P E


ublisher’s Welcome


Past, Present and Future


xactly ten years ago, I announced the launch of Warmbloods Today. We were in the midst of a major recession and many people doubted a new magazine could succeed. But, as a serious lifetime equestrian, I was bored with the


magazines available, which offered a rather bland diet of repetitive training advice, show results and news from our governing organizations. I figured there had to be other dedicated riders like me who were looking for something different. As a new publisher/editor, I certainly was (and am) no one special—my writing skills were rusty and I’m not a top


professional rider or breeder with any kind of name recognition. With my admiration of Warmbloods (or any type of sport horse) and my publishing background, I took a gamble and merged the two. And here we are, a decade later, approaching ten years and printing our sixtieth edition. Tat means our next issue, March/April 2019, will officially celebrate the ten-year anniversary of WT. And what a journey it has been. To say I’ve learned a lot about our sport horse industry and these horses we are passionate


about over the last ten years would be an understatement. I leſt behind 25 years of non-equine business experience and my avid horse hobby to delve full-time into equestrianism. But ten years is merely a ‘drop in the bucket’ when it comes to understanding horses and our sports. Recently I met a trainer of Andalusian/PRE horses in our area who put it succinctly and in perspective: “It takes two lifetimes to learn everything there is about horses.” What a humbling statement, and one with which I wholeheartedly agree. It seems impossible to learn everything there is about these animals in one lifetime. So what are we to do? We do our best to study the masters (past), learn from one another (present) and acknowledge it is our responsibility to set goals and design programs to keep the industry flourishing (future). It boggles the mind to imagine the amount of knowledge one can attain when training hundreds of horses. Historical


books written by the old masters, who each trained horses daily for five to seven decades, are something we should take seriously. To fully understand their writings, however, we need to take into consideration the customs, social setting and breeding practices of their times. In JP Giacomini’s column on page 70, he takes a fresh look at many of these classics and delivers a message that has inspired me to read and re-read some of these old favorites. Most of WT’s articles tend to be more focused on the present—what people have recently experienced with their horses,


what breeding trends are surfacing, help with conformation analysis, understanding current health issues and lots of other advice. Examples in this issue include a breeding strategy (page 18), the qualities required for a top para-dressage horse (page 30) and shoeing preferences (page 61), to name a few. But the present is designed to influence the future, since what we learn today will impact our decisions tomorrow concerning the training, breeding, showing, health and welfare of our horses. Summer Stoffel’s “Warmblood Whoas” column on page 81 offers a whole new perspective on the future of our sport, and


how we need to capture the spirit of millennials. I’ll admit that I do not understand how the younger generation thinks and what their priorities really are. As an early millennial herself, Summer has some interesting ideas on how to help the future of our industry. I hope you can take the time to read it. As we close out ten years of Warmbloods Today, I’m pleased that this particular issue offers experiences, advice and ideas


about the past, the present and the future. We know we can’t change the past, but we can certainly learn from it. Te present offers more learning opportunities, which allow us to influence the future. Tat’s where WT fits in. Our mission has always been to help breeders, riders and trainers today who all have a stake in the future of our horses and our sports. Have we fulfilled our mission? I certainly hope so, as my staff and I look forward to moving onward into another decade of publishing. Happy new year,


Liz Cornell editor@warmbloodstoday.com


12 January/February 2019


Our Mission: Warmbloods Today is the leading magazine in North America focused on the entire spectrum of Warmblood breeds. It’s a place where people from all aspects of the sport horse community can come together: amateurs, owners, trainers and breeders. Each issue contains interesting, informative and often heart-warming stories of peoples’ experiences with their horses, along with thought-provoking opinions from various professionals and amateurs. We cover all horses from European descent bred for the sports of jumping, dres- sage, eventing and driving including the Iberian breeds and American Warmbloods.


Ed Haas


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