The Trainer's Wife

Heidi Arvidson has worn a lot of hats, including a crown.

She grew up in Collinsville, Oklahoma, helping out in her parents’ feed store and falling in love with horses and rodeo. She ran barrels, and her mom encouraged her to enter local rodeo queen contests. Heidi took that path seriously, competing her way to a regional association title before earning the crown of Miss Rodeo Oklahoma in 1991.

She went on to earn a degree in special education and taught for four years. Today, she’s a wife, mom, daughter, and caregiver. She’s an administrator for Alpha Quarter Horses, a familiar face in the office at Triangle Horse Sales, and the manager of the Oklahoma Reining Horse Association’s Ride & Slide.

Over the past ten years, the OKRHA Ride & Slide has grown from 174 stalls to nearly 1,100—more than 500% growth. Heidi will tell you that took an entire association and many people working together. She has been the driving force behind it, while giving credit to the team that helps to make it happen.

Today, I’m talking with Heidi, the wife of Todd Arvidson, an NRHA Professional and Judge. Their 32-year marriage is a testament to teamwork and sacrifice. And Heidi leaves us with a reminder we could all use: Be present and enjoy the little things while you’re in them.

SHOW NOTES:

Todd Arvidson Reining Horses

Oklahoma Ride and Slide

SPONSORED BY:

Christi's Cryotherapy & Performance Horses

Two Sister Ranch Tallow

Finding Center Retreats

Hey everyone, and welcome to Season Two of The Trainer’s Wife.

If you’ve been here for a while, thank you for walking this journey with me — and if you’re new, I’m so glad you found us.

This is where I sit down with the wives of professional horse trainers in the Western equine industry to share their stories — not just in the arena, but in life.

We talk about how they show up for their families, their careers, their communities, and for other women.

This podcast is a place to celebrate strong, brave, beautiful women whose roots run deep — and whose impact reaches far beyond the show pen.

I’m so glad you’re here.

For more than a year, I’ve asked other trainers’ wives to sit down with me and tell me their stories.

This time, it’s my turn.

In this very personal episode of The Trainer’s Wife, I’m stepping to the other side of the microphone to talk about my own journey—from the horse-show world and being a trainer’s wife, through divorce, loss, reinvention, and the many unexpected chapters that followed.

I talk about what it means when the life you thought you were building ends. About starting over when you don’t necessarily know what you’re starting toward. About work, relationships, writing, this podcast, Finding Center Retreats—and the strange, winding road that somehow brought me here.

This isn’t a story about having everything figured out.

It’s about discovering that starting over doesn’t mean you failed. And it doesn’t mean you’re starting from nothing.

You bring everything with you—the lessons, the heartbreak, the mistakes, the courage, and every version of the woman you’ve been.

Because starting over isn’t the end of your story.

It’s a new beginning.

This one is mine. 

SHOW NOTES

Sponsored By:

Two Sisters Ranch

The Jennifer Journals

Finding Center Retreats

Hey everyone, and welcome to Season Two of The Trainer’s Wife.

If you’ve been here for a while, thank you for walking this journey with me — and if you’re new, I’m so glad you found us.

This is where I sit down with the wives of professional horse trainers in the Western equine industry to share their stories — not just in the arena, but in life.

We talk about how they show up for their families, their careers, their communities, and for other women.

This podcast is a place to celebrate strong, brave, beautiful women whose roots run deep — and whose impact reaches far beyond the show pen.

I’m so glad you’re here.

Hello everybody, and welcome back to The Trainer’s Wife.

Today I’m sharing my conversation with Danielle Lybbert — horse trainer, competitor, businesswoman, and wife of NRCHA professional and judge Christian Lybbert.

Together, Danielle and Christian have combined earnings nearing $200,000 in the NRCHA. They’ve spent the last 15 years building a marriage and a horse-training business in an industry that demands so much to be successful.

They ride the horses that come through the gate, divide the work where they can, and have learned over the years how to lean into each other’s strengths. Danielle talks about learning to delegate the things that aren’t hers to carry — like accounting — so she can put more of her energy into the horses, the customers and the work she does best.

