Mary Bess Davis: Riding Through Life’s Challenges

In this episode of “In Stride,” Sinead is joined by international 4* event rider Mary Bess Davis. Mary Bess Davis is the trainer and owner of the world-class equestrian facility, Triple Creek Eventing, located in Mansfield, Georgia. Mary Bess grew up in an equestrian family and from a young age participated in fox hunting, vaulting, pony club, and hunters. She graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in biology, all while building her training, selling, and coaching business at Triple Creek Farm. Mary Bess has produced multiple horses through the Advanced level and has had young riders compete at NAYRC winning gold, silver, and bronze team and individual medals for the CCI2* and CCI3* levels. With her horse, Imperio Magic, also known as McColl, Mary Bess finished 19th out of 95 and helped Team USA win silver at the 2024 FEI Eventing Nation’s Cup in Boekelo. Mary Bess has a passion for bringing horses and students up the levels and aims to compete at the 5* level in the coming year. In this episode, Mary Bess discusses topics related to her career as an event rider, including: • What motherhood taught her about horses’ learning styles and competing at a high level. • The major injuries she's had over the years and how she grew from them. • The strengths and weaknesses of thoroughbreds and warmbloods as eventing horses. • Finding a good support system to help get through tough times. • How participating in various disciplines as a child has helped her as a professional event rider. Join Kimberly and Sinead in this exciting conversation about winning with diligence and discipline.

In this episode of “In Stride,” Sinead is joined by mindset coach and host of the Equestrian Mastermind Podcast, Natalie Hummel. Natalie went from being a top-level event rider to a life coach who's all about helping athletes conquer the challenges holding them back. Natalie received her Bachelor of Science from the University of Louisville with a major in Psychology and a minor in Wellness. She was also the head research assistant in the learning and performance lab and went on to obtain her Wellcoaches certification and Mastery Coach certification. Natalie’s work focuses on building capacity in the nervous system to help riders of all levels reach their full potential. Natalie offers a 4-month group program called “How to Heal” where she helps riders transform into the best version of themselves. In this episode, Natalie discusses topics related to nervous system mindset work, including: • What prompted her to start the “How to Heal” program. • Finding a community of people that challenges and supports you. • Not allowing self-doubt to get in the way of reaching full potential. • Learning to turn towards biology and the nervous system when trying to solve problems. Join Natalie and Sinead in this exciting conversation about using community and mindset work to grow.

In this episode of “In Stride,” Sinead is joined by international 4* event rider Kimberly Cecere. Kimberly Cecere is an up-and-coming event rider with two FEI wins, one national win, and three top 20 finishes at the 4*Long level. Kimberly grew up on her parent's farm in Littleton, Massachusetts, where her mom ran a riding school. Kimberly attended the University of Kentucky, where she got an undergraduate degree in equine science and business. After graduating, she got a job as the assistant coach of the hunt seat team at Bridgewater College while getting her MBA at North Central University. Kimberly then started working for Lauren Nicholson, where she stayed for 7 years and started working with Jacqueline Mars’ Landmark’s Monaco, with whom she competed at the 4* level. Kimberly received the 2020 Wilton Fair Grant, which allowed her to spend 6 months training in England, where she worked with British Olympic Eventing Team coach Chris Bartle and world-ranked eventers Tim and Jonelle Price. Kimberly moved home from England and started building her own training and coaching business in Southern Pines, North Carolina. In this episode, Kimberly discusses topics related to her career as an event rider, including: • Her experience working with event rider Lauren Nicholson and owner Jackie Mars. • How natural horsemanship helped her with starting young horses. • The importance of taking the emotion out of the job and showing up for the horses every day. • The technicalities and philosophies she learned while spending six months training in England. • Working with British Olympic Eventing Team coach Chris Bartle and world-ranked eventers Tim and Jonelle Price. Join Kimberly and Sinead in this exciting conversation about winning with diligence and discipline.

In this episode of “In Stride,” Sinead and Tik Maynard are joined by event riders Lindsay and Xavier Traisnel. Lindsay and Xavier Traisnel are based out of Ontario, Canada, where they own and run Windsor-Essex Equestrian Center, an elite training program that focuses on producing top horses and riders. Lindsay has been named to multiple Canadian High Performance lists and was selected to compete on the Canadian Eventing Team at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, where they won gold. Along with team gold, Lindsay was the highest-placed Canadian, earning a bronze medal with her horse "Bacyrouge." Xavier has produced young horses that eventually went on to be very successful at the 5* level or compete at the World Equestrian Games and the Olympics and has sourced horses for upper-level riders such as Will Coleman, Lauren Nicholson, and British rider Kitty King. Xavier also has a university degree from the Cadre Noir De Saumur in Business and Sports Management and has his international instructor level 3 certification. In this episode, Lindsay and Xavier discuss topics related to training horses and riders, including: • The pros and cons of learning from a traditional riding school funded by the government. • Controlling the quality of instructors and coaches by having certifications and proper riding education. • Making the transition from competing in Europe to running a farm in Canada and having a family. • Teaching kids from the beginning and helping them get their first horses. • Putting the horse first in the training and taking pressure off of competition results. Join Lindsay, Xavier, Tik, and Sinead in this exciting conversation about training the next generation of riders.

