OTTB on Tap

In this week's episode, we use answers from a poll we took in our Facebook group OTTB Market where we asked Resellers, "What is one thing you wish buyers knew about OTTBs" -- we break down the answers into themes and discuss the responses and share some of our experiences, thoughts and opinions as well.

In this week's episode, we talk to Emily (my cohost) and hear about her very first Classic Long Format (which just happened to be the NAYRC Championships) with her OTTB, Alex. We break down the elements of the long format and the training and preparation needed to compete in the late 90s. Emily gives us a first-hand account of what it was like getting her OTTB to his first long-format event and all the highs and lows throughout the event.

We're dedicating the episode to Jimmy Wofford who coached the NAYRC Area 2 team to their silver medal success that year.

Sources:

United States Eventing Association, Inc. (2021, March 9). The Classic Series Conditioning Schedule with Jim Wofford. USEA : United States Eventing Association Inc. https://useventing.com/news-media/news/the-classic-series-conditioning-schedule-with-jim-wofford

Admin. (2016, July 12). The evolution of eventing. Horse Sport. https://horsesport.com/magazine/lifestyle/the-evolution-of-eventing/

Coach, M. V. E. (2015, March 17). The Problems in the Eventing World Today! (written in 2014) (Current freebie!). www.myvirtualeventingcoach.com. https://www.myvirtualeventingcoach.com/articles/problems-eventing-world-today-Lesley-Stevenson

Wofford, J. (2017, February 22). Jim Wofford: Short format ‘Dumbs down’ eventing. Practical Horseman. https://practicalhorsemanmag.com/training/short_format_122308/

Wofford, J (2020, April 18) In Support of the Classic Three-Day Event. Volume 34, EventingUSA, Issue 2

In this week's episode, we join forces with Jessica Redman from Benchmark Sporthorses and discuss how to become a reputable buyer through the eyes of one of the most prolific resellers in the US. We go over some of the characteristics that resellers in a busy program would like to see from buyers, general etiquette, and things you can do to gain their trust and respect throughout the buying process. Jessica reveals some industry tips for making the sales process smooth for everyone involved and gives a few cautionary tales along the way. Special guest cameos of two of her cats!

This week's episode features an interview with Emily by Niamh, digging deep into the background of how she acquired her upper-level horse, back in the 1990s. Buying horses of any kind 30 years ago looked a lot different from the luxury of online shopping today. Listen in to hear about how she factored budget, availability, conformation, gut feeling, and athleticism (and a little bit of luck) into her decision making which ultimately took her to the advanced level of eventing. This episode is a 2 part series that we will revisit later in the podcast -- in the second part, we'll dive into how Emily trained and prepared an OTTB to stay fit, sound, and sane during the long format days of eventing and the challenges she faced a long the way to some of her highest accolades.

This episode is a walk-through of a buyer's guide we created to help navigate the process and information when you're searching for an OTTB. The PDF will be available for download at https://www.ottbontap.com/ep-3-ottb-on-tap-buyers-guide/

In this episode, you meet the hosts of OTTB on Tap, Emily Kocubinski, and Niamh O'Connell -- two lifelong horse girls who connected over their passion for OTTBs. We tell you about how we met and our individual backstories.