What I loved about this conversation is that you really get to see the woman behind all of that accomplishment — where she came from, what she has overcome, and how much intention has gone into building the life she has today — a life she says has fulfilled her childhood dreams.

One quick note before we begin: Danielle shares some very difficult parts of her family story, including discussion of suicide. If that is something that may be especially hard for you to hear today, I’ll let you decide whether or not to listen.

Otherwise, I hope you’ll enjoy getting to know Danielle Lybbert and the light she brings to this world.

SHOW NOTES:

Lybbert Performance Horses

988 Lifeline - Suicide Crisis and Lifeline

Two Sisters Ranch & Tallow

Finding Center Retreats

Hey everyone, and welcome to Season Two of The Trainer’s Wife.

If you’ve been here for a while, thank you for walking this journey with me — and if you’re new, I’m so glad you found us.

This is where I sit down with the wives of professional horse trainers in the Western equine industry to share their stories — not just in the arena, but in life.

We talk about how they show up for their families, their careers, their communities, and for other women.

This podcast is a place to celebrate strong, brave, beautiful women whose roots run deep — and whose impact reaches far beyond the show pen.

I’m so glad you’re here.

Today on The Trainer’s Wife, I’m sitting down with Sam Gallentine of Belle Plaine, Minnesota, where she and her husband, Ryan, have built a successful cow horse training business.

Ryan’s NRCHA earnings are just shy of $400,000, and most recently, he earned his first qualification to The Run For A Million Cow Horse Challenge in 2027 aboard One Ata Time.

But today, we’re talking about Sam—and she is a horsewoman in her own right.

Sam didn’t grow up in the horse business. She was simply a kid who loved horses and wanted to learn. She tells us about watching old RFD training videos, studying what she saw and then heading to the barn to try it herself.

That determination eventually led her through starting colts, cutting horse programs, working for accomplished trainers and ultimately building a life and business with Ryan.

Sam rides, trains and shows, but what struck me most was what she loves beyond the arena.

She loves caring for horses—figuring out how to feed them so they look their best, noticing when one isn’t drinking or feeling right, doing the vet work, even running fluids and putting in the time to make sure they feel as good as they possibly can.

Today, she does all of that while raising and homeschooling their two children.

And although Sam loves to show and loves to win, she told me she could be happy never showing another one—as long as she could still care for them and be part of making those horses great.

This is Sam Gallentine—and her story on The Trainer’s Wife.

SHOW NOTES:

Gallentine Performance Horses

Sponsored By:

Two Sisters Ranch

The Jennifer Journals

Hey everyone, and welcome to Season Two of The Trainer’s Wife.

If you’ve been here for a while, thank you for walking this journey with me — and if you’re new, I’m so glad you found us.

This is where I sit down with the wives of professional horse trainers in the Western equine industry to share their stories — not just in the arena, but in life.

We talk about how they show up for their families, their careers, their communities, and for other women.

This podcast is a place to celebrate strong, brave, beautiful women whose roots run deep — and whose impact reaches far beyond the show pen.

I’m so glad you’re here.

McKenzie Parkinson has spent most of her life in the horse industry.

She grew up in a horse-training family, started her career teaching middle school, and stepped away more than fifteen years ago when she became a mom.

Today, she's built an impressive career of her own as the Event and Sponsorship Manager for Kimes Ranch—and she absolutely loves what she does.

She's also married to accomplished horseman Shadd Parkinson, a multiple World Champion whose career spans several disciplines with collective earnings nearing $1 million.

Together, they've built a life that includes two careers, two kids, a horse-training business—and some seasons when all of it seems to need attention at exactly the same time.

McKenzie told me she believes you can have it all. You just can't have it all at once.

And I love where that takes our conversation.

We talk about the very different ways she and Shadd handle the chaos, what she's learned from his quiet, steady approach to life, and why not everything that feels urgent deserves our energy.

