"I want to use this platform to make a difference in someone’s life and to inspire them to want to make a difference in someone else’s," says Misty Adamson, founder of On the Bit Magazine. On the Bit Magazine is an equestrian magazine that features horse-related content that inspires, educates and informs readers. Started in 2021, Misty continues to publish On the Bit Magazine quarterly each year. I asked Misty some questions so we could learn more about her story and how she started On the Bit.
Q: Can you tell me a little bit about yourself… how did you get into horses, and did you compete, just ride for fun, etc.?
A: "When I was a kid, I could only dream of horses. My family was too poor for us to own one, but that didn’t keep me from galloping around my yard, shoestring reins in hand and befriending any other little girl that was as horse crazy as I was. I think that in every class, there is always the “weird horse girl” and that was me! I had posters on my wall, books of every kind and even cleaned out my neighbor’s barn on the weekends just to pretend it was my own. I’ll never forget the first time I actually got to sit on a horse. It was a little chestnut gelding in a supermarket parking lot.
I begged and begged my mom all the way through the store and when we came out, we went straight to the car, so my little heart sank... but after we loaded the groceries, she grabbed my hand and we walked over. The old man that owned the horse lifted me up into the saddle and I will NEVER forget the feeling of happiness I felt that day! It’s one of my absolute favorite memories. After that, my mom would occasionally let me get a copy of a popular horse magazine, and that was a portal that made me feel connected to the horse world when I had no horse of my own. Now that I run my own equestrian magazine, it kind of feels a bit like I’ve gone full circle and can provide that portal for another little girl!
When I was in middle/high school, I had a friend who had horses that I would ride with. She showed in 4-H and her mom was nice enough to let me show their horses too for a few years. My friend's mother was the head groom at a fancy Arabian barn in Bloomington, IN and that’s where my love of Arabian horses came from. When our financial situation changed at home, we bought two Arabian horses from my friend’s family, and I showed them the following year in 4-H. Eventually, I went off to college and my parents couldn’t care for them, so we sold them to a nice couple that had a big farm. My heart was broken, but I was glad they went to a good home.
When I graduated from school and was making my own money, I finally bought a horse for myself that I keep at my in-law’s farm. I show hunt seat here and there with my gelding, Tino, but we do it for fun. I’ve tried jumping and had a lot of fun doing it, so I think that might be something I try again next year in the Spring."
Q: How did you get into writing, and what inspired you to start On the Bit Magazine?
A: "I have always loved writing stories since I was a little kid. I never thought that I could make an actual living doing it though, so when the time came to figure out what I wanted to do with the rest of my life, I knew I wanted to work in healthcare. As a kid, I had a pediatric hip disorder called Perthes Disease that weakens and flattens the hip bone. I had to wear braces every day and sleep in traction every night. It was the worst, but I loved the compassion and care that I got at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, and it inspired me to want to do something to help others. I went to school to specialize in pulmonary diseases and became a Respiratory Therapist.
Healthcare is hard. There is a lot of stress in the field, and you see a lot of things that you wish you could un-see that cause PTSD, especially going through Covid. Every day you never know what is going to happen in any shift and it’s tiresome and very stressful. After a long career of this, I knew I needed a change. I had been blogging since 2017 and even started a YouTube channel (Adamson Equestrian) that chronicled my riding journey and even features a bit of my family showing as well. Riding for me is a way to get away from the stress of my job.
When I started getting into showing, I noticed that there were a lot of other riders that were mean, petty, or just super competitive to the point of being awful to other people and it almost made me quit. I started to ask myself “Why would I work 12 hour shifts in a stressful job to pay for horse shows where people are mean to each other?” After a while of thinking about it, I realized that I was surely not the only person to feel that way in the horse world and set out to do something about it. I started On the Bit Magazine as a way for everyday riders to inspire and encourage each other. We all go through hard things in life, whether it’s with our horses or just in our normal lives.
It’s so much easier to go through it when you can see that someone else has been there too. It gives a light at the end of the tunnel and makes you want to keep going. I wanted this magazine to be a bright spot in the world where there are sometimes a lot of clouds. Every story inside is one that is positive, encouraging, or funny to give you a bit of sunshine in your day and make you remember why you ride or love horses in the first place!"
