The 20 Most Popular Horse Nation Posts of 2012

Horse Nation published a whopping 2,562 posts this year. Here are the ones that, judging from number of page views, you guys liked the best.

Click on any headline to link to the original post.

• 1. 29,970 views. Best. Post. Ever. Anyone who has ever experienced (or dreamed of experiencing) the joy of horse ownership will find themselves freaking out alongside the young ladies in these videos.

• 2. 16,210 views. The best thing about Horse Nation is that it’s written by Horse Nation–our contributors are everyday equestrian enthusiasts just like you. This story by Susan Corwin swiftly rose to the top of the charts, and yours could be next! If you’ve got something to say, we want to hear it–click here for contributor guidelines.

• 3. 14,283 views. In 2012, Comedy Central host Stephen Colbert accomplished the impossible: He made dressage seem vaguely entertaining to the general public. Whether you find his playful ribbing annoying or hilarious, this video of his dressage lesson with Michael Barisone is legend.

• 4. 11,966 views. Horse Nation isn’t all fun and games. When a “sore subject” needs to be tackled, we’re not afraid to go there–as this story proves.

• 5. 10,872 views. “Oohing” and “ah-hing” are two of our favorite pastimes here are Horse Nation, and it’s exactly what our readers did after viewing this story.

• 6. 10,675 views. “Why are the plus sized riders so ostracized within the community?” That’s the question Bernadette Kilcer asked in this story, which spurred a lively discussion in the comments section.

• 7. 10,509 views. I mean, it’s 10 freaking adorable baby horses. Of course it made the top 15.

• 8. 9,852 views. One thing that makes Horse Nation stand apart from our journalistic peers is the fact that not everything we write is actually true. Like on April Fool’s Day, when we announced that this year’s Rolex Three-Day Event had been cancelled, or this completely fabricated pièce de résistance.

• 9. 8,583 views. There’s something wildly entertaining about being terrified. It’s why we go see scary movies and visit haunted houses… and look at photos like these.

• 10. 7,320. 2012: We came. We saw. We planked.

• 11. 7,177 views. Almost every Monday morning this year at around 10 a.m., Horse Nation terrorized the cyber-airwaves via our guest spot on the Horses in the Morning radio show. Co-host Glenn the Geek penned this gem, which you guys got a giant kick out of.

• 12. 7,072 views. This one’s popularity is another no-brainer. It’s cake! It’s horses! It’s cake shaped like horses! I had no idea fondant could be so amazing.

• 13. 7,004 views. Rest in peace, Amy. You are missed.

• 14. 6,778 views. Pentathlon has got to be one of the most challenging sports in the world. In this story, we broke it down for ya.

• 15. 6,118 views. Where it all began.

• 16. 5,977 views. But anyway, back to pentathlon. It’s kinda crazy. And after watching this video of an incident at the London Olympic games, you guys had a LOT to say about it.

• 17. 5,589 views. When smartphones and horses collide! A super-useful story from Lorraine Jackson.

• 18. 5,577 views. You guys were inspired this coverage of the bareback derby event at Fair Hill. Maybe not enough to give up stirrups for your News Year’s resolution though…

• 19. 5,450 views. The pilot episode of this popular series by Horse Nation historian Lorraine Jackson left readers gasping for more. To quote one commenter, “I think I stopped breathing halfway through this post, and only my exclamations of ‘no way!’ kept oxygen in my lungs.”

• 20. 5,391 views. If I learned one thing about the citizens of Horse Nation in 2012, it’s that we all share a sick, deranged sense of humor, as evidenced by our extraordinarily well-received series “Oh $h!t” (which morphed into the Equi-Tee sponsored daily post “Oh Crap Moment of the Day” in the fall). Because we’ve ALL been there, and it’s always comforting to know that we’re not alone!

Go Horse Nation, Go 2012, and Go Riding!