Ali Wakelin is a humble and grounded coach who has worked with some incredible trainers over her career.  Integrating her biomechanics knowledge, solid coaching skills, learning theory and her own insights Ali has developed her own unique approach to developing horses and riders to be the best they can be. We were surprised to find out Ali's backstory didn't include horses - "I never went near a horse as a child. I looked for a live in job as a teenager and saw an advert for a trainee groom and riding instructor!". Ali is an accomplished trainer and she acknowledges the importance of input from Mary Wanless, Andrew McLean as well as many others. She is proud to be a Ride With Your Mind coach working with individuals, coaching clinics at her base and supporting Mary Wanless in delivery of her teacher training programme. Ali delivers online training through Dressage Training TV as well as running some short, fun online courses for a select group of clients. Ali has a down-to-earth philosophy and an easy way about her as she talks through her ABC's of horse-training. She starts with ground work basics, based on the principles of equine learning theory and then uses these basics to develop ridden work to high levels. Her sense of humour runs through this episode as she talks about being "sent the horse you need" rather than the horse your perhaps wants, and shares her top tip to "enjoy the journey"  Join the HorseTribe membership group FREE to watch Ali's webinar for the HorseTribe and see her at our summer festival HorseFest!

As a horse owner and former 'nervous' competitor herself, Dr Tracey Cole knows all too well how it can feel to lose your confidence, whether that be in handling your horse, hacking, cantering or competing.

In love with horses since she was a little girl, she's now combining that passion for horses into her career as a NLP & hypnosis trainer and coach. Tracey had an interesting career journey, and was previously a research scientist, university lecturer and teacher! 

In his episode, she talks us through her career path, the challenges she has faced in starting her own business and the funny stories when it doesn't quite go right with your horse, even as a mindset expert!

Tracey's love of helping riders of all levels combat nerves and ride to the very best of their ability is clear as she talks about the work she does and shares with us a top tip for the HorseTribe to takeaway from this podcast.

Tracey's webinar "Conquering Confidence problems", available to watch on demand here and she will be one of our amazing experts running sessions at our summer festival - HorseFest, this July.

Anne's love affair with the horse started when she was a toddler and she climbed over a wall to be with the horses in the field behind her house! Hooked on the smell of horses, she's been involved with them in her life and career ever since.

She tells us about her early years competing in Scotland and how she trained with the Bartles, which gave her the taste for reaching the next level in competition.  Anne went on to be very successful professional rider at international advanced level in eventing & dressage, and also trained and examined pupils as a Senior examiner of the British Horse society.

This experience and understanding of the horse and rider helped her to become finely tuned to feedback from the horse, and started Anne on her journey to improve the interfaces between horse, saddle and rider, asking herself "why is it that horses don't like some saddles?".

She talks about founding the Saddle Research Trust in 2009, her PhD research into saddles and how they behave on a horses back and her saddle design work, which has been recognised with the Queen's award for innovation, as well as the fun she has every day with horsey people who simply have a "great sense of humour!"

Look out for Anne's webinar, on finding the best fit of saddle for your horse, later this year and meet her at HorseFest our festival this July.

Hayley grew up obsessed with horses, galloping around on her Shetland 'Bungle' and sometimes coming off when her Dad forgot to do up the girth!  Fast forward to today and Hayley is an experienced veterinary physio, supporting owners with their horses and also dogs. 

After she passed her degree in Equine Sports Science at Hartpury, followed  by a diploma in human sports massage, her career began to take shape at an event yard, where she was inspired by the physios that she saw working with the horses there.  She took herself back to University, this time to collect an MSc in Veterinary Physiotherapy, juggling study to hit the very high standards set on the course, with managing an event yard and producing / competing her own horses. (We were exhausted just listening to her life over those 2 years!!)

She tells us how this helped form her view that 'prevention is better than cure' with equine athletes and that, in addition to supporting horses with rehab, she believes physiotherapy can be a valuable tool for performance enhancement in horses.

Hayley shares with us her career challenges, highlights of horses she has helped, the funny things that happen in life as a vet physio and of course as ever we ask her for her top tips for the HorseTribe.

Hayley's work and more detailed advice will be featured in an upcoming expert article, a webinar and she will also be running sessions in person at our summer festival - HorseFest!!  For more information and to stay in touch with updates, visit us at www.horsefest.org.

Claire Myers is a horse owner herself and so as a Pilates instructor she REALLY gets what we find difficult, where the aches and pains are and how we move as riders.

