Lessons from an FEI dressage rider for $5? What's the catch? 

That was my reaction - and the reaction of lots of other riders - when they saw Meghan Laffin's post. But on further investigation, this was an approach to a multi-pronged problem that Meghan identified in the dressage industry: 1) Many riders are feeling the financial strain of pursuing their goals in their sport, 2) Many riders felt alone, or too embarrased to seek help and 3) There's not always a clear path to improvement, let alone success, so having a fresh set of eyes and a professional take on your situation could prove valuable. Besides, Meghan had spent most of her career in horses riding, and wanted to improve her coaching skills. It was a win-win. 

She’s now taught over 100 of these lessons and in this episode shares what she's learned from the wide array of riders that she was able to support over this 4-month experiment.

Meghan Laffin is a 31-year-old dressage rider who is also the assistant trainer for Olympic dressage rider, Kasey Perry-Glass. Meghan has taken Diane Perry’s mare Stina from First Level to I-1 and aims to start doing the small tour in 2025. Meghan also has her MBA from UC-Davis, is a former producer at CBS News, and was a division 1 volleyball player at Coastal Carolina University. 

This is the story of what $5 lessons taught Meghan, and the students who took her up on her crazy offer. Thanks for listening.  

This episode is proudly supported by We Ride Together, a nonprofit organization created to cast light upon the endemic issue of sexual abuse in youth and amateur sports. Their mission is to make the youth and amateur sport environment safer for all athletes. To access the blog post mentioned in this episode, click here. 

This episode is also supported by Nikovian - equestrian riding apparel for home or for shows that feels and performs like luxury, but without the luxury price tag. Use code horseperson15 at checkout for 15% off your purchase. 

The culture of your barn can make or break your experience there. And if you're a trainer, it can attract the clients of your dreams... or your nightmares.

It's time to get intentional about choosing and building culture in our barns and stables. How do we build cultures that are led by the values we choose, instead of the bad habits we fall back on? How do we decide what is most important to us, and find or build an environment that reflects that? 

On today's episode, host Caroline Culbertson is joined by performance coach, culture-building expert, and author of 'You Are a Contender' and 'Ride Big', John Haime. In this episode, Caroline and John discuss: 

• Why values must come before culture
• How to observe your barn's culture
• Why sometimes unexpected or 'unusual' values bring about the best competitive results
• How culture informs the horsemanship habits that will be carried forward in future generations
• What a strong culture looks like vs a weak one
• How to implement culture in your own barn
• John ends with a self-awareness quiz for you to take at home

This episode is proudly supported by We Ride Together, a nonprofit organization created to cast light upon the endemic issue of sexual abuse in youth and amateur sports. Their mission is to make the youth and amateur sport environment safer for all athletes. To access the blog post mentioned in this episode, click here. 

This episode is also supported by Nikovian - equestrian riding apparel for home or for shows that feels and performs like luxury, but without the luxury price tag. Use code horseperson15 at checkout for 15% off your purchase. 

Today’s episode is a special one for me as I sit down with long-time friend and my former boss, Noelle Floyd. This episode might sound a little different, and that’s because we had the really lovely opportunity to sit down together at Equine Affaire in Massachusetts and record this conversation live in the expo center. And that’s exactly what this episode is - an honest, unscripted conversation.

Noelle Floyd is the visionary behind NF+, the ultimate streaming platform for horse lovers. Noelle has built a global community centered around better horse care, ethical training, and empowering riders to rewrite the rules of their own journey. Together, we’re here to talk about how to learn, grow, and create a sense of community that’s meaningful and inclusive.

We discuss: 

- How horses have showed up in our lives differently during different points in our lives - Noelle on asking for help when it's been extremely uncomfortable - feeling like outsiders in the equestrian industry - meeting preconceptions that others have about you  - how to build community in an "individual" sport and an individualistic society - Noelle on the risk/reward of setting out on the road. The unforeseen challenges and gifts of that.  -Caroline on the risk/reward of leaving a full time career, decoupling her self worth from her work, re-entering the podcasting scene and how seeing her kids and her horses bond has reminded her of being a little horse girl herself

This episode is proudly supported by We Ride Together, a nonprofit organization created to cast light upon the endemic issue of sexual abuse in youth and amateur sports. Their mission is to make the youth and amateur sport environment safer for all athletes. To access the blog post mentioned in this episode, click here. 

