Meet Paul Wahl
Growing up in the farm country of North Dakota, reading was not only a method of learning but also entertainment. Television signals were fuzzy and intermittent, a few radio stations were available, but for the most part, it was reading that brought in the outside world. Paul began reading before he began attending school. Reading led to writing and by the time Paul was in high school, he was the editor and photographer for his school's newspaper and yearbooks and also worked for the weekly newspaper that served his community.
By the time he graduated from high school, Paul knew he wanted to be a journalist. After college, he got his first full-time writing job in Washburn, N.D. His career took him to several additional newspaper positions in North Dakota and eventually to career paths in California, Minnesota and Iowa. He has worked for weekly, twice-weekly and daily newspapers, with circulation levels ranging from 4,000 to 40,000.
Since most of the companies he worked for were small, Paul soon learned to be a jack of all newspaper trades -- photography, typesetting, page layout, copy editing, advertising sales, press operator.
Paul began learning horseback riding in earnest while residing in Solvang, Calif., a few miles from the ranch of megatrainer Monty Roberts. He was one of the first people to witness Monty's join-up demonstration, which would eventually be seen by millions around the world.
Six years ago, he was able to combine his life's passion (writing) with horses (riding) as editor of Tack 'n Togs Magazine, an international equine trade publication.
In September 2007, Paul resigned that position to spend more time working on freelance and other projects.
Paul and his wife, Debby, reside in Eden Prairie, Minn. Debby is a preschool teacher and enjoys swimming and camping. Besides horseback riding, Paul enjoys cooking, bicycling and camping.