510. Harold Chopping by Taylor, Harris Insurance Services

Send us Fan Mail Harold Chopping has built his career around developing young horses and competing at the upper levels of the sport. Originally from Ontario, Canada, Harold grew up on a farm where horses quickly became a major part of his life. His early years included everything from riding inexpensive horses with his sister and building their own cross-country jumps to eventually receiving formal training with John Weir at Joker’s Hill. As a junior, Harold gained international experience competing on team trips to Mexico and Cuba, along with provincial teams and Young Riders classes. Those early opportunities helped shape his approach to competition and prepared him for a professional career in the equestrian industry. After moving to the United States, Harold continued pursuing top-level competition and eventually established his training base in Southern Pines, North Carolina, where he has been based for the past 20 years. Today, much of his work focuses on developing young horses, particularly 4- and 5-year-olds, and building them from their earliest training through the show ring. With decades of experience riding, training, competing, and evaluating horses, Harold has seen firsthand how the sport has evolved. His approach emphasizes preparation, patience, confidence, and understanding the increasingly athletic and sensitive horses produced through modern breeding. theplaidhorse.com Thank you so much for joining us today on the Plaidcast. This podcast is a labor of love, and every single episode exists because of this incredible community of riders, trainers, barn managers, parents, and horse lovers who show up in the barn, in the ring, and right here with us. At The Plaid Horse, our commitment goes far beyond the show ring. We believe deeply in the power of literacy and education and that every rider, at every level, deserves access to knowledge, stories, and ideas that make them a better horseperson and a better human being. Reading matters. Learning matters. And the stories we tell each other in this sport matter more than we sometimes realize. Whether you are a junior rider picking up your first copy of The Plaid Horse Magazine, a professional trainer looking for inspiration, or someone who simply loves horses and everything this world stands for then this community is for you. You belong here. We build this together. Every article, every episode, every conversation is an opportunity to learn something new, to feel less alone in the challenges of this sport, and to be reminded of why we fell in love with horses in the first place. Until next time, keep reading, keep learning, keep riding, and remember that the horse world is better when we build it together. I will see you at the ring!