K&T Farm

10/27/2026

I have been riding long enough now to be embarrassed by something I once believed, which is that there is a place beyond the basics, a country one enters after years of faithful work, where the rules are different and my horse has become something other than what he was in the first month. I thought this because I was told it, and because the movements at the top of the sport do look like a different language, the piaffe, passage and the pirouettes and the long, floating half passes, all of it seemingly far from the plain business of walking a young horse around an arena and asking him to go forward.

But I've watched incredible riders for a very long time, and I have come to think that what they are doing is not something new. It's the first thing, done with such attention that it has become nearly invisible. The horse goes forward because he was asked, once, long ago, to go forward, and the asking has been refined over thousands of repetitions until it has no more weight than a thought. The straightness that makes the changes possible is the same straightness a green horse was first taught to find against the wall. Nothing has been left behind. It's only been deepened.

I find this a consoling idea, though it took me some time to see why. If advanced work were truly a departure, then every year spent on the fundamentals would be a kind of waiting, a long vestibule before the real thing began. But if the basics are the real thing, then there was never any vestibule. Every ride was already inside the house. The first honest halt and the last were made of the same material, and the difference between them is only how much of the rider’s own interuptions have been taken out.

That is what the years actually accomplish, I think. They do not add so much as they subtract. The hands grow quieter. The seat becomes stiller. The aid that once took a whole leg becomes a breath or a thought. I have come to think a very advanced rider is simply someone who has learned to be honest about the basics at a depth most of us never trouble to reach, because the work is unglamorous and no one applauds a good transition from walk to halt.

And yet our horses know. They know the difference between a halt that was merely arrived at and a halt that was prepared, though no spectator could tell them apart. This is one of the quiet mercies of the sport, that the standard is held by someone who cannot be flattered or tricked.

So I no longer think of the upper levels as a summit to be reached. I think of them as the same ground, walked more carefully, by someone who has finally understood that there was never anywhere else to go.

We do not outgrow the first lesson. We are, if we are fortunate, eventually worthy of it.

10/22/2026

😂

10/13/2026

10/12/2026

This is just damn good riding!! Love her!!

09/01/2026

A horse breed that didn't exist as a "breed" until farm tractors put its ancestors out of a job — and within a few decades, it became one of the most dominant sport horses on the planet.

Before World War II, the Netherlands didn't have a Dutch Warmblood. It had two very different working horses. In the south, the Gelderlander was a lighter, elegant carriage horse that could also handle farm work, registered under its own studbook starting in 1925. In the north, farmers relied on the Groningen, a heavier, almost exclusively black horse bred to plow the region's thick, wet clay soil, registered under a separate studbook in 1943. Neither horse was built for sport. Both were built to work.

Then mechanization arrived, and within a generation, tractors made both breeds nearly obsolete. Rather than watch centuries of breeding disappear, Dutch breeders made a deliberate decision: they'd reshape these sturdy farm horses into something new entirely. In 1969, the two separate studbooks merged to form the KWPN, the Royal Warmblood Studbook of the Netherlands, with a clear goal — breed a horse for the emerging world of competitive dressage and show jumping. To get there, they crossed their native Gelderlander and Groningen stock with lighter Thoroughbred and other warmblood bloodlines, deliberately refining bulk and power into athleticism and precision, generation by generation, using strict studbook inspections to keep only the best breeding stock moving forward.

The transformation worked faster than almost anyone could have predicted. By the late 20th century, Dutch Warmbloods were showing up on Olympic teams and world championship podiums, and today the KWPN studbook consistently ranks among the very top studbooks in the world for both dressage and show jumping.

Here's the detail that surprises people: one Dutch Warmblood didn't just win competitions — he rewrote what was thought possible in the sport. In 2009, a black stallion named Totilas, ridden by Edward Gal, became the first horse in history to break the 90% mark in international Grand Prix Freestyle dressage, a threshold many riders had assumed was essentially untouchable. The following year, at the 2010 World Equestrian Games, Gal and Totilas swept all three individual dressage gold medals, a feat no horse-and-rider partnership had ever achieved at that event before.

