Raised near Fargo, North Dakota, as the daughter and granddaughter of active horsemen, Juli S. Thorson was born into the horse world and has made writing about it her life's work. She began her career in equine journalism in the mid-1970s, when she moved to Idaho and became an editor for the Appaloosa breed journal.

Since then, she's been a key staffer at such publications as Western Horseman and several others. She's presently editor-in-chief for Horse&Rider magazine, a leading horse magazine known for her reports on industry trends and changes. Her book, Win With Bob Avila, was named 2001's Equine Book of the Year by American Horse Publications. She's won five Steel Dust awards from AQHA for her writing and reporting. In 2008, she won the Western-English Trade Association's top award for consumer education for “Going Grand,” her article about grandparents' influence on children with horse interests.

Juli backs up her editorial work with a lifetime’s worth of hands-on horse experience. She’s competed and won at high levels with Quarter Horses, Appaloosas, and Paints, and has bred foals with successful show records. She and her husband, Edward Sala, live near Moscow, Idaho, where they enjoy a diverse array of horse activities.