Photo by Misty Adamson
Q: Could you tell us a bit about what goes into the process of publishing a magazine?
A: "This is actually a hard one for me to answer, because for the majority of magazines out there, there is a HUGE team of people that put it together. Editors, Project Managers, Copy Writers, Photographers, Designers, Marketing, Social Media team….
OTB is currently a one woman show. I serve as the editor, project manager, designer, and marketing and social media team. I wear a lot of hats currently and it gets overwhelming sometimes, but the reason behind it makes it all worthwhile. My husband does help with the IT part and that is a huge help! I can’t speak for other magazines, but when I’m putting OTB together, I start with an idea board of what I want to be in the current season’s issue and then start reaching out to various people and groups to fill it in. That’s where your project management skills come in!
Once I start booking people for different parts of the magazine, I begin building the issue in the software that I use and fill in and design the pages as I receive the articles from the writers. Each article is then edited, and the grammar is corrected before moving on to the next page and article. In any given issue, I make sure that I have a really good cover story, a breed spotlight, 4-5 educational articles from professionals in their field, a small business spotlight on equestrian businesses that you may not have ever heard of before, an artist feature for various equine artists, and a good human interest piece. The hardest part is getting those articles filled in and it just takes reaching out to a lot of people and then checking in constantly to see how they’re doing with their article. There have been times where I have had to scramble at the end because someone had decided they didn’t have time to do their article. That’s just part of the job.
You have to be ready to have someone/something on standby to fill the spot. Before the issue goes to the printing company, the entire thing is looked over 2-3 times more for mistakes. I usually have two computer monitors for the final edits so I can look at the finished issue on one monitor and make changes to mistakes that I find on the other. One fantastic thing that has started happening recently is that more people are reaching out to me first with story ideas and other professionals that inspire them that they want to hear more about.
This has been absolutely wonderful and exciting because I know that more and more people are hearing about OTB and that makes me so proud knowing that something that I’ve worked very hard to produce for the last two years is gaining some traction! In anything worth doing, you’re going to struggle sometimes, but when you can see growth starting to happen, you know you’re doing something right!"
Q: What advice would you give to someone that hopes to publish their own magazine?
A: "Some tips that I would give to someone are:
- Get a journalism/business degree if you can! It’s not necessary, really. I have a science degree in Respiratory Therapy and I’m doing it, but it would have been so massively helpful if I had those two under my belt. There have been a lot of things that I wouldn’t have had to struggle with trying to figure out on my own.
- Don’t be afraid to talk to people. Everyone has a story. Find the people that are willing to share their story!
- When you feel like giving up, keep pushing forward, because success is just on the other side of wanting to quit in anything you decide to do.
- Network with other people in media! I am a member of the American Horse Publication Association. They hold a media conference every year where you rub elbows with anyone and everyone in the equestrian media world and you learn so much from other professionals. It’s invaluable to network with people in your field. One of my friends that I met last year was an author and she has had so many good ideas and things that I never would have thought of. You get this amazing opportunity to glean knowledge from people that have been there and done that!
- Believe in your reason for starting a magazine. If you started it for money, you’re in trouble. Printing costs alone are massively expensive, not to mention the costs for software, photography, paying your professional writers, etc. You have to have a solid foundation to stand on or you’re not going make it and only doing it for the money is definitely not one."
Photo by Misty Adamson
Q: What goals do you hope to accomplish with On the Bit Magazine? Any exciting plans for the future?
A: "Right now, my only goal is to bring a smile to the face of the person reading each issue. Ultimately, I would love to be able to either offer scholarships to under privileged kids that want to have a future with horses (like me) or give opportunities to other equestrians who love to write (or both!). This past fall, I held an open writing contest, and the winner was chosen for the cover story. I actually had two really amazing stories, so the runner up will be on our winter cover! I hope to eventually offer internships for budding equestrian writers and teach more of what I’ve learned throughout the time I’ve been an editor.
Really, I want to use this platform to make a difference in someone’s life and to inspire them to want to make a difference in someone else’s. At the very least, I just want us all to be kind to each other and see that we’re all just trying to make the best out of life!"
I thank Misty for taking the time to tell us more about On the Bit Magazine. To learn more, go to https://onthebitmagazine.com/.
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