What makes the Dutch Warmblood's story remarkable isn't ancient bloodlines or centuries of myth — it's the opposite. It's proof that a breed can be built with intention, in living memory, by people who looked at horses bred for plows and carriages and saw something else entirely. A breed created out of necessity when the old jobs disappeared ended up redefining what a modern sport horse could be.

08/02/2026

Monty Roberts changed the lives of millions of horses without raising his voice or his hand.

Known around the world as the original "Horse Whisperer," Roberts spent more than seven decades teaching people that trust, patience, and understanding could achieve far more than fear ever could. His groundbreaking Join-Up method inspired a generation of horse owners and trainers to rethink the way they communicate with their animals.

From helping transform troubled racehorses into champions to earning the admiration and friendship of Queen Elizabeth II, Roberts' influence reached every corner of the equestrian world. His bestselling book *The Man Who Listens to Horses* introduced his philosophy to millions, while his lifelong advocacy for humane training left a lasting mark on horse welfare.

Monty Roberts passed away at his California ranch on August 1, 2026, aged 91.

His legacy isn't measured only by the horses he trained, but by the countless lives he changed through compassion, respect, and a belief that every horse deserves to be understood.

Rest in peace, Monty Roberts. Your lessons will live on wherever horses and people meet.

04/05/2026

In the Gospel of John, the writer is inspired to share details about the burial cloths of Jesus:

“Now the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, ‘They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.’ Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed” (John 20:1–8).

Considering the emphasis put on the burial cloths, it is fascinating to note 10 facts around the world’s most studied artifact, an ancient linen cloth called the “Shroud of Turin,” which bears a detailed and anatomically precise image of a crucified man.

FACT #1

The image on the Shroud is a photographic negative, meaning that when it is photographed, the negative shows a positive image. This is baffling because even skeptics acknowledge that the relic existed centuries before photography was invented.

FACT #2

A photograph of the Shroud produces a three-dimensional image when viewed via a NASA image-analyzing computer, indicating that distance-imaging information was encoded when the image was formed. The photograph of the Shroud is the only known two-dimensional image that displays this amazing property.

FACT #3

A recent study of high-resolution images of the Shroud revealed a phenomenon similar to action photography: superimposed views of one of the hands, a foot, and certain inanimate objects fixed to the co**se indicate that there was movement during the instant in which the image was formed.

FACT #4

The Shroud’s dimensions correspond to the unit of measure used by first-century Jews: it is exactly two cubits wide and eight cubits long. Additionally, though there are traces of cotton found in the Shroud, a by-product of past repairs, there are no traces of wool, a fact consistent with the biblical law that prohibits the mixing of linen and wool (Deut. 22:11).

FACT #5

Blood stains on the Shroud are authentic human male blood, type AB, the rarest blood type, representing less than 4% of the population worldwide. This is significant because a study of 68 ancient skeletons unearthed at Jerusalem from around Jesus’ time showed that more than 50% were type AB. If the Shroud is a medieval forgery as skeptics claim, it was an astute forger who knew to use a common blood type for first-century Jews dwelling in Jerusalem, especially since blood types were not discovered until the 20th century.

FACT #6

The locations of blood stains on the Shroud image correspond to what is known about the Roman practice of crucifixion. While Christian art from the Middle Ages, the era during which skeptics claim the shroud was made, shows nails piercing Jesus’ palms and feet, the blood on the Shroud indicates the nails pierced the wrists and heels, matching the actual Roman practice.

FACT #7

Traces of dirt and limestone on the Shroud match samples taken from tombs in Jerusalem. Similarly, traces of pollen found on the Shroud match flora specific to springtime in Jerusalem, the season and locale of Jesus’ burial.

