Horse Person

Lessons from an FEI dressage rider for $5? What's the catch?  That was my reaction - and the reaction of lots of other riders - when they saw Meghan Laffin's post. But on further investigation, this was an approach to a multi-pronged problem that Meghan identified in the dressage industry: 1) Many riders are feeling the financial strain of pursuing their goals in their sport, 2) Many riders felt alone, or too embarrased to seek help and 3) There's not always a clear path to improvement, let alone success, so having a fresh set of eyes and a professional take on your situation could prove valuable. Besides, Meghan had spent most of her career in horses riding, and wanted to improve her coaching skills. It was a win-win.  She’s now taught over 100 of these lessons and in this episode shares what she's learned from the wide array of riders that she was able to support over this 4-month experiment. Meghan Laffin is a 31-year-old dressage rider who is also the assistant trainer for Olympic dressage rider, Kasey Perry-Glass. Meghan has taken Diane Perry’s mare Stina from First Level to I-1 and aims to start doing the small tour in 2025. Meghan also has her MBA from UC-Davis, is a former producer at CBS News, and was a division 1 volleyball player at Coastal Carolina University.  This is the story of what $5 lessons taught Meghan, and the students who took her up on her crazy offer. Thanks for listening.   This episode is proudly supported by We Ride Together, a nonprofit organization created to cast light upon the endemic issue of sexual abuse in youth and amateur sports. Their mission is to make the youth and amateur sport environment safer for all athletes. To access the blog post mentioned in this episode, click here.  This episode is also supported by Nikovian - equestrian riding apparel for home or for shows that feels and performs like luxury, but without the luxury price tag. Use code horseperson15 at checkout for 15% off your purchase.   

The culture of your barn can make or break your experience there. And if you're a trainer, it can attract the clients of your dreams... or your nightmares. It's time to get intentional about choosing and building culture in our barns and stables. How do we build cultures that are led by the values we choose, instead of the bad habits we fall back on? How do we decide what is most important to us, and find or build an environment that reflects that?  On today's episode, host Caroline Culbertson is joined by performance coach, culture-building expert, and author of 'You Are a Contender' and 'Ride Big', John Haime. In this episode, Caroline and John discuss:  Why values must come before culture How to observe your barn's culture Why sometimes unexpected or 'unusual' values bring about the best competitive results How culture informs the horsemanship habits that will be carried forward in future generations What a strong culture looks like vs a weak one How to implement culture in your own barn John ends with a self-awareness quiz for you to take at home This episode is proudly supported by We Ride Together, a nonprofit organization created to cast light upon the endemic issue of sexual abuse in youth and amateur sports. Their mission is to make the youth and amateur sport environment safer for all athletes. To access the blog post mentioned in this episode, click here.  This episode is also supported by Nikovian - equestrian riding apparel for home or for shows that feels and performs like luxury, but without the luxury price tag. Use code horseperson15 at checkout for 15% off your purchase. 

Today’s episode is a special one for me as I sit down with long-time friend and my former boss, Noelle Floyd. This episode might sound a little different, and that’s because we had the really lovely opportunity to sit down together at Equine Affaire in Massachusetts and record this conversation live in the expo center. And that’s exactly what this episode is - an honest, unscripted conversation. Noelle Floyd is the visionary behind NF+, the ultimate streaming platform for horse lovers. Noelle has built a global community centered around better horse care, ethical training, and empowering riders to rewrite the rules of their own journey. Together, we’re here to talk about how to learn, grow, and create a sense of community that’s meaningful and inclusive. We discuss:  - How horses have showed up in our lives differently during different points in our lives - Noelle on asking for help when it's been extremely uncomfortable - feeling like outsiders in the equestrian industry - meeting preconceptions that others have about you  - how to build community in an "individual" sport and an individualistic society - Noelle on the risk/reward of setting out on the road. The unforeseen challenges and gifts of that.  -Caroline on the risk/reward of leaving a full time career, decoupling her self worth from her work, re-entering the podcasting scene and how seeing her kids and her horses bond has reminded her of being a little horse girl herself This episode is proudly supported by We Ride Together, a nonprofit organization created to cast light upon the endemic issue of sexual abuse in youth and amateur sports. Their mission is to make the youth and amateur sport environment safer for all athletes. To access the blog post mentioned in this episode, click here.  This episode is also supported by Nikovian - equestrian riding apparel for home or for shows that feels and performs like luxury, but without the luxury price tag. Use code horseperson15 at checkout for 15% off your purchase. 

At this point, we collectively know and acknowledge that nearly everyone who rides horses will experience fear at some point - it's the cost of doing business with 1000lb+ creatures who are strong, fast, and have their own instincts. For some folks fear might be momentary or fleeting, and for others, fear may become an unwanted, consistent passenger that seems to take over their experience with their horse. I wanted to learn a bit about how we can take the big, overwhelming problem of fearing our horses and trace it back to smaller, less overwhelming, and more addressable pieces.  Who better to walk us into that interconnectedness than Luke Gingerich, who appears in these big “spooky” night time shows with his horses bridleless or his horses at liberty in exhibitions and clinics all over the country, where simply controlling the horse through fearful situations with contact is not an option.  Luke specializes in Performance Liberty Horsemanship, inspiring and educating people to better connect with and understand their horses, while empowering them to reach their goals together in many different disciplines and pursuits.  In this chat, we discuss:  -Your personal responsibility to your horse and to yourself - How luke “diagnoses” or identifies a fear problem between a horse and rider, even if he doen’t know the horse and rider - Some practical relationship and riding strategies when fear enters the picture either suddenly or in a more longstanding, chronic way.  And finally - we end with a bit of hope. Fear isn’t something to “overcome” because fear is useful and serves a purpose, but it is something that we can get some context and control around. Luke and I talk about the gift on the other side of fear and why it can forge a deeper bond with your horse in the end, than if you’d never had it.  This episode is proudly supported by Nikovian - high-performance, size inclusive, flattering equestrian apparel that feels like true luxury . Use horseperson15 to get 15% off of your purchase of ANY item on their website. We're proud to be supported by WeRideTogether.today , a nonprofit organization on a mission to make the youth and amateur sport environment safer for all athletes. Go HERE to take the pledge mentioned in this episode’s Ringside Chat segment.