In Stride

This Week on In Stride 
Sinead Halpin-Maynard talks with Rupert Isaacson about how horses helped his nonverbal autistic son find his voice, and how that discovery turned into a therapeutic horsemanship method now used around the world.

Meet the Guest: Rupert Isaacson 
Rupert Isaacson is a horseman, author, and founder of New Trails Learning Systems, home to three therapy programs used with autistic kids, veterans, and trauma survivors, work that began after he discovered that riding a horse helped his nonverbal autistic son, Rowan, find his voice. He's also a classical dressage rider trained in the centuries-old "Old Masters" tradition. Rupert wrote the bestselling book and film The Horse Boy about the family's journey across Mongolia to help Rowan, and before that founded the Indigenous Land Rights Fund, which helped the Kalahari Bushmen of Botswana and South Africa win a landmark case for their ancestral land.

In This Episode, Sinead and Rupert Discuss:
How he first noticed that a horse's gait directly changed how much his son communicated, and discovering the science behind it
The three therapy programs he built and how each one meets autistic kids, veterans, and trauma survivors where they are
Why classical dressage, not just a calm horse, is what makes a horse capable of this kind of therapeutic work
His ride across Mongolia in search of a shaman, the journey that became the book The Horse Boy, and the land rights advocacy work that came before it
Why he believes healing takes both hard science and a little bit of magic

Episode Sponsor

Connaway & Associates
The friendly and knowledgeable team at Connaway & Associates brings together more than 30 years of experience to offer a wide range of insurance services, including horse insurance, farm insurance, and liability insurance.

Visit www.connaway.net or call 501-868-8084 to explore your options.

Equine Emergency Vet Care Guide
Created by equine veterinarian Dr. Erica Lacher, the Equine Emergency Vet Care Guide app helps horse owners recognize the signs of a true emergency, know when to call the vet, and understand what to do while help is on the way.

Download from the App Store or Google Play at EquineEmergencyApp.com

In Stride Is Brought to You by Ride iQ

Ride iQ helps everyday riders ride with more clarity, confidence, and purpose through on-demand audio lessons from world-class coaches.

Members also get:
Weekly live Q&As with equestrian experts
Exclusive podcast episodes
Dressage test prep resources
A supportive learning community

Start your free 14-day trial at Ride-iQ.com

This Week on In Stride 
Sinead Halpin-Maynard sits down with professional event rider Booli Selmayr to talk about the grief that first sent her out for a run, the injury that nearly ended everything, and why she believes "treating yourself like an athlete" is the missing piece for riders at every level.

Meet the Guest: Booli Selmayr 
Booli Selmayr is a professional event rider and trainer based at Fox Race Farm in Millbrook, New York, where she runs Fox Valley Sport Horses, now celebrating its 10-year anniversary. She came up through Pony Club and fox hunting before completing her first CCI5* at 34, aboard her longtime partner Millfield Lancando at the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event. She has since built a reputation for pairing serious horsemanship with serious athletic training as a runner, CrossFit athlete, and creator of the "Ride the Pace" cross-country clinic.

In This Episode, Sinead and Booli Discuss:
Why losing her best friend to cancer, and later another close friend, first sent her out for a run, and how that grew into a full lifestyle
Why treating yourself like an athlete, whether that means tracking your food or fueling properly for competition, matters just as much as time in the tack
Her "against, on, and with the horse" framework for rider balance, and why real strength, not just being light, makes horses safer and more secure
Building Fox Valley Sport Horses from a mostly fox-hunting string into a full eventing program over 10 years, and the confidence it took to bet on herself

Episode Sponsor

Connaway & Associates
The friendly and knowledgeable team at Connaway & Associates brings together more than 30 years of experience to offer a wide range of insurance services, including horse insurance, farm insurance, and liability insurance.

Visit www.connaway.net or call 501-868-8084 to explore your options.

Equine Emergency Vet Care Guide
Created by equine veterinarian Dr. Erica Lacher, the Equine Emergency Vet Care Guide app helps horse owners recognize the signs of a true emergency, know when to call the vet, and understand what to do while help is on the way.

Download from the App Store or Google Play at EquineEmergencyApp.com

In Stride Is Brought to You by Ride iQ

Ride iQ helps everyday riders ride with more clarity, confidence, and purpose through on-demand audio lessons from world-class coaches.

Members also get:
Weekly live Q&As with equestrian experts
Exclusive podcast episodes
Dressage test prep resources
A supportive learning community

Start your free 14-day trial at Ride-iQ.com

This Week on In Stride
Sinead Halpin-Maynard talks with Alec Lochore, who is serving as the official cross-country course designer for eventing at the LA 2028 Olympics for the first time in his career, about what the Games mean to the sport and how he ended up designing its biggest stage.

Meet the Guest: Alec Lochore
Alec Lochore is a veteran eventing official who has worked the Olympics in Beijing, London, Rio, and Tokyo in various technical and management roles. Raised in a horse family in Scotland, he competed through five-star level before shifting into event organizing, co-founding Musketeer with his brother Hugh, a business that has since run more than 150 events, including Blair Castle and now Scone Palace.