But underneath the careers, the horses, the wins and everything they're trying to fit into one life, McKenzie keeps coming back to what really matters:

The relationships we build along the way.

This is McKenzie Parkinson.

SHOW NOTES:

Parkinson Performance Horses

Kimes Ranch

McKenzie Parkinson

SHOW SPONSORS:

Two Sisters Ranch

Finding Center Retreats / The Jennifer Journals

Hey everyone, and welcome to Season Two of The Trainer’s Wife.

If you’ve been here for a while, thank you for walking this journey with me — and if you’re new, I’m so glad you found us.

This is where I sit down with the wives of professional horse trainers in the Western equine industry to share their stories — not just in the arena, but in life.

We talk about how they show up for their families, their careers, their communities, and for other women.

This podcast is a place to celebrate strong, brave, beautiful women whose roots run deep — and whose impact reaches far beyond the show pen.

I’m so glad you’re here.

The Trainer's ~ Fiancée

I invited Christi Milburn onto the podcast because she's a trainer's fiancée instead of a trainer's wife.

I thought we'd talk about what it's like to stand on the edge of that next chapter.

We did...

But somewhere along the way, the conversation took a completely different turn.

Christi shares a journey that began with a childhood spent horseback, shaping the woman she always hoped to become.

Fast forward to becoming a single mom at 19, and life looked very different. Horses disappeared from her world for a time, but when she found her way back, they became part of her own healing—and a way to help others find theirs.

Today, she's building a life with BJ Avila while growing a business dedicated to helping horses and their athletes perform at their very best.

This conversation is honest, hopeful, and a reminder that our hardest seasons don't have to define the rest of our story.

SHOW NOTES:

Christi's Cryotherapy & Performance Horses

BJ Avila Performance Horse's & Prospects

Episode Sponsors:

Two Sisters Ranch

Finding Center Retreats

Hey everyone, and welcome to Season Two of The Trainer’s Wife.

If you’ve been here for a while, thank you for walking this journey with me — and if you’re new, I’m so glad you found us.

This is where I sit down with the wives of professional horse trainers in the Western equine industry to share their stories — not just in the arena, but in life.

We talk about how they show up for their families, their careers, their communities, and for other women.

This podcast is a place to celebrate strong, brave, beautiful women whose roots run deep — and whose impact reaches far beyond the show pen.

I’m so glad you’re here.

There are seasons in life when supporting someone else's dream quietly becomes your entire world.

For Colie Lowndes, that season lasted years. Colie is the wife of NRCHA professional Trapper Lowndes. She grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada, and today they make their home in Whitesboro, Texas.

In today's conversation, Colie shares what it was like to leave behind a career she loved, move across the country, raise a daughter far from home, and help build their training business from the ground up.

Along the way, she opens up about marriage, motherhood, sacrifice, and the moment she realized it was time to make room for a dream of her own.

This isn't just a conversation about sacrifice. It's about identity, marriage, and having the courage to ask for a place in your own story again.

SHOW NOTES:

Trapper Lowndes Performance Horses

The Jennifer Journals

Hey everyone, and welcome to Season Two of The Trainer’s Wife.

If you’ve been here for a while, thank you for walking this journey with me — and if you’re new, I’m so glad you found us.

This is where I sit down with the wives of professional horse trainers in the Western equine industry to share their stories — not just in the arena, but in life.

We talk about how they show up for their families, their careers, their communities, and for other women.

This podcast is a place to celebrate strong, brave, beautiful women whose roots run deep — and whose impact reaches far beyond the show pen.

I’m so glad you’re here.

What do equine vaulting, psychology, professional bull riding, and reined cow horses have in common?

Lizzy Horve-Clark.

When Lizzy met Australian bull rider Brendon Clark, she was finishing graduate school and building a very different future. Today, she's the wife of an NRCHA trainer, a horse trainer herself, breeding manager for Red Arrow Ranch, and the steady force helping keep two thriving horse businesses moving forward.

But this conversation isn't about Brendon.

It's about Lizzy.