We hear how horses have been a life-changing experience for Claire and her journey with an amazing horse-mad family, that came late to horses but all learned to ride together!

Claire had been teaching pilates for many years, but she learned to focus on equestrian-specific needs, once she'd become "obsessed" with horses and was riding herself.  Combining her Pilates expertise with her knowledge and understanding of biomechanics, she tells us about the importance of understanding how our bodies interact with the movement of the horse.

Pilates isn't always calmness and mindfulness as she covers in her funny story about LPP's (Lovely Pilates People) and join in as she talks through a simple top tip that EVERYONE can try whilst listening to the podcast!

For more focussed, achievable and rider-relevant tips, join Claire's webinar for the HorseTribe in February and she will have an expert article out soon on the members site.  Click here to join the HorseTribe FREE and find more expert articles HERE.

You may not have heard of BETA (The British Equestrian Trade Association) but as a rider or horse-owner, you are FRONT of mind for them and their members!  Cast you eye around your yard and you will probably see their logo on your feed and on your body-protector.  

A keen horse rider herself, Kiwi Claire moved to the UK to take up the position of Executive Director of BETA, after she saw an advert for the role in Horse & Hound, back in 1999.  In this episode we hear about Claire's love for horses and her passion for Lusitanos, born out of a trip to Portugal, where she fell in love with the breed after riding a Lusitano stallion.

Claire shares the work that BETA does to keep riders and horses safe and well, through several campaigns looking at rider safety, safe horse feed and feed suitable for horses with gastric ulcers, plus some new initiatives coming soon.

Of course there are the usual funny stories and top tips that we ask EVERY guest to share - listen in to hear Claire's! 

To find out more about BETA and how their work can help you, here are links to their YouTube Channel, Website and Facebook pages.

Horse-riders that are injured whilst hacking far from home, competing or even at the yard, need special assistance when their location is inaccessible by land-ambulance.  That's where the team from Midlands air ambulance step - or rather fly-in with their incredible "mobile A&E department"! In a fascinating episode, we hear from Trauma consultant Richard and fundraising exec Maria, their horsey backgrounds, some of the incredible missions that they have supported and the funding required for each mission to rescue and support a rider or other member of the public from a life-threatening situation. Of course there are the usual funny anecdotes too, this week involving mud and also nudist camps! And it wouldn't be a HorseTribe podcast without some useful top tips to help you if you are injured and where every second counts. To donate to this incredible organisation that is funded wholly by charitable donations, you can visit their website HERE.

"Never stop learning" is the mantra of Justine Harrison, and she has role-modelled that approach for almost 2-decades. Catalysed to change her career in 2004 from Graphic designer to Equine Behaviourist, in the pursuit of answers for her own behaviourally challenged 4 year old Dutch Warmblood Boris, she now helps countless horse-owners understand and resolve their horse's behavioural problems. 

The product of horsey-parents, Justine has been riding and involved with horses from the age of 3 and entertains us with a "funny but not for the right reasons" story of riding in front of the Queen at Windsor Horse Show! 

In this podcast episode Justine shares her passion for supporting horse-owners to recognise the early signs of fear and stress that their horses may be communicating, BEFORE those signs get to a more dangerous level.  She discusses how early recognition and positive reinforcement are important skills for horse owners to develop, and can lead to early diagnosis and resolution of underlying issues - to the horse and owners benefit. 

Justine will be delivering a webinar for our membership community, The HorseTribe, on November 18th 2021 and will be joining our line-up of experts at HorseFest our annual summer festival starting in summer 2022.  To join the HorseTribe FREE click here and you can keep in touch with updates about expert webinars, articles and festival announcements!

Can you help Mary King with her next challenge - raising money for Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital? Listen to our latest episode to find out how!

Eventing legend Mary King's glittering career includes representing her country at six Olympic Games, as well as numerous world and European championships. A former world number one, Mary has won Badminton, Burghley, Kentucky and the British Open at Gatcombe.

In this episode, she talks to us about her fascination with horses from a very young age and how her time working at Sheila Wilcox's yard helped form the way she produces her own eventers.  Mary goes on to share her current goals and the exciting new chapter she is pursuing, producing and selling some wonderful homebred eventers, from her yard in Salcombe Regis.

"I've always been someone who has aims" Mary tells us. her recent non-horsey achievements have included sailing across the Atlantic, joining the crew in the Clipper Race leg from South Africa to Australia and now she's training for this year's London marathon in aid of the incredible Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital.

Join the HorseTribe, to help Mary raise as much money as possible for this wonderful charity, click HERE to find out more.