Jake Corwin is the General Manager for Valor Farm, a working farm and community designed to help veterans live and perform dignified work while participating in resilience, trauma recovery, and career preparation programs. Jake spent his early life pursuing his dream of being a cowboy, working for ranches and horse trainers all over the eastern United States. While running the commercial side of a large cattle operation, Jake couldn’t help but feel that he was called to do something more. It was at this time he was presented the opportunity to work for the National Center for Healthy Veterans. Over the last four years, Jake has been able to use his horse and ranching experience to help build Valor Farms into a facility that allows veterans to create a better life for themselves. 

On November 10th, 2024 the National Center for Healthy Veterans lost their barn and indoor arena in a fire. No humans were killed or injured in the incident, but they did lose two donkeys used for therapy as well as all their saddles and tack. While operations continue at the farm, the NCHV now faces the long road of rebuilding their equine facility and replacing the gear and equipment that was lost. If you would like to help in their rebuild effort, please go to healthyveterans.org to donate or learn how to get involved. 

Nevada Miller is a talented silversmith, jeweler, and founder of the Be A Maker School. Raised in California, Nevada grew up immersed in entrepreneurship and craftsmanship, learning valuable lessons from her parents that shaped her work ethic and dedication.

Nevada shares how her upbringing influenced her journey as an artist and entrepreneur, inspiring her to create the Be A Maker School—a platform where students can learn directly from skilled craftspeople in fields like saddle making, rawhide braiding, leatherworking, and jewelry making. She also reflects on her experience adapting to life in a small, rural town in southern Nevada as a young woman fresh out of college.

Jaton Lord is a Reined Cow Horse Trainer from California. Jaton was exposed to the horse world through the help of his grandfather, Ray Hunt. As a teenager, Jaton travelled the world with grandpa Ray, riding colts and getting exposed to thousands of horses and riders. When he came of age, Jaton opted to start his career in the performance horse industry. Jaton joins Joe to share his journey of cowboying, showing and helping people with their horses. Topics discussed include the relationship between horsemanship and horse showing, the importance of not forcing things to happen, and what it takes to be successful in the horse business.

Paul Van Dyke is a saddle maker and horse trainer from Sheridan Wyoming. Originally from Michigan, Paul always had a love of the western arts and lifestyle. As a teenager, the course of his life would be changed when he took a trip to Sheridan, Wyoming and met Don Butler. In the Spring of 1997 Paul went to work for Don to learn the art of saddle making. From there, Paul began to carve out a life in the area, riding colts and cowboying in the summer and building saddles in the winter. Today Paul continues to make saddles and train horses in addition to teaching saddle making courses. Join Joe as he sits down with Paul to discuss saddle making, the art of teaching and the unique, rich history of the Sheridan style of leather work.

Zöe Chappelear is a horse trainer from Burbank, Oklahoma. The wife of former guest, Derek Chappelear, Zöe runs her business out of K Barr C Ranch. Zöe joins Joe to share the story of her horsemanship education, the growing of her business and her goals for the future. Topics discussed include getting wholistic education in the horse industry, what it looks like to grow a training business and the importance of letting horses think for themselves.

Dana Glass is a horseman from Wellington, Florida. Dana and his wife, Dressage Olympian Kasey Perry-Glass, both work with horses for a living. Dana did not grow up around horses, but at the end of his collegiate baseball career he was recruited to work on a large guest ranch in Colorado. Though it wasn’t always the easiest work, this job spurred Dana’s passion for working with horses and starting colts. Dana once again had a pivotal moment in his education when he was introduced to the horsemanship of former guests such as Buck Brannaman, Joe Wolter and Buster Mclaury. Since then, Dana has been pursuing good horsemanship through his work. Today, Dana works with colts all the way up to Olympic level show horses. Join Ben and Joe as they learn about Dana’s fascinating horsemanship journey.

Dan Lorenz is the Founder of Ranch Vision Achievement, a consulting company that focuses on leadership and business development that helps ranches and conservation groups flourish. Dan has spent time all over the country, from the suburbs of Chicago, dressage barns of Florida, to the ranches of Northwest Wyoming. He has a passion for horsemanship, ranching and people. He’s gone through several business ventures over the years, but his most recent one focuses on problems he’s encountered his whole life, dysfunctional organizations. Dan joins Ben and Joe to share his journey and talk about what he has seen that has made people and organizations both successful and unsuccessful. Topics discussed include ranching in predator country, burning out from business and how to set your life up to have meaningful work.

Lauren Trager-Burns is a Clinical Assistant professor at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine. Her residency was in Equine Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation. Today she currently practices on performance horses from both the English and Western disciplines. Joe and Lauren sit down to discuss her career, equine orthopedics and recovery. Topics discussed include working with off the track thoroughbreds, the best recovery tools for your horse and the importance of a proper warmup.

Joe and Ben sit down to discuss the recent controversy with Charlotte Dujardin, an Olympic Dressage rider from the UK who withdrew from the Paris Olympics after a video was exposed of her whipping a student's horse 24 times in a row. The Dujardin controversy has sparked a lot of discussion in the equine world and has sparked a larger audience with some even calling for the banning of equine events in the Olympics. Joined by their friend, Noelle Hasler, Ben and Joe discuss the details of Charlotte's video, the international response and how it impacts the larger equine community.

Ryley Miller is a competitive horse driver from Pennsylvania. She currently competes at the FEI 2 Star level. FEI driving operates similar to three day eventing. It consists of three phases, Dressage, Marathon and Cones. Ryley joins Ben and Joe to educate them on this discipline and share her journey as a young driver making her way to the upper echelon of the sport. Topics discussed include the format of driving competitions, the horses and gear used in driving and the challenges of being a young competitor at a high level.