Across the nation, equestrian programs built around everything from rodeos to rehoming Thoroughbreds to training wild mustangs are helping rehabilitate the incarcerated.

When Tamio Holmes was sentenced to prison on drug dealing charges in 2003, he hit rock bottom. He’d already spent more than two years behind bars starting in 1998, and now he was facing another eight.

“I felt like, ‘Screw you,’ ” Holmes says of the day the judge sentenced him.

The U.S. Equestrian Federation Hearing Committee recently heard a protest filed against Elizabeth Mandarino by another USEF member. The protest alleged that certain USEF rules were violated at the 2012 Devon Horse Show (Pa.) on May 26, when Mandarino administered an injection to her pony, Humble, and thereby caused his death.

There aren’t many eventers out there with more three-day wins than William Fox-Pitt of Great Britain, and he’s currently one four-star away from winning the Rolex Grand Slam. He’s agreed to a series of interviews and updates as he prepares for the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton CCI****.

You’ve had a tremendous season so far with a four-star win in Kentucky, team silver at the London Olympic Games and now a victory in the Fidelity Blenheim Palace International CCI***. How do you feel it’s gone?

Situated in the middle of horse country, Plantation Field has steadily grown from a local horse trials into a destination event. This past weekend riders flocked to Unionville, Pa., from up and down the East Coast to participate in the CIC and horse trials. Joanie Morris had the chance to sit down with organizer Denis Glaccum and landowner Katie Walker to discuss the evolution of the event, what it means to the community, and what it can do for the sport of eventing.

How did you end up having this event here on this wonderful piece of land?

After watching Union Rags win the Belmont Stakes (N.Y.), I listened to trainer Michael Matz speak to the press about the race. I wondered why Matz, who rode on three Olympic show jumping teams, earned team silver in 1996, and was inducted into the Show Jumping Hall of Fame for his many, many accomplishments, made the switch from show horses to race horses.