I have always cherished the opportunity I had to work with my sister for a couple of years and watch firsthand as she worked to make a lifetime goal become a reality. She was a horse-crazy girl for as long as I can remember. If it had four legs and a mane and tail, she wanted to ride it. She went from a rocking horse to her first real pony in her early teen years. During my time at The Northwest Horse Source, Karen had a very well-established magazine and I worked alongside on the editorial portions. I saw Karen’s values lived out on a daily basis, whether it was with employees, advertisers or readers. She enlisted our mom’s help for years to proofread the final version before it went to press. Few mistakes passed by our mother. Karen made sure mom was part of the production pro-cess even when in her late 80s, though she wasn’t quite as sharp. This is just one example of Karen’s commitment to people first. I look back on our time together at The North-west Horse Source with fond memories and gratitude to be part of her dream. – Sharon Aller, Karen’s sister and past editor The Many Faces of The Northwest Horse Source Magazine 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 When i started the magazine in December 1995, I knew nothing about graphic design and I had no journalism background. But I did have a love for horses and horse people and a dream to create a horse magazine. In the beginning, my friend and coworker, Barb Willmore, did my editing (at no charge of course). My best friend, Theresa Buck (Crume), wrote many of the articles in the first year or so. My boss, Dick VanderYacht, wrote some great articles and stories. My mom, Esther, helped everywhere she could from in-house editing to fil-ing. Mary Trout, my first graphic designer, gladly put the magazine together for me. Sadly, all these people have passed away, but I will never forget their support and contribution. Mike French encouraged me from the begin-ning and gave me the courage to create the magazine. Several writers like David Sauter, DVM (1996) and Alayne Blickle (Horses for Clean Water, 2000), have been with me since the early years. Cherie from the Bony Pony in Mount Ver-non has advertised with me since the beginning as has Westlyn Feed in Lynden. Maria Danieli has been advertising every month since 2000 and Whatcom Conservation District started writing on and off since 1996. The Northwest Horse Fair & Expo has been advertising since 2000. There are many more people who still sup-www.nwhorsesource.com port the magazine. Allison Trimble-Paparoa has advertised since 2006 and writes for us every month. My sister, Sharon, edited the magazine for years and has always been there whenever I needed help. My current team has been with me for quite a while. I’d be lost without them. Kim is an incred-ibly gifted writer/editor, Randy is an amazing designer, and Doug my IT/web guy is helping me make the online shift. There are too many to list, but I am eternally grateful. – Karen Pickering, Owner and Publisher December 2020 The Northwest Horse Source 23
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