This episode is also supported by Nikovian - equestrian riding apparel for home or for shows that feels and performs like luxury, but without the luxury price tag. Use code horseperson15 at checkout for 15% off your purchase. 

At this point, we collectively know and acknowledge that nearly everyone who rides horses will experience fear at some point - it's the cost of doing business with 1000lb+ creatures who are strong, fast, and have their own instincts. For some folks fear might be momentary or fleeting, and for others, fear may become an unwanted, consistent passenger that seems to take over their experience with their horse. I wanted to learn a bit about how we can take the big, overwhelming problem of fearing our horses and trace it back to smaller, less overwhelming, and more addressable pieces. 

Who better to walk us into that interconnectedness than Luke Gingerich, who appears in these big “spooky” night time shows with his horses bridleless or his horses at liberty in exhibitions and clinics all over the country, where simply controlling the horse through fearful situations with contact is not an option. 

Luke specializes in Performance Liberty Horsemanship, inspiring and educating people to better connect with and understand their horses, while empowering them to reach their goals together in many different disciplines and pursuits. 

In this chat, we discuss: 

-Your personal responsibility to your horse and to yourself - How luke “diagnoses” or identifies a fear problem between a horse and rider, even if he doen’t know the horse and rider - Some practical relationship and riding strategies when fear enters the picture either suddenly or in a more longstanding, chronic way. 

And finally - we end with a bit of hope. Fear isn’t something to “overcome” because fear is useful and serves a purpose, but it is something that we can get some context and control around. Luke and I talk about the gift on the other side of fear and why it can forge a deeper bond with your horse in the end, than if you’d never had it. 

This episode is proudly supported by Nikovian - high-performance, size inclusive, flattering equestrian apparel that feels like true luxury . Use horseperson15 to get 15% off of your purchase of ANY item on their website.

We're proud to be supported by WeRideTogether.today , a nonprofit organization on a mission to make the youth and amateur sport environment safer for all athletes. Go HERE to take the pledge mentioned in this episode’s Ringside Chat segment.

At 27, Marcela Pomphrey moved to the UK without knowing a lick of English language. At 30 she began working in a sporting industry she had no experience in. At 31, she started a business. At 40, she started riding. 

Now, the 46-year-old has a goal of riding at the Prix St. Georges level in dressage by age 60. 

In this episode of Horse Person, Marcela shares her journey of decades of longing for horses to be part of her life, how that dream became a reality, and what it taught her about having a learning mindset, embracing the resources that are available to you, and stumbling through the process of being a beginner as an adult. So often, we are lulled into wanting a life of comfort once we reach a certain station in life, but Marcela is the inspiration we all need to wonder about the gifts on the other side of disruption. 

Follow along with Marcela’s journey on Instagram, where she documents daily life and training @40somethingdressagediva 

This episode is proudly sponsored by Connaway and Associates Equine Insurance Services. Do you have an insurance question? Email us and we’ll answer it in an upcoming episode! [email protected] This episode is also supported by Nikovian.com - luxury equestrian sport performance apparel without the unreasonable price tag. Use code horseperson15 to get 15% off any purchase at checkout!

And, we are supported by We Ride Together, a non-profit on a mission to promote safe and healthy sport for all. For more info on the “Know Your Rights” resource mentioned in today’s episode, go here. 

When 5* event rider Matt Brown was finally listed as an alternate for the Rio Olympics, it was the realization of a life-long dream. It was also simultaneously the highest and lowest point of his career. He was in a position that he’d worked so hard for, made many sacrifices to get to, and yet, something didn’t feel right. 

“Someone within the sport recommended I do something… that was not legal. And I was seriously considering it. We had moved east, (my owners) had spent all this money, (my wife) had uprooted her life… it seemed unfair to not do everything I could (to get to the Olympics) when I was that close,” he recalls. 

The pressure was intense - pressure that had been building in dollars, in years, and in life decisions. The question of, ‘What was all of that for if I don’t reach the goal?’ loomed large. But Matt made a choice, and he hasn’t looked back. 

It was a turning point in his life that changed the way he proceeds in his business, and he sheds light in this episode on the framework that allows he and his wife, FEI dressage rider Cecily Clark, to operate within a set of values that makes all of their decisions simple. Not always easy, but simple and clear. 

