Dear Horse World - Matt Brown: Why Asking “Why?” Is the Hardest—and Most Important—Question in Equestrian Sport Today

Matt Brown has ridden at the top of the sport. But when he watched a replay of one of his proudest rounds, he didn’t see a confident partnership—he saw a horse responding to pressure, not trust. That moment changed everything.

In this episode, Matt joins us to talk about why he stopped carrying a whip in eventing competitions—and how that decision opened the door to something deeper: leadership, vulnerability, and the quiet reckoning that happens when tradition no longer aligns with who you want to be.

Matt names what so many riders feel but rarely say out loud, from internalized pressure to the shame of past mistakes to the fear of evolving in public.

You’ll walk away with:

• Language for the subtle forms of pressure that can go unnoticed in training

• A deeper understanding of how systemic norms shape personal choices

• Insight into what real partnership with a horse can look like, without force

• Encouragement to rethink tradition with nuance, empathy, and clarity

• Matt's book that he would read to the Horse World - Burn Your Goals by Jamie Gilbert and Joshua Medcalf

This is a conversation about the beliefs we absorb without knowing, the pressure we pass down without meaning to, and the kind of rider we become when we stop trying to prove we belong—and start listening instead.

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Connect with Matt Brown

• 📸 Instagram: @eastwesttrainingstables

• 🌐 Website: www.eastwesttrainingstables.net

• 🐴 Training & Clinics: Learn more about Matt and Cecily’s coaching, clinics, and horses for sale at East West Training Stables

✍️ Read More: Explore Matt’s columns on The Chronicle of the Horse → Matt Brown on COTH