Understand Your Competitive Drive So That It Doesn’t Work Against You (Or Your Horse)
Release Date: 08/08/2023
Sexual Abuse in the Horse Industry: A Conversation with Annette Paterakis on Isolation, Hope, and Healing
Equestrian Voices
TW: Descriptions of grooming, sexual abuse as a minor. Listen with care. Growing up in the Netherlands, Annette Paterakis rode ponies competitively and had Olympic aspirations. However, transitioning to riding horses was difficult, and teenage Annette found herself going from top placings to being eliminated in the show ring. With dreams and investments on the line, Annette needed some help. Unfortunately, it came in the form of a predator. In this forthcoming interview, Annette shares how she was groomed into a sexual relationship with her trainer, who was thirty years her senior....
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Why Play Is Key for Building “Try” in Your Horse, and How to Do It with Tik Maynard
Equestrian Voices
When you picture adding “play” into your horse’s training, what comes to mind? Do you imagine your horse chasing around a large ball or nosing carrots out of a container? Or maybe you see your horse trotting joyfully behind you as you run? The fact is, play can look like a lot of different things, but it doesn’t have to be any of the above. Play’s purpose is to teach your horse how to “try”–and in the process, both horse and trainer achieve a cooperative partnership. Equestrian Masterclass instructor (and newly minted Road to the Horse Champion!!!) Tik Maynard is a horsemanship...
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It Doesn't Have to Feel This Stressful: What Your Nervous System Has to Do with Performance, with Natalie Hummel
Equestrian Voices
Why do competitions make our hearts hammer, mouths go dry, and hands tremble? We may never get nervous riding at home, but as soon as we step into that show ring (or clinic, or in front of peers, or riding a difficult horse), it can feel like something primal just takes over. As it turns out, that is exactly what’s happening. Competition (whether you’re actually at a show or not) is deeply rooted into our biology and the presence of it can cause our bodies to fight, flight, or freeze. Certainly not the modes we want to be in when we’re trying to remember a course, or relax our tense...
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Toplines: Spotting Pain, Dysfunction, and Myths that Need to Be Busted with Ansley Bevan
Equestrian Voices
Muscle tension and underdevelopment are a precursor to injury, making topline development crucial to keeping horses healthy and sound. Elasticity through the back allows horses to move freely, support riders, and meet our performance expectations. So why do so many performance horses have underdeveloped muscles and signs of discomfort? Unfortunately, a lack of knowledge, overlooking pain symptoms, and the absence of species-appropriate care keeps many horses in constant tension–but we can change that. In this conversation, Caroline is joined by licensed equine bodyworker and educator Ansley...
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Tempo, Pace, and Rhythm: It’s Not Just Semantics. With Hunter/Eq Judge Rob Van Jacobs
Equestrian Voices
“More impulsion!” Most of us have heard our coaches cry – usually accompanied by a hearty clap or imitation of riding forward. But what does ‘impulsion’ actually mean to you, your trainer, or the judge scoring you? By listener request, we’re breaking down riding terms that have mystified riders for years. Caroline is joined by Rob Van Jacobs, a USEF “R” Rated judge for hunters and equitation. As a judge, trainer and rider, Rob interprets the differences between rhythm, tempo, pace, and speed not as semantics but as part of a show ring strategy. Understanding...
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It’s 4:30 AM and Your Goals are Calling, with Paralympian Amelia White
Equestrian Voices
Amelia White was just 18 years old when she was the victim of a traumatic car accident that changed her entire life. A university student and active eventer, Amelia suddenly found herself out of school, out of the saddle, and in ongoing surgeries. Despite doctors’ best efforts, Amelia was left with a permanent disability that required her to change her goals and aspirations. In this inspiring episode, Amelia sits down with Caroline and reflects on her journey that took her from lying in a hospital bed, to achieving her Master’s, to trotting down the centerline at the Paralympic...
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How to Change a Spooky Horse into a Thinking Horse, with Josh Nichol
Equestrian Voices
There’s no taking the spook out of a horse. As prey animals, horses will always want to run away first. Combine this fact with modern breeding programs that produce lighter, more responsive horses and many of us may find ourselves riding with a pounding heart and sweaty palms, fearing that inevitable spook. But a spooky horse isn’t a problem; it’s the symptom of a problem that starts with your relationship. Josh Nichol has helped countless of riders develop healthy partnerships with their horses through his method of Relational Horsemanship™. He joins Caroline for a thought-provoking...
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Evolve Your Student/Trainer Relationship, with Annette Paterakis
Equestrian Voices
Thinking about all the ways our sport needs to evolve can be overwhelming. When there are so many organizations, individuals, and stakeholders we want to inspire change in. However, evolving the sport doesn’t need to start at the top. It can start with you right now; with your mindset as a rider or trainer. Annette Paterakis is a mindset coach for equestrians and the author of “Winning Habits – How Elite Equestrians Master the Mental Game.” Annette helps all levels of riders, including Olympians, build confident, consistent, and powerful mindsets and behaviors. In this episode,...
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Rewind the Year With Us! 5 Favorite Moments of EV from 2023
Equestrian Voices
It was a record-breaking year for Equestrian Voices, as we won two more awards (W3 Awards) and topped the Goodpods chart. We couldn’t have done it without you, our listeners! From the entire EV team - THANK YOU. To celebrate this remarkable year, host Caroline Culbertson is rewinding 5 favorite moments of the pod in 2023 with colleague and longtime media friend, Sally Spickard. Many of you will already know Sally Spickard–you’ve definitely read her content before. Sally has written over 4000 equestrian articles, currently produces Equestrian Masterclasses for NOELLE FLOYD,...
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Why Michael Pollard Quit the Sport at the Height of His Career
Equestrian Voices
Michael Pollard had what most of us could only dream of - a meteoric rise in the discipline of Eventing (including winning a Pan Am Games team Gold Medal in 2011), a string of talented horses, a strong non-horse business that supported his riding career, and a supportive group of sponsors, friends and family. But then, to the surprise of many, Michael retired from the sport in 2016, selling all of his horses. He went from spending most of his time training and riding, to not sitting on a horse for several years. In a strikingly candid conversation, host Caroline Culbertson sits...
info_outlineFor most of us, competition is a large part of why we choose to ride, and also for most of us, we allow this drive to steer our behavior without really giving it too much thought.
But science shows that our competitive drive is not a mystery. In fact, learning about this powerful force behind our motivation can help us shape it towards positive, growth-minded outcomes, and avoid the potential negative consequences it can also bring.
In our latest episode of Equestrian Voices, host Caroline Culbertson sits down with Dr. Stephen Garcia, a professor in the Graduate School of Management at UC Davis and an expert on the psychology of competition, judgment, and decision-making. They discuss:
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Why you feel competitive with some people, and not with others.
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What to know about your own competitiveness when you’re involving another party (in our case, the horse) to reach your own goals.
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Why some high performing athletes are also some of the most arrogant ones
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Growth Mindset, and how it can be a positive force when paired with a competitive drive
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Looking at those who outperform you with admiration sometimes, and other times with envy (and the potential outcomes of each viewpoint)