language and statements, holding regular Pride events, and cracking down on slurs and discrimination. Such work is particularly important to make sure children and young people feel welcome within the horse world so they can reap the benefits of participating in sports. These were among the conclusions reached during a June 30 panel discussion hosted by the U.S. Equestrian Federation tha

Pride Month feels like a lot more work this year than it usually does. As a queer, trans equestrian (my pronouns are they/them), I’m delighted to see more and more equestrian brands posting Pride-related content this month—especially when they’re donating a portion of proceeds to LGBTQIA organizations. The comments sections, though. They make galloping down to a Weldon’s wall seem easy. Here’s the thing about being a queer person in the horse world: A lot of non-queer people will tell you: •

Ever since my very first Pride event many years ago (in NYC, because go big or go home, right?) I have lived to witness the special vibrance of the queer community every June. Drag shows, artists, performers, musicians, rainbows everywhere—it’s like a month-long Christmas for me. Obviously, Prides went virtual this year if they happened at all, because this whole global pandemic thing means that crowding hundreds or thousands of people into a few city blocks or hosting a dance party just isn’t

JESS CLAWSON, DIRECTOR OF PODCASTING FOR THE PLAID HORSE, SHARES LIFE LESSONS WITH THE HERD. Hello, Zebras! I’m Jess. I’m the director of podcasting for The Plaid Horse, an event rider, and a very gay nerd. I’ve come a long way in my journey (I’m 37), and even thinking about where to start with this is hard. I’ve been through eating disorders; abusive relationships; struggles with PTSD, depression, and anxiety; coming out as queer. Instead of going into the dreary details of all of it, I

Throughout my career with horses, I’ve known dozens of farriers with bold personalities. They’ve spanned the range from homophobes that I’ve ceased to involve with my horses’ care, to the most wonderful human beings I’ve ever met. Today, I’m sharing with you a conversation I had with a farrier who definitely falls in the latter camp, Tatum Standley. He is not only a fun person and great farrier, but he’s part of the queer equestrian community. I’ll let Tatum tell you about his identity in

Are you out amongst your friends at the barn or in your pony club or at home? Do you wish you were? How do you tell your story? When we think of queer stories, it’s easy to think of movies like Brokeback Mountain or Boys Don’t Cry, where being queer is hard and being out is terrifying, perhaps even deadly. Even in the cupcake of a film Love, Simon, coming out was a horrifying prospect to an upperclass boy with a supportive family. But what does it mean to be “out,” and how can we talk about it

AN INTERVIEW WITH JESS CLAWSON BY BLOG EDITOR LAUREN MAULDIN Even on the best days, horse shows can be difficult places. There’s the weather, the nerves, the chance your horse may throw a shoe right before his jumping round. Horse shows are not easy to navigate, and that can be especially true for riders who identify as LGBTQ people. Merriam Webster defines safe space as: “a place intended to be free of bias, conflict, criticism, or potentially threatening actions, ideas, or conversations.” In

The horse world, at least the English side of it, seems to have a lot more openly gay men involved than in other professional sports. While it isn’t clear that the same can be said for other people in the LGBTQ community (we’re here, but we don’t always have as much visibility), this is part of what makes equestrian sports special. But what is it about the horse show world that seems to draw in more wonderfully openly gay men than other professional sports? Though no one story can give us all t

June means a lot of things in the horse world: Devon, Upperville, the end of the school year, the beginning of summer. For a lot of us, it also means the start of Pride Month, when LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer) celebrate how great our community is. It’s a month sprinkled with Pride events involving parades, fairs, dance parties, and drag shows. The spirit of Pride is joyful and often irreverent as we spend the month focusing on our creativity and resilience. Pride has a coo

Pride month might be behind us, but if you’re anything like me you want to express your pride all year round. Who doesn’t love rainbows? I took to the internet to track down the cutest rainbow equestrian gear I could find. Boy O Boy Bridleworks has a brand new Proud belt. I have it, I love it, I don’t know how I lived without it. It’s my go-to belt for schooling, clinics, and showing. Their belts are completely customizable, so you can have it made however you’d like. C4 makes two rainbow belt

There are as many ways to be queer as there are queer people in the world. When it comes to degrees of how out and proud to be, my style is to dial it up to 11. Rainbows everywhere! The new eight stripe flag is so fetch. I put them on saddle pads, in my trailer windows, and even tattooed on my body. I also have my favorite Audre Lorde quote, “Your silence will not protect you,” tattooed on my arm—so it’s pretty clear where I stand on being out. When my friend Susan Benson from Somerset Equestri

This Pride Month project of having queer equestrian conversations has been a special experience, and one that I hope readers are carrying on in their own communities too. One person I’ve been lucky to become acquainted with in this process is Kaitlyn Boggio, a 25 year old professional. She is currently the assistant trainer at Rendez-Vous Farm in Ashford, Connecticut. They specialize in hunter/jumpers and her responsibilities primarily involve showing client and sale horses. Boggio identifies as