In April and May the stars of horse activity are perfectly aligned here in Central Kentucky. There are the race meets at Keeneland and Churchill Downs (and Derby!), the Rolex 3-Day Event, a potpourri of horse shows and events here and there, and talk of upcoming weekends of trail riding at Shakertown. (Not to mention the buzz about the upcoming Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in September/October.) Everyone’s out enjoying their horses, and the enthusiasm is palpable.

Even amidst all of this excitement and activity, I’ve heard something concerning about our industry that I haven’t much considered before. I might be late to the horse show, but apparently, according to some industry experts, equine interest among youth has declined. Factors like a struggling economy, the decrease of farmland and the rise of suburbia, or simply popularity trends could be contributing. Those explanations would make sense to me, but I realize there could be many others. In light of these changes, maybe horses have become more of an activity for kids and families and not necessarily a lifestyle.

Programs like 4-H and Pony Club helped fuel my desire to pursue horsemanship as a kid, even when such activities weren’t always popular. (I can remember being picked on pretty constantly in middle school by classmates who would whinny behind my back and call me “horse girl.” Ah, those were the days!) Despite my distinction as the girl who lived in the sticks, and the many days I winced at those jeers, I remember gleeful summer weeks spent at riding camp with a couple hundred other kids that, like me, by the end of the day were caked in dirt and tinged with the fragrance of human and equine sweat, pool chlorine, and stall cleaning