Tik Maynard is a lot of things. He is an athlete, a writer, a teacher, a horseman, a husband, a business partner and a father, and as near as I can tell he’s not done! Tik is definitely still open to evolving and wearing more hats. That’s because at his core, Tik Maynard has an insatiable curiosity about life and is a consummate learner. 

In this episode, we talk about

~ Tik’s philosophy when it comes to pivoting at Life’s crossroads

~ The most important qualities of a good horse trainer

~ whether or not ‘feel’ is learnable

~ How each Partnership is Unique

~ The importance of clarity and intention

~ How he is getting closer and closer to riding as art, rather than sport

These qualities carried him through a major turning point in his life, when his athletic career in Modern Pentathlon ended abruptly with a shoulder injury, and at the same time a relationship ended with a broken heart. At 26 years old, he had some choices to make. Born into a family of horse people, he didn’t initially choose horses. With a mother who studied the art of dressage to the Grand Prix level, and a father who was an International Three-Day Eventer come Grand Prix Show Jumper - it seemed kind of inevitable! Like a dying breed of horsemen, he was born into