In This Episode, Sinead and Alec Discuss:
What makes the Olympics a singular stage for a niche sport, and how Alec ended up as LA28's cross-country course designer
His design philosophy, including building in options at varying difficulty and honoring what an MER (Minimum Eligibility Requirement) is actually meant to certify
Behind-the-scenes details on building the Santa Anita cross-country track, from turf challenges to licensing restrictions on course "theming"
The shared responsibility between course designers, riders, and officials for horse welfare, and his advice for lower-level riders on reading what a course is asking

Episode Sponsor

Connaway & Associates
The friendly and knowledgeable team at Connaway & Associates brings together more than 30 years of experience to offer a wide range of insurance services, including horse insurance, farm insurance, and liability insurance.

Visit www.connaway.net or call 501-868-8084 to explore your options.

Equine Emergency Vet Care Guide
Created by equine veterinarian Dr. Erica Lacher, the Equine Emergency Vet Care Guide app helps horse owners recognize the signs of a true emergency, know when to call the vet, and understand what to do while help is on the way.

Download from the App Store or Google Play at EquineEmergencyApp.com

In Stride Is Brought to You by Ride iQ

Ride iQ helps everyday riders ride with more clarity, confidence, and purpose through on-demand audio lessons from world-class coaches.

Members also get:
Weekly live Q&As with equestrian experts
Exclusive podcast episodes
Dressage test prep resources
A supportive learning community

Start your free 14-day trial at Ride-iQ.com

In this special call-in episode of "In Stride", Sinead is joined again by Tik Maynard for another listener-driven conversation.

Tik Maynard is the 2024 and 2025 Road to the Horse Champion and the author of In the Middle Are the Horsemen and Starting in the Middle. Along with Sinead, he runs Copperline Farm in Citra, Florida, and teaches clinics across the country.

Together, Tik and Sinead respond to a new batch of listener questions, diving into topics including:
Building in connection and downtime for horses during a busy competition season
Reading the milestones that show a young horse is ready for its first dressage test or show
Reframing the decision to retire a horse from "giving up" to knowing when it's time to pivot
How rhythm and tension in a horse's body are windows into what they're feeling

Episode Sponsor

Connaway & Associates
The friendly and knowledgeable team at Connaway & Associates brings together more than 30 years of experience to offer a wide range of insurance services, including horse insurance, farm insurance, and liability insurance.

Visit www.connaway.net or call 501-868-8084 to explore your options.

Equine Emergency Vet Care Guide
Created by equine veterinarian Dr. Erica Lacher, the Equine Emergency Vet Care Guide app helps horse owners recognize the signs of a true emergency, know when to call the vet, and understand what to do while help is on the way.

Download from the App Store or Google Play at EquineEmergencyApp.com

In Stride Is Brought to You by Ride iQ

Ride iQ helps everyday riders ride with more clarity, confidence, and purpose through on-demand audio lessons from world-class coaches.

Members also get:
Weekly live Q&As with equestrian experts
Exclusive podcast episodes
Dressage test prep resources
A supportive learning community

Start your free 14-day trial at Ride-iQ.com

This Week on In Stride
Sinead Halpin-Maynard welcomes Stephanie Goodman to explore a career built on saying yes to opportunity, knowing when to walk away, and why the long game rarely looks like a straight line.

Meet the Guest: Stephanie Goodman
Stephanie Goodman is a professional event rider and trainer based in Eagle, Idaho, who came up through Pony Club in Utah before training under Olympic gold medalist David O'Connor in Middleburg as a teenager. After years on the East Coast, she made the deliberate decision to step away from horses entirely, then rebuilt from scratch into the 30-to-40-horse operation she runs today. Most recently, she won the US Equestrian Open CCI4*-S at Aspen Farms aboard her Dutch Warmblood mare Elwenda DP, who has also won all three of her advanced-level completions.

In This Episode, Sinead and Stephanie Discuss:
How a 16-year-old from Utah ended up at Gatcombe Park training alongside Olympians and what happens when you just keep saying yes
The moment Stephanie and her husband Josh decided to leave horses entirely, move to a ski town in Idaho where they knew no one, and what finally pulled her back
How a spooky dressage mare and a late-night conversation at the Kentucky Horse Park became the unlikely catalyst for her first four-star
Building a training operation from scratch in the West, and how splitting seasons between Idaho and Florida has sharpened both her riding and her coaching

Episode Sponsors

Connaway & Associates
The friendly and knowledgeable team at Connaway & Associates brings together more than 30 years of experience to offer a wide range of insurance services, including horse insurance, farm insurance, and liability insurance.

Visit www.connaway.net or call 501-868-8084 to explore your options.

Equine Emergency Vet Care Guide
Created by equine veterinarian Dr. Erica Lacher, the Equine Emergency Vet Care Guide app helps horse owners recognize the signs of a true emergency, know when to call the vet, and understand what to do while help is on the way.

Download from the App Store or Google Play at EquineEmergencyApp.com

In Stride Is Brought to You by Ride iQ

Ride iQ helps everyday riders ride with more clarity, confidence, and purpose through on-demand audio lessons from world-class coaches.

Members also get:
Weekly live Q&As with equestrian experts
Exclusive podcast episodes
Dressage test prep resources
A supportive learning community

Start your free 14-day trial at Ride-iQ.com