ABOUT CAYUSE
Veteran journalist Maddy Butcher leads a team of content creators in producing some of the most compelling work available for horse owners and outdoor enthusiasts.
Since 2008, Butcher has crafted articles and grown a team of talented, trusted contributors. They cover a wide, informed, and enlightened swath of topics including product review, training, rider health, and brain science.
In 2020, she added a podcast, which continues to grow and receive rave reviews: Best Horse Practices with Jec Ballou.
Guest columnists on Cayuse include (click on name to view samplings):
Mission
addy Butcher was born and raised in Maine, where she grew up riding the woods and fields of Harpswell Neck.
She had the good fortune of an upbringing rich in exploration and challenge (running, hiking, backpacking, canoeing, fishing, and, yes, riding).
She graduated from Brown University with independent studies in English and Biology and a Bachelor of Arts in Biology.
She worked for nearly two decades as a free-lance reporter for The Boston Globe, The Wall Street Journal and many other publications, covering sports, travel, business, front page, and investigative work.
In 2001, with a colleague, she received a grant from the Center for Investigative Journalism for work on class action litigation and settlements.
Read Wall Street Journal article here and here.
In 2005, she briefly left journalism and returned to Maine where she ran a horse-sitting service, 24 Carrot Horse Care, for several years. She completed training as a Wilderness First Responder and as a Technical Large Animal Emergency Rescuer.
A single mom, Butcher has raised three sons. Along the way, she’s worked as a carpenter, wrangler, waitress, cook, and has volunteered for scores of organizations. She now lives in southwestern Colorado.
In 2008, she founded NickerNews, with 16 newsletter readers at its inception. Butcher added science-focused BestHorsePractices in 2012. HighCountryOutsider followed in 2013.
She has written three books, all 5-Star rated books on Amazon.
In 2017, she founded the website HorseHead: , a site dedicated to brain science and developed the non-profit educational conference, the Best Horse Practices Summit, a 501 (c)(3) non profit.
Butcher runs the podcast, Best Horse Practices with Jec Ballou.
Her op-ed’s have appeared in the Washington Post, Denver Post, Adventure Magazine, The Colorado Sun, and High Country News.
