Horse Person

This episode is sponsored by Hooves and Paws. Get 15% off by using this URL: www.hoovesandpaws.com/horseperson

Have you ever left the barn wondering whether you're riding well enough to justify everything you put into it? Today, Caroline sits down with clinical and performance psychologist Dr. Darby Bonomi to explore how that pressure takes hold and how we can begin to loosen its grip.

A competitive equestrian herself and the author of Unshrinkable, Darby understands the complicated relationship between loving horses, wanting to improve, and making your last ride a referendum on your worth.

Explore her book: Unshrinkable: Why Strong Women Secretly Criticize, Diminish, and Thwart Themselves—and How to Stop

The Middle Aged Rider Series is proudly supported by our title sponsor, Kalio Equestrian Skincare. Use code HORSEPERSON15 for 15% off your order sitewide.

"Sit up." "Heels down." "Shoulders back." Most of us have heard these instructions hundreds of times, but hearing what your body should do isn't the same as learning how to do it, and sometimes we're actually fighting our own anatomy and actually making ourselves LESS stable in the saddle.

In this installment of our Middle Aged Rider Series, Caroline and Beth talk with Solange Ellis, founder of Stable Riding, whose guiding philosophy is simple: ride more, fall off less. Drawing on her background in dressage, starting horses, and teaching riders with a wide range of bodies and experiences, Solange challenges the idea that there is one correct position for everyone. She makes the case that, for some riders, rebuilding confidence starts with addressing physical instability.

We explore how a rider's proportions, saddle fit, and stirrup length can shape their experience; why being told what to do can leave crucial gaps in understanding; and how instruction can better serve riders returning after injury, time away, or changes in their bodies. We also discuss mounting as a skill worth teaching and practicing, the relationship between rider stability and horse welfare, and why Solange wants her students to be prepared > brave.

Learn more about Solange's work and rider intensives at Stable Riding, and listen to her podcast, Stable Riding with Solange, for more discussion, rider tips, and homework.

The Middle Aged Horsewoman Series is proudly presented by Kalio Equestrian Skincare, high-performance skincare created for riders. Visit kalioequestrian.com and use code HORSEPERSON15 for 15% off your order sitewide.

We plan our horses' workouts, obsess over their soundness, and carefully manage their recovery. But how much thought do we give the body sitting in the saddle?

In this installment of our Middle Aged Horsewoman Series, Caroline and Beth sit down with trainer and biomechanics expert Nina Hammarstrom Thornberg to explore how to build the strength, mobility, balance, and responsiveness that support a lifetime of riding. From an unsteady lower leg to tipping forward or gripping at the knee, Nina explains how challenges in the saddle can reveal something worth working on off the horse & why getting older doesn't mean we have to accept every physical limitation as inevitable.

We also get honest about fitting exercise into lives already full of work, kids, horses, and, sometimes, sleepless nights. Beth shares her frustrations with perimenopause, fatigue, and frozen shoulder, and Nina discusses how to adapt training to the capacity you have that day.

As Nina reminds us: you're part of the tack, and you're the only part that can't be replaced. Enjoy this ep!

This episode is presented by Kalio Equestrian Skincare, the title sponsor of our Middle-Aged Rider Series. High-performance skincare created specifically for riders and trusted by 5,000+ equestrians and counting. Use discount code HORSEPERSON15 for 15% off your order at www.kalioequestrian.com

At 52, Steph Bradley was an advanced dressage rider who suddenly found herself too frightened to canter her safe, familiar horse. She was also experiencing debilitating hip pain and had been told she would eventually need a hip replacement. Five years later, after recognizing the role hormonal changes may have been playing and finding the right support, she is riding at Grand Prix and her research suggests her experience is far from uncommon.

Steph is a British Equestrian Level 4 coach, master saddle fitter, dressage rider, coach developer, and researcher whose groundbreaking study examined how perimenopause and menopause affect female equestrians. More than 1,600 riders participated, revealing striking patterns in confidence, motivation, pain, anxiety, coaching, and women's ability to remain engaged in the sport they love.

In this episode, Steph helps us understand why a rider may suddenly feel as though she has "lost her nerve," why so many women quietly withdraw from lessons or stop riding altogether, and how coaches and communities can better support riders through midlife hormonal changes. Most importantly, this is a hopeful conversation about recognizing what may actually be happening before deciding that the rider you used to be is gone.

