July Equestrian Blogs Top Pick; Nina Akerley

I am proud to announce Nina Akerley and her blog for the Live From Lexington contest, was voted this months Equestrian Blog Top Pick!

Nina Akerley particpated in the contest, Live From Lexington, which was hosted by Purina Mill's. The purpose of this contest was to find two deserving and eligable candidates, through a near month voting and blogging period in which the public was able to view the writing of the four semi-finlists and vote on their pick to travel to the 2010 World Equestrian Games as a "Blog-O-Spondent."

As most of you may or may not know, Nina Akerley was among the four chosen by Purina to advance to this voting and blogging period. As of Monday the 12th, when voting closed, Nina and her blog, won the ticket to travel to the WEG!

My family jokes my first word was pony, I wouldn’t be surprised. For as long as I have conscious memory, my love for horses has been a constant fixation of my heart and mind. Never able to afford a horse of my own, I’ve been feeding a voracious appetite for everything equine through reading and writing. I’ve never given up, because I know that my passion for horses will afford me the opportunity to someday achieve a saturation of horses that I hunger for.

Nina's blog was inventive, inviting us into the eyes and mind of a horse-loving adult who never gave up on that childhood dream. She achieved this through her descriptive stories, her desire and passion for all things horse and her willingness and enthusiasm to share information surrounding the games that enhanced the readers curiosity and interest to continue to read on and learn more.

There is nothing more cliché in the horse world than the oft used phrase, “Horses are in my blood.” What does that mean anyway? We casually throw this phrase around to convey how deep our conviction for horses runs. It’s meant to capture in words our unyielding passion, devotion and timeless obsession with horses. As if mere words could really capture something like that…sigh, we try anyway.


The above is a quote from one of Nina's blog posts, named "It's In my Blood...Ahhhh!!!!". In this post Nina shares with us the common phrase we hear often in the horse world and a few names within the horse world that this phrase very much could apply to.

"We, are horse people. We walk around in tall boots “like it ain’t no thang” and think it’s completely normal to wear a beaver top hat, a shadbelly and white pants while traipsing around the barn. “Breeches” isn’t an antiquated term or an extinct form of clothing in our opinion. That’s right I’m calling us all out right here and now." - Quote from post, "Keeping it Classy Kentucky."

Nina's blog however, as interesting as it may be never lacks a nice laugh or plain, good fun.

There is a simple question or common curiosity behind Nina's posts which are inviting for all to enjoy. Much of which, we can relate to in one way or another. Her writing, in addition, is calm, inquisitive and a nice blog to sit down and enjoy a cup of coffee with. All the while, keeping you wanting to return the following day for more. - Coffee or tea and a good read never gets old!

But one desirable trait of Nina's? Her sincere dedication to the horse. It's evident how much these creatures mean to her and how much they have played a role in her life as direct or indirectly as it may be. But no matter what, this in itself, speaks volumes of her character.

"It would make sense then, that we as a community should treat our own well. After all, that person you just met could be your next barn manager, your child’s instructor or your best friend’s trainer in the future. It’s inherent that in a community with so many competitors and perfectionists there will be disagreements and gossip. However, you will get so much more out of this membership if you are kind, respectful and support fellow horse lovers. Yes, this may be a little kumbaya-ish, but it’s also an advantage for those that practice it. Try it out and I think you will see that it benefits you as an individual as well as our entire horse community. Having horses in our blood can be hard enough as it is, sometimes we need all the support we can get." - Quote from post "The Horse World is Smaller than You Think."

Congratulations Nina on being one of two selected to report from the World Equestrian Games! It's been a pleasure reading your blog!