In this episode, Caroline chats with Matt and Cecily about how the horse sport world can enter into a productive conversation about the ethical considerations of horse training. They discuss the delicate line of balancing our own personal goals and doing what’s right for the horse. They discuss a horse in Matt’s past that he wishes he could apologize to, and how they’re ensuring they move forward in a way that serves as that apology with the horses they have now. They also shed some light and thoughtfulness on how we as a community can have this challenging conversation, and how we respond to abuse when we witness it in person, or online, and why humility can lead the way in taking action. 

This is a beautiful conversation that can encourage you to stay true to yourself, get clear on what you want your life with horses to look like, and to be open to redefining your goals and dreams, even if they feel tightly held.

This episode is supported by WeRideTogether.today , a nonprofit organization on a mission to make the youth and amateur sport environment safer for all athletes. Go HERE for the Active Bystander Intervention Toolkit mentioned in today's ad! Ad music: Ikkun.

If you’ve ever driven home after a clinic and felt like everything you heard the clinician say has promptly exited your brain stage left, you’re not alone. It’s so easy for those experiences to pass in a blur, leaving you feeling like you didn’t have the experience you were hoping for, or that the time and money spent didn’t have a true impact on your training trajectory. 

So let’s address it! In today’s episode, host Caroline Culbertson is joined by clinician and 5* eventer Sinead Halpin to discuss how to get the most out of this unique learning format. Students and clinicians can’t just treat clinics like a lesson and expect the experience to be excellent. Sinead and Caroline discuss some plays that riders and clinicians can use to ensure they’re downloading the skills and knowledge that will serve them well, and leave the rest behind. 

The discuss points like: 

• Arriving at the clinic wanting a) an audit of you and your horse’s skills and what needs to be addressed, or b) a specific area you’re having difficulty

• Researching the clinician and their areas of specialty, as well as teaching style

• Giving the clinician your “elevator pitch” on what you’re hoping to achieve in your time with them

• Setting “hard goals” and “soft goals” 

• Why 50% of the learning responsibility is on the clinician, and 50% is on the student

• How to advocate for your horse in a clinic environment

• Why sometimes you shouldn’t be confident in some skills, but you can rely on confidence in other areas 

• Handling nerves while riding in front of auditors 

• Sinead’s thoughts on green horses and riders riding with top level trainers/clinicians

Don’t ride in another clinic without listening to this episode! Learn more about Sinead at www.copperlineequestrian.com. 

This episode is supported by WeRideTogether.today , a nonprofit organization on a mission to make the youth and amateur sport environment safer for all athletes. Go HERE for helpful resources, including the CARD Diagrams mentioned in this episode's Ringside Chat segment.  Ad music: Ikkun.

Jonathon Millar has spent the past year and a half doing something he never expected he’d have to do – slowly, painstakingly rehabilitating from a traumatic brain injury, from which he nearly died, in a non-riding accident that he can't remember. He spent weeks in a coma, had a portion of his skull removed, and then had brain surgery once again to have it replaced. In total, he had 4 brain surgeries as the result of this accident. He spent months rehabilitating his cognitive skills, and then subsequently rehabilitating physically and re-strengthening the deficit he experienced on the left side of his body. 

But to talk to the member of the Canadian show jumping team today, he’s filled with optimism and humility at the outpouring of support that the equestrian community gave him. He admits that there were times of feeling very stuck and frustrated, but it’s not lost on him that just the fact that he is alive is pretty miraculous. 

Jonathon and I discuss his upbringing (if you’re not familiar, Jonathon is the son of the peerless 10x Canadian Olympian Ian Millar and the late horsewoman Lynn Millar, and the brother of Olympic show jumper Amy Millar). We talk about what he remembers of the accident and the days and weeks that followed. We discuss how his identity became consumed by his rehabilitation - and the challenge of being a lifelong athlete who was suddenly thrust into a very different type of goalsetting and training. And we talk about how Jonathon is doing now - at the time of recording, Jonathan was just about to clock his first show back in the saddle on his horse Lollipop. Returning to the show ring is a huge milestone for him and I’m so grateful to Jonathon for sharing this story and interview with me. 

If you’ve followed his story, you’ll really enjoy this in-depth update, but even if you’re not familiar with Jonathon, this is a story of life before and life after a huge fracture in this rider’s life - and how he’s worked to put the pieces of himself and his identity back together. Enjoy.

Follow Jonathon and his progress by following the Millar Brook South social media pages.

This episode is supported by WeRideTogether.today , a nonprofit organization on a mission to make the youth and amateur sport environment safer for all athletes. Go HERE to take the pledge mentioned in this episode's Ringside Chat segment.  Ad music: Ikkun.

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