In this episode, Natalie works through visualization exercises with one of her clients, who wants to feel confident in a clinic setting and find a mental space that allows her to receive all the information. They discuss the importance of creating a system of safety from within in order to avoid defense patterns and stay open to learning. Natalie guides her through an exercise to help heal her younger self from the misunderstanding that she didn’t belong and wasn’t good enough so that she can feel safe and confident to learn in a clinic setting.

In this episode of “In Stride,” Sinead is joined by 5* event rider Emily Hamel. Emily Hamel grew up in rural Wisconsin, competing in local 4-H and breed shows. Eventually, Emily moved to Lexington, KY, where she coached the University of Kentucky Dressage Team and taught people through the CCI3* level. In 2015, Emily started working for multiple-time Olympian Phillip Dutton, and in 2020, she started a lesson and training business, Emily Hamel Eventing, out of Phillip's True Prospect Farm. During her time with Phillip, Emily bought her now 5* horse Corvett, also known as Barry. The pair has competed at Badminton and Burghley, finished 10th in the 5* at the 2023 Land Rover Kentucky 3-Day Event, finished 5th at the 2023 Stable View Okotberfest CCI4*-S, and finished 11th at the 2023 Maryland CCI5*. Emily was also named to the US Equestrian Eventing Developing Riders List for 2024. In this episode, Emily discusses topics related to her career and relationship with Barry, including: • What got her interested in mindset work, nutrition, and fitness and how it led to her podcast “The Whole Equestrian.” • The lessons she learned in her time working for Phillip Dutton and how she has made her program stand out from the one she came from. • Learning to control nerves so that they help her reach peak performance. • Spending a summer in England to train and compete and how she prepared for that trip. • The importance of trusting her and Barry’s abilities and relationship in order to accomplish big goals. Join Emily and Sinead in this exciting conversation about training and competing.

In this episode, Natalie works through visualization exercises with one of her clients, who wants to be able to consistently regulate her body in the moments of fight or flight and not allow competition results to make or break her confidence. They discuss the importance of finding a coach that provides a safe space to make mistakes and how a person can find wholeness from within and not from external sources. Natalie guides her through an exercise to help heal her younger self so that she can embrace the possibility of embarrassment and know that she is loved and supported regardless of her performance.

In this episode, Natalie celebrates with one of her clients, who placed 4th and won the highest placed thoroughbred in her division at the 2024 American Eventing Championships. They reflect on all that she learned in the “How to Heal” program and discuss how she was able to bring her goals to fruition. Natalie and her client talk through the steps of the program and the importance of learning, receiving feedback, growing the nervous system’s capacity, and making the necessary changes. Through these steps, she was able to achieve her goal and become a more confident rider and horsewoman.

In this episode of “In Stride,” Sinead is joined by event and dressage riders Matt Brown and Cecily Clark. Matt and Cecily founded their training and riding business, East West Training Stables, in 2004. The business started out in Petaluma, California, before eventually moving to Cochranville, Pennsylvania, in 2015 so Matt could pursue a spot on the US Eventing Team. After their move to the east coast, Matt completed his first CCI5* at the 2016 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event as the highest-placed rookie and was named as a reserve for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games US Eventing Team. His success continued that year with a spot on the Land Rover US Eventing Team for Aachen CICO4*, where he helped the team secure their 6th place finish in July. In 2017, Matt finished 6th at the Rolex Kentucky CCI5* with Super Socks BCF and was the USEA Gold Cup Advanced Champion at the American Eventing Championships with BCF Belicoso. While Matt’s passion is eventing, Cecily has a background in Hunters and Equitation and is currently pursuing goals as a dressage rider. Cecily brought a former eventer, Ringwood Galaxy, through the levels to Intermediare and is currently training the Grand Prix movements with him. Cecily also graduated Cum Laude with a B.A. in History from the Dominican University of California. In this episode, Matt and Cecily discuss topics related to the evolution of horse training, including: • Learning more about horses’ behavior and applying that information to training. • The different set of skills that is required for training horses and teaching people. • Using natural horsemanship to solve problems in a way that is better for the horse. • Teaching riders to have emotional control in a way that helps them have confidence in the saddle. • How a fixed mindset can hinder your progress, and a learning mindset can push you towards your goal. Join Matt, Cecily, and Sinead in this exciting conversation about putting the horse first.

In this episode, Natalie works through visualization exercises with one of her clients, who wants to be able to harness the power of judgement and be content with the process so that she can progress in a way that doesn’t feel frantic. They discuss people’s tendency to rely on judgment to progress when it’s blocking them from feeling completely safe. They also discuss how people can re-program their nervous system to function in a way that allows for full potential. Natalie guides her through an exercise to show her how to work with judgment and use it to bring herself back to a place where she can feel content and truly ok.