LEARN MORE ABOUT STEPH:

Steph Bradley at Freedom Saddlery

Follow Steph on Instagram

Read Steph Bradley and Claire Mills' published research: "Breaking the Silence: The Unexplored Impact of Perimenopause and Menopause Symptoms of Female Equestrians"

Read the Horse & Hound feature about Steph's research

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Dr. Louise Newson's books, including The Power of Hormones and The Definitive Guide to the Perimenopause and Menopause

Download Dr. Louise Newson's Balance app

This episode is sponsored by Kalio Equestrian Skincare. High performance skincare for riders, trusted by 5000+ riders and counting. www.kalioequestrian.com

Welcome to the first installment of our Middle-Aged Rider Series, where we're exploring how to ride better, feel better, and stay in the sport we love as our bodies, brains, and lives change.

We're kicking things off with sport psychologist Dr. Jenny Susser to unpack why riding can feel different in middle age. But before you click away, it's not all bad! There's actually a lot of good news, and we dive into it in this series. From changing perceptions of risk and confidence, to cognitive load, resilience, and working together with your brain and body, instead of against it. With the right understanding, the experience, perspective, and self-knowledge we gain with age may actually help us become better riders. Let's learn how.

REFERENCE 1 - Pregnancy and the brain (email us for the pdf!)

REFERENCE 2 - After Menopause, the Rules Changed (email us for the pdf!) [email protected] to request the pdf versions of these 2 articles ^

This episode is sponsored by Hooves and Paws. Get 15% off by using this URL: www.hoovesandpaws.com/horseperson

With America's wild horses back in the national conversation, we're revisiting our conversation with Clare Staples, founder of Skydog Sanctuary and one of the country's most recognizable wild horse advocates. She discusses the deep spiritual connection she feels with horses, the challenges of running a sanctuary, and the importance of preserving wild horse families. Clare also touches on the legislative landscape affecting wild horses and her efforts to inspire change through storytelling and advocacy. The conversation feels especially timely as Clare's documentary Blue Zeus, narrated by Gerard Butler, reaches a new audience on Amazon Prime. Originally recorded in 2025, this episode offers an eye-opening look at what it means to protect not just wild horses themselves, but their families, freedom, and way of life.

Get 26% off a membership to ClipMyHorse.tv JUST in time to watch the FEI World Championships in Aachen! Go here (https://go.cmh.tv/horse-person/) and use code HPAACHEN26 for your discount.

We asked, you called in!

How do horse people actually afford this sport? In this special anonymous episode, horse people from across the financial spectrum share what they earn, what their horses really cost, the sacrifices they make, & how money shapes their experience in the sport. Let's look at the financial realities, worries, and philosophies that horse people have - and the questions we're too nervous to ask out loud.

Get 26% off a membership to ClipMyHorse.tv JUST in time to watch the FEI World Championships in Aachen! Go here and use code HPAACHEN26 for your discount.

If your horse feels heavy in the hand, struggles with transitions, trips, or just doesn't seem to move as freely as they should, the thoracic sling could be part of the answer. Veterinary physiotherapist Calli Charles (@vetphysiophyle) joins us to explain what the thoracic sling actually is, how it influences movement and performance, and how to recognize signs of dysfunction in your own horse. We also discuss the role of conformation, tack, rider position, and simple exercises you can use to help your horse move more comfortably and efficiently.

This episode is sponsored by Hooves and Paws. Get 15% off by using this URL: www.hoovesandpaws.com/horseperson

Every so often, we bring you a lighter conversation with someone whose love of horses has shaped their life in unexpected ways. This week, Beth sits down with award-winning jewelry designer Irene Neuwirth to talk about rediscovering horses as an adult, building a world-class creative business, developing young hunters, and why riding has made her a better entrepreneur. It's a fun conversation about ambition, creativity, and embracing your inner horse girl, no matter where life takes you.

When people ask horse people why we love horses so deeply, it feels impossible to explain.

In this first episode of Booked with Beth, a new series where Beth Behrs sits down with authors writing about horses, she talks with Emily Haworth-Booth, author of the extraordinary memoir MARE. What begins as a conversation about a book quickly becomes something much bigger: an exploration of grief, identity, menopause, creativity, womanhood, and the mysterious way horses seem to restore something essential in us.

Emily shares the deeply personal story that inspired MARE, from navigating early menopause and the loss of her beloved dog to rediscovering horses as an adult. We explore why horses feel like home, why mares challenge us in ways geldings don't, and what it is about the barn that creates such a unique community... especially for women.

Learn more about Emily here.