FACT #8

Human DNA on the Shroud matches people groups from the region between Israel and Turkey, corresponding to the tradition that the Shroud was taken to Edessa in Southern Turkey during the first century. Evidence that the Shroud was in Edessa is a writing by Syrian scholar Evagrius Scholasticus about an image of Christ “not made by hands,” which effected the miraculous defense of the city against a siege by the Byzantines in 544 AD. The Image of Edessa, apparently the Shroud, became the model for all Byzantine and Orthodox icon images of Jesus that followed.

FACT #9

The Shroud matches the biblical account of multiple cloths and a handkerchief found in Jesus’ tomb:

“And [Peter] went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself (John 20:6, 7).

Close examination of the Shroud confirms that a three-inch wide, full-length strip sewn onto the side was part of the original cloth, which was cut off and later sewn back into position. Using life-sized models of the body and shroud, researchers have shown how the separate strip was used to fasten the burial cloth to the body: it was first wrapped around the feet, then the knees, then the torso, and, finally, the head, where it was fastened beneath the chin.

Along with the three-inch strip, there is a separate facecloth, or handkerchief, associated with the Shroud. The handkerchief, known as the Sudarium of Oviedo, has both pre-mortem and post-mortem blood stains that match precisely the stains on the face area of the Shroud. Unlike the Shroud, however, the handkerchief does NOT have an image of the face. The lack of an image corresponds to the biblical account of the handkerchief being “folded and put aside” by those who prepared Jesus’ body for burial (John 19:38–42).

FACT #10

Exhaustive testing of the Shroud image shows no evidence of pigments, dyes, scorching, or any photographic process that would indicate an artistic forgery. What then caused the image? Its unique characteristics, i.e., being present only on the uppermost fibrils of the linen and the lack of distortion in areas where the cloth did not touch the body, suggest a high-energy event. This hypothesis posits that the body wrapped within the cloth emitted an intense, short burst of ultraviolet radiation powerful enough to imprint a high-resolution, 3D-negative image onto the uppermost fibrils without causing the thermal damage or scorching that would normally result from such high energy levels. Since no known natural process can generate such a burst without heat, proponents argue that the phenomenon may be “transphysical,” potentially linked to the resurrection of the individual depicted.

With the above 10 facts in view, it is reasonable to conclude that the Shroud bears the supernaturally imprinted image of the One who:

Healed the sick.

Raised the dead.

Walked on water.

Calmed the storm.

Forgave sinners.

Cast out demons.

Died on a cross.

Rose from the tomb.

Ascended to heaven.

Jesus is alive, and He is coming back soon! When He appears, we shall become like Him (1 John 3:2). The same incomprehensible burst of light that emitted from His beaten and bloodied co**se to generate the image on the Shroud will emit from those who know Him as Lord: “In a flash,” they will be transformed and caught up into the clouds (1 Cor. 15:52).

To know Jesus, simply call on His name. Ask Him to be your Savior and believe that He is the Son of God who died for your sins and was raised from the dead (Rom. 10:9–13).

Do it today. Time is running out.
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NOTES:

1. Shroud website: http://www.shroud.com/

2. Forensic analysis of the Shroud: https://whocanhebe.com/Forensic_Evidence.html

3. Video discussing the action-photography effect: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgG9m7cqx68

4. Blood on the Shroud: http://shroudofturin.weebly.com/blood-evidence.html

5. Blood typing of ancient skeletons from Israel: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/888938/

6. While a radiocarbon test in 1988 dated the Shroud to only around 1260–1390 AD, these tests are disputed on the basis that they were contaminated by fibers from cloth used to repair the Shroud when it was damaged by the fire in 1532.

7. Image of Edessa: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image_of_Edessa

8. Sudarium of Oviedo: https://www.shroud.com/guscin.htm

9. Image formation hypothesis:https://0201.nccdn.net/1_2/000/000/174/1a8/how-the-image-was-formed-on-the-shroud.pdf
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*Visit the author’s website: www.theseasonofreturn.com