It's about the woman behind the scenes—the daughter of a determined single mom and a disabled Vietnam veteran, the psychology student who chose a different path, and the wife who found herself building a life in an industry that asks so much of the families who support it.

This is another story about the women who stand beside the trainers... and the lives they're building together.

SHOW NOTES:

Lizzy Horve-Clark

Clark Performance Horses

Red Arrow Ranch

Finding Center Retreats

Hey everyone, and welcome to Season Two of The Trainer’s Wife.

If you’ve been here for a while, thank you for walking this journey with me — and if you’re new, I’m so glad you found us.

This is where I sit down with the wives of professional horse trainers in the Western equine industry to share their stories — not just in the arena, but in life.

We talk about how they show up for their families, their careers, their communities, and for other women.

This podcast is a place to celebrate strong, brave, beautiful women whose roots run deep — and whose impact reaches far beyond the show pen.

I’m so glad you’re here.

Today’s guest is NRCHA Hall of Fame horsewoman Dema Paul.

With nearly $700,000 in NRCHA earnings, multiple Futurity Championships, and a lifetime spent competing at the highest levels of the cow horse industry, Dema has earned her place among the most accomplished women in the sport.

Raised in California by parents who knew little about horses, Dema taught herself by watching trainers from the grandstands, studying what worked, and then going home to try it herself. Long before online videos, clinics, and social media, she learned through observation, persistence, and an unwavering desire to improve.

In this conversation, Dema shares stories from her early days showing horses, buying and selling horses as a young girl, finding success as a self-taught competitor, navigating marriage and business in the horse industry, and the lessons she learned over a lifetime spent doing what she loves.

We also talk about retirement, knowing when it was time to step away from competition, financial realities in the horse business, and why letting go of yesterday's arguments may be one of the most important lessons of all.

Please enjoy my conversation with NRCHA Hall of Fame horsewoman, Dema Paul.

Show Notes:

Dema Paul Clinics

Shortys Caboy Hattery

Finding Center Retreats

Hey everyone, and welcome to Season Two of The Trainer’s Wife.

If you’ve been here for a while, thank you for walking this journey with me — and if you’re new, I’m so glad you found us.

This is where I sit down with the wives of professional horse trainers in the Western equine industry to share their stories — not just in the arena, but in life.

We talk about how they show up for their families, their careers, their communities, and for other women.

This podcast is a place to celebrate strong, brave, beautiful women whose roots run deep — and whose impact reaches far beyond the show pen.

I’m so glad you’re here.

On this episode of The Trainer’s Wife, I’m sitting down with Kim Lyon. Professionally, Kim is a commercial real estate executive specializing in office and industrial properties, where she has built a successful career rooted in relationships, business development, and strategic leadership.

In the western industry, Kim is married to AQHA, NRHA & NSBA professional horseman Bud Lyon, whose program has become one of the most recognizable names in ranch riding. Bud has earned more than $500,000 in NSBA earnings while setting records and earning Horse of the Year honors along the way.

But as you'll hear in this conversation, Kim’s story extends far beyond being married to a successful trainer.

We talk about growing up outside the traditional horse world, walking on to the Texas A&M Equestrian Team with little idea how much that single decision would change the course of her life, building confidence through challenge, learning business and sales from the ground up, and creating a life with intention along the way.

This conversation is thoughtful, honest, funny in all the best ways, and full of insight about relationships, ambition, mentorship, and the people who shape us throughout our lives.

Please welcome Kim Lyon.

SHOW NOTES:

Bud Lyon Performance Horses

Newmark - Kim Lyon

Hey everyone, and welcome to Season Two of The Trainer’s Wife.

If you’ve been here for a while, thank you for walking this journey with me — and if you’re new, I’m so glad you found us.

This is where I sit down with the wives of professional horse trainers in the Western equine industry to share their stories — not just in the arena, but in life.

We talk about how they show up for their families, their careers, their communities, and for other women.

This podcast is a place to celebrate strong, brave, beautiful women whose roots run deep — and whose impact reaches far beyond the show pen.

I’m so glad you’re here.