Practical Horseman Podcast

This week’s Practical Horseman Podcast, sponsored by Purina, is with five-star eventer Lillian Heard Wood. She spoke with us in late October following her eighth-place finish at the Maryland 5 Star with her longtime partner LCC Barnaby.

To give you a little more background on Lillian, she has 16 CCI5* completions, including top-10 finishes at the Maryland 5 Star and top-20 finishes at the Badminton, Burghley and Kentucky CCI5*s. Originally from Poolesville, Maryland, Lillian developed a passion for eventing while competing in the United States Pony Clubs. She spent 10 years as a working student for Olympian Boyd Martin and five-star competitor Jan Byyny. Also, Lillian worked in Ireland and England in multiple international yards, most notably for Carol Gee of Fernhill Sport Horse Center. She runs her training business out of Lanefield Farm in Coatesville, Pennsylvania, alongside her husband, five-star eventer Ryan Wood.

In our discussion, Lillian talks about deciding to retire the 18-year-old LCC Barnaby from the five-star level, handling disappointment in the sport and celebrating personal successes.

Confidently address your horse’s unique weight needs and help optimize their overall wellbeing with research-proven Purina Animal Nutrition feeds—designed by passionate equine nutritionists. Partner with Purina to nourish your horse to their optimal body condition. Explore weight management resources for your horse today at purinamills.com/feed-finder.

You can also follow @purinafeedgreatness on Instagram and @PurinaHorse on Facebook.

Welcome to the PHOD pod, the Practical Horseman Podcast's Minisode series where we share audio clips from our subscription video site, Equestrian Plus. At Equestrian Plus, you can enjoy over 5,000 videos and get insider access to exclusive interviews and lectures, slow-motion demonstrations, and step-by-step tutorials taught by top-level pros in the hunter jumper, equitation, eventing, and dressage disciplines.

On this week's episode, dressage and event rider Chelsea Canedy leads a short, guided meditation to realign yourself before interacting with your horse. She helps get you to a place where you can find stillness and internal quiet and locate that gratitude for your horse and your time with him.

When you tune into the PHOD Pod, listen closely for a promo code for 15% off your Equestrian Plus subscription!

To sign up for Equestrian Plus, click here.

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With over 30 years behind the COSEQUIN® name, you can rely on COSEQUIN® products when performance matters. To learn more, speak with your veterinarian or visit Cosequin.com. 

This week’s Practical Horseman Podcast, sponsored by Purina, is with professional hunter/jumper rider and trainer TJ O’Mara. He spoke with us in mid-October during the busy indoor season.

To give you a little more background on O'Mara, he had a successful junior career, winning three equitation finals in 2016: the Excellence in Equitation Championship, the Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals - East, and the Pessoa/USEF Hunter Seat Medal Final. In 2018, he turned professional while getting his college degree at the University of Kentucky. Two years later in 2020, O'Mara joined Max Amaya's team at Stonehenge Stables as a professional rider and trainer, with a focus on training the equitation students. Last year, he helped coach student Carlee McCutcheon to wins in the Dover Saddlery/USEF Hunter Seat Medal Final and the ASPCA Maclay National Championship. In the competition ring, O'Mara earned his first FEI win in 2022 and competes at the five-star level.  

In our discussion, O'Mara talks about the start of his professional career, important lessons he has learned thus far and his training philosophy.

Confidently address your horse's unique weight needs and help optimize their overall wellbeing with research-proven Purina Animal Nutrition feeds—designed by passionate equine nutritionists. Partner with Purina to nourish your horse to their optimal body condition. Explore weight management resources for your horse today at purinamills.com/feed-finder.

You can also follow @purinafeedgreatness on Instagram and @PurinaHorse on Facebook. 

This week’s Practical Horseman Podcast, sponsored by Horse Week, is with Hannah Sue Hollberg. The five-star eventer has a lot on her radar right now. Earlier this year, she took over the ride on Thoroughbred gelding Business Ben from fellow eventer Allison Springer and has spent the past nine months fostering a new partnership with him. The pair has some big dates on their competition calendar this fall—and hopefully another one in the spring of 2025. 

Among her other talented horses are Capitol H I M and Harbour Pilot. Hannah Sue retired her longtime partner Harbour Pilot following his last five-star run at the 2022 MARS Maryland 5 Star at Fairhill, where the pair finished in 10th. Hannah decided to retire the then 19-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding, after their 12-year partnership to ensure “William” ended his career healthy and happy—and to give him the opportunity to enjoy lower-impact work. 

Hannah Sue and Capitol H I M—affectionately known as “Cheeto”—made their five-star debut at the 2022 Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event and competed in the CCI5* at last year’s Maryland Five Star, where they finished fourth and were the highest-placed U.S combination.  

After serving as a working student with Karen and David O’Connor from 2008 to 2011, Hannah Sue went on to become a team gold and individual silver medalist at the 2011 Pan American Games aboard Harbour Pilot. She also represented the U.S. in a number of European events, gained plenty of five-star experience and most recently placed third at the MARS Bromont CCI4*-L with Capitol H I M last June. 

In today’s podcast, we talked to Hannah Sue about what’s new on her horizons, the incredible partnerships she shares with her horses, her training philosophies—and how she finally overcame a lack of confidence through perseverance and her passion for eventing horses. 

Celebrate the splendor of horses during Horse Week! Join us for the ultimate equine celebration during the Horse Week Film Festival, brought to you by Boehringer Ingelheim, October 20-26, 2024. This extraordinary event unites horse enthusiasts from around the globe in a free weeklong online film festival dedicated to the awe-inspiring world of horses. Sign up for our free newsletter to stay in the know and tune in live October 20-26 at horseweek.tv.

This week’s Practical Horseman Podcast, sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim, is with health and wellness coach Ruben Mahboobi. He spoke with us last spring after the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event.

In this episode, Rubee talks about what riders need to do to have balance in their lives and how that balance is the foundation of overall health. A healthy person, he says, who is balanced in body, mind, and spirit is a better rider and has more chance of achieving his or her goals. Though Rubee’s clients involve those at the tops of their fields, including four-time Olympian Boyd Martin, his advice can help riders of all disciplines and levels. Riders can be so focused on helping their horses be the healthiest and best they can be that many forget about themselves. But their health and well-being is a critical part of their success and overall happiness.

Rubee assists clients with maximizing their performance and achieving or surpassing their short and long-term goals. His coaching style is grounded in his training as an executive and dignitary protection specialist and integrates meditation, yoga, mindfulness training, martial arts and a spiritual perspective with conventional wellness modalities. His high-profile clients have included Olympic athletes, A-List celebrities, Grammy-award-winning musicians, corporate CEOs, medical and legal professionals and internationally known artists.

Rubee has a long list of educational certifications in yoga, massage, exercise and more, including training at the Bodhidharma Institute in Pushkar, India. In addition to private practice, Rubee served as a holistic therapist for the psychiatric department at Bellevue Hospital Center in New York City. And he worked with the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene at Riker’s Island Jail, leading trauma-sensitive yoga and therapy workshops for incarcerated men and adolescents.

 Finally, Rubee is an amateur dressage rider, who is also involved in music production. You can find more information about him on Instagram at @gurubee. You can also learn more about him at gurubee.org.

 This week’s Practical Horseman Podcast is sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim, empowering excellence in every horse. As the global leader in equine health, Boehringer Ingelheim is focused on sharing our passion to improve the life of every horse. We understand that no one cares for a horse alone; it takes a whole network of passionate people to provide the highest level of care. Our team goes beyond our comprehensive product portfolio to support veterinarians, equine care professionals and horse owners alike in raising equine health to an art form. To learn more about our philosophy of care, visit TheArtofHorse.com.

This week’s Practical Horseman Podcast, sponsored by SmartPak, is with international show jumper Laura Chapot. She spoke with us in mid-September after the Devon Fall Classic, following a busy summer competing along the East Coast.

Laura comes from a prolific equestrian family. Her late father Frank Chapot was a six-time Olympian and longtime U.S. Jumping Team chef d’equipe. Her mother Mary Chapot is a two-time Olympian, and her sister Wendy is an active competitor as well. Gem Twist, a successful U.S. show jumping horse in the 1980s and 1990s, was bred and trained by Frank Chapot and ridden by Greg Best and Leslie Howard before being ridden by Laura later in his career.

Laura is skilled equestrian in her own right. She was on several U.S. Nations Cup teams and helped earn team bronze at the 2007 Pan American Games with Little Big Man. Over the summer, Laura won the $75,000 Richard M. Feldman Grand Prix with Chandon Blue at the Lake Placid Horse Shows in New York.

In this episode, Laura talks about what it was like growing up in her equestrian family, her competition routine and training philosophy.

This week's Practical Horseman Podcast is sponsored by SmartPak. Even the best cared for horse can colic, but you don't have to go through it alone. With ColiCare by SmartPak, your horse gets daily comprehensive hindgut support and you get up to $15,000 in colic surgery reimbursement. Give your horse the best care available and receive your own peace of mind in return. Choose ColiCare and enroll now by calling 1-800-461-8898 or visiting SmartPak.com/ColiCare. 

This week’s Practical Horseman Podcast, sponsored by Purina, is with international show jumper Katie Dinan. She spoke with us in mid-July after she represented the U.S. Jumping Team at CHIO Aachen in Germany. Aachen served as one of Dinan's observation events as a rider named to the U.S. Jumping Team Short List for Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Dinan has collected numerous top placings as well as represented the U.S. on several Nations Cup teams thus far in her career. She made her senior Nations Cup debut in 2013 and helped the U.S. earn a Nations Cup win at CSIO5* Dublin in 2014. Dinan has competed in five Longines FEI Jumping World Cup Finals. Last fall, she won the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ CSI5*-W at the Washington International Horse Show with Brego R’N B.

In this episode, Dinan talks about what she enjoys about show jumping, how she handles big competitions and shares about her string of horses.

This week’s Practical Horseman Podcast is sponsored by Purina. Purina Animal Nutrition has three research-backed ration balancers to fill nutritional gaps in your horse's diet. Enrich Plus delivers a concentrated source of protein, vitamins and minerals without unnecessary calories. Enrich Plus Senior features ActivAge Prebiotic Technology and Outlast Supplement for aging easy-keepers. Omega Match is rich in Omega-3 fatty acids and Vitamin E, great for horses without access to green grass. Find a ration balancer for your horse at purinamills.com/RationBalancers or visit your local feed store.

Also, follow Purina on Instagram at purinafeedgreatness and on Facebook at PurinaHorse.

Welcome to the PHOD pod, the Practical Horseman podcast's Minisode series where we share audio clips from our subscription video site, Equestrian Plus. At Equestrian Plus, you can enjoy over 5,000 videos and get insider access to exclusive interviews and lectures, slow-motion demonstrations, and step-by-step tutorials taught by top-level pros in the hunter jumper, equitation, eventing, and dressage disciplines. 

On this week's episode, hunter jumper trainer Kristy McCormack explains how to build a mental speedometer to control your pace on course to find better distances. She starts at a walk with "1 mph" and shows how to add and subtract pace through the trot and canter as she builds to a canter pace needed to jump a course. 

When you tune into the PHOD Pod, listen closely for a promo code for 15% off your Equestrian Plus subscription! 

In this week's Practical Horseman Podcast, sponsored by Cosequin, Sentinel and Zoetis, we spoke with Olympic show jumping team silver medalist Karl Cook. He and his Olympic mount Caracole de la Roque traveled to Paris as the alternate combination for Team USA. But after Kent Farrington withdrew his horse due to an allergy issue, the team decided to bring in Cook and Caracole.

For his part, Cook and the feisty bay mare had a stellar Olympic debut. He and Caracole were the sole U.S. combination to collect two clear rounds in team competition. This unequivocally helped the team clinch silver.

In today’s podcast, we talked to Cook about his Olympic debut at the 2024 Paris Games and his partnership with Caracole, and we discussed his comprehensive horsemanship program that prioritizes his horses’ health and well-being above all us.

This week’s episode of the Practical Horseman Podcast, sponsored by Purina, is with international eventer James Alliston.

In early July 2024, Alliston and Karma, his and Ric Plummer’s U.S.-bred Oldenburg mare, helped the U.S. Eventing Team earn a second-place finish at CHIO Aachen in Germany. Also, they finished as the highest-placed U.S. combination in ninth place.  

To give you a little more background on Alliston, his journey with horses began as a child riding in England to now representing the U.S. on the world stage. He has tallied numerous top international placings and CCI5* completions as well as represented the U.S. on several Nations Cup teams. He made his senior Nations Cup team debut at the 2022 Boekelo CCIO4*-NC-L in the Netherlands with Nemesis. Alliston returned to Boekelo the following year with Karma, and they finished as the top-U.S. combination in 14th place. Alliston had three CCI4* wins in 2023 and has earned another CCI4* win thus far in 2024.

In our discussion, Alliston talks about what he enjoys about eventing, how he handles big competitions and his training philosophy.

This week’s Practical Horseman Podcast is sponsored by Purina. There’s more talk than ever about the importance of probiotics in equine health. But not all probiotics are created equal. New Purina Systemiq Supplement remains live & active after the pelleting process and throughout the digestive system making it all the way to the hind gut. Systemiq was designed to support normal recovery after exercise and occasional gastrointestinal stress. Whether you’re using a probiotic now or not, it’s time to use a live and active supplement from a name you trust. New Purina Systemiq probiotic. Be sure to visit PurinaMills.com to learn more.