In this episode of “In Stride,” Sinead is joined by event and dressage riders Matt Brown and Cecily Clark.

Matt and Cecily founded their training and riding business, East West Training Stables, in 2004. The business started out in Petaluma, California, before eventually moving to Cochranville, Pennsylvania, in 2015 so Matt could pursue a spot on the US Eventing Team. After their move to the east coast, Matt completed his first CCI5* at the 2016 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event as the highest-placed rookie and was named as a reserve for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games US Eventing Team. His success continued that year with a spot on the Land Rover US Eventing Team for Aachen CICO4*, where he helped the team secure their 6th place finish in July. In 2017, Matt finished 6th at the Rolex Kentucky CCI5* with Super Socks BCF and was the USEA Gold Cup Advanced Champion at the American Eventing Championships with BCF Belicoso. While Matt’s passion is eventing, Cecily has a background in Hunters and Equitation and is currently pursuing goals as a dressage rider. Cecily brought a former eventer, Ringwood Galaxy, through the levels to Intermediare and is currently training the Grand Prix movements with him. Cecily also graduated Cum Laude with a B.A. in History from the Dominican University of California.

In this episode, Matt and Cecily discuss topics related to the evolution of horse training, including:

• Learning more about horses’ behavior and applying that information to training.

• The different set of skills that is required for training horses and teaching people.

• Using natural horsemanship to solve problems in a way that is better for the horse.

• Teaching riders to have emotional control in a way that helps them have confidence in the saddle.

• How a fixed mindset can hinder your progress, and a learning mindset can push you towards your goal.

Join Matt, Cecily, and Sinead in this exciting conversation about putting the horse first.