When this episode is published, I will be really close to having a baby (my first) if I haven't already. So this is a very special episode for me. Andrea and I talk about what it's like to get back in the saddle and back in shape after giving birth and perhaps most importantly, we talk about how to not lose sight of our own goals and dreams as we start to make our children's a priority. With three young children herself, Andrea shares some great insights with me that will hopefully be valuable to you other horse-loving mothers and mothers-to-be out there.

It is a time for endings and new beginnings for me and ultimately I've decided to let this episode be a punctuation mark to the last 55 episodes of the Earn Your Spurs podcast. My audience has been amazing and I appreciate you so much! Please know that this is not that last you've seen of me and I will be back with a new podcast geared specifically toward women and horses this fall. Please make sure you are on my email list (you can join at earnyourspurs.com) so that you don't miss any of the details.

Thank you again for being a part of my amazing audience!

In this episode, Andrea and I chat about some of the negativity that can crop up at horse events and how, as a new competitor, you shouldn't let it get you down. While most western folks are great, as we all know, just one bad apple can really ruin our days...but only if we let it.

I recently wrote a blog post titled, "This Part Time Cowboy Lifestyle, is it Really Worth it All?" where I wrote about the reasons, even with all the struggles that go along with it, this lifestyle is totally worth it to me.

I got a lot of feedback on this post and wanted to dive into it a little deeper on the show today with my new co-host, Andrea Otley.

You may remember Andrea from her interview on Episode 42 of the podcast where she talked about her passion, helping riders get in great shape.

In the next few episodes we'll be talking about topics that impact riders both psychologically and physically, with the goal of helping you to build your confidence and be more successful with your horse!

I find January to be a great time to make plans and set goals for the upcoming year. I don't know about you, but I nearly always feel like I didn't spend enough time with my horses when December rolls around, and in January I'm thinking about ways to remedy the situation. But the truth is, if I don't get really serious about what I want to accomplish in the upcoming year, I will likely be disappointed once again at the end of the next 12 month stretch. In this episode, I talk about what we can do to ensure that we are continually making progress throughout the year, by starting with setting SMART goals in January.

The host of the Whoa Podcast, John Harrer returns to the show to talk about his experience training a wild horse for the Vaquero Heritage Trainers Challenge in Tehachapi.

John didn't grow up around horses. In fact, he didn't really get into horses until he was nearing retirement age. But this year, he decided to take on a huge challenge and train 9 year old horse that had never been handled before. Then he competed against several professional trainers at the end of the training period.

I admire John's bravery in this undertaking so much and I hope you are inspired by him as I am.

In this interview, I talk with Heather Smith of barrelracingtips.com about the many facets of competetive barrel racing. It's such a simple concept - take your horse around 3 stationary barrels in a cloverleaf pattern. But it turns out, there is far more to it than that. Whether you're a barrel racer or not, if you are involved with horses and the world of western competition, you won't want to miss this one.

Heather has also written several books on barrel racing:

Secrets to Barrel Racing Success (Vol 1)

The Confident Barrel Racer

The First 51 Barrel Racing Exercises to Develop a Champion (Vol 2)

Today's episode features an interview I did with horseman, Van Hargis for the Cowboy Champions Summit this past June. I got a lot of great feedback on this interview, so I wanted to share it with those of you who missed the summit. Van talks about how to make horsemanship simple by "reducing to the ridiculous."

Just a reminder, I would still love to get your audio bumpers, bios and stories to play on the podcast. Go to www.speakpipe.com/eyspurs to leave a message that's 90 seconds or less. If you'd like to leave me a longer recording, email me at [email protected], and I'll give you instructions on how to do that.

Cliff Schadt Jr. is not your typical cowboy. In fact, he grew up in a family of hunter jumper trainers on Long Island, New York. Even so, he knew from a young age, that there was "cowboy" in his blood. That hankering eventually led him to the west where he worked on ranches in Oregon, Nevada, Wyoming and Montana as well as for renowned horseman, Craig Cameron. Listen in to hear Cliff's story and get a little inspiration to chase after your own dreams.

In this episode I speak to the Owner of Colorado Cattle Company, Tom Carr. He tells the story of how he came to love and later own his dream working cattle ranch/dude ranch, and why it's a great option for a vacation if you're into that sort of thing. This interview was a ton of fun and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Maybe you are familiar with National Day ofthe American Cowboy already. Perhaps you have been to one of the dozens of events held across the US and even in other countries, to celebrate the iconic cowboy hero. However much you think you know, I guarantee you will learn something from this interview with Bethany Braley who is the driving force behind this national celebration. Plus, learn how you can be instrumental in getting this special day recognized in your home state. It's coming up on July 25th!