Untacked

EDITOR'S LETTER Because It's Not A Hobby, It's A Lifestyle Welcome to the premiere issue of The Chronicle of the Horse Untacked, the bigger, better, more beautiful lifestyle magazine that constitutes the newest member of the Chronicle publication family. Chances are you're holding this publication in your hands as you read this, which is an exciting and significant change from The Chronicle Connection, our digital lifestyle magazine that many of you came to know and love over the past three years. While we live in an ever-more-digitized world, and that trend isn't going to stop anytime soon, our faithful readers made their desires quite clear: You wanted the Connection in print, as well as online. We heard you, and with Untacked we aim to exceed your expectations. We know there are plenty of coffee-table equestrian publications on the shelves and in your email inbox these days—many of which are gorgeous, glossy magazines in which horses appear as accessories to a glamorous, curated life. But we at the Chronicle have been devoted to horse sport for 76 years, and we know that being a true horseman (or woman) is so much more than just being a person who loves horses. It's not just a hobby, it's a lifestyle. It's with this mantra as our guiding principle that we'll be publishing Untacked. To many people, the term "lifestyle publication" immediately conjures up an assumption of focus on luxury goods, affluent individuals and a general level of elitism that most in our country and our sports simply can't relate to. But this will not be our goal for Untacked. When we choose a famous, wealthy rider like Georgina Bloomberg for the subject of our cover story (see p. 32), we do so in order to peel back the layers of her public persona and get to the heart of what we all share with someone like her— a passion for a career, family and lifestyle based around the horse. And we'll just as often be bringing you the stories of "the everyman"—people like the Petersens (see p. 38), who came from obscurity and near-poverty to build the business and family they enjoy today. Plus, we'll be featuring everything from product reviews to book and film critiques to travel, art, fashion, pho8 W INTER 2013 U N TAC K E D tography and more, rounding out every aspect of the horseman's lifestyle when he's out of the saddle. Finally, we're thrilled to announce, in conjunction with the launch of this issue, our new charity initiative: the Chronicle Support Network. Not only will each volume of Untacked feature a charity spotlight (see p. 92), we'll also begin dedicating at least one page in each issue of The Chronicle of the Horse to a pro-bono ad for a 501(c)(3) charity organization and featuring a philanthropy spotlight on every page of our newly redesigned chronofhorse.com, set to debut in December. (Stay tuned for an upcoming announcement on how to apply!) And best of all, in the coming year we'll be organizing a fund to assist worthy equine organizations across the country with monetary donations, beginning with a $2,500 gift to this issue's featured charity, Camp Casey. As I sit down to write this letter, we're just putting the final touches on this first issue of Untacked and already digging in for our Spring 2014 edition. We're thrilled and honored to be in your homes, stables and stalls, and to share with you more than just a hobby, but an all-encompassing passion that defines a lifestyle. Thank you for reading, and welcome to Untacked. —Kat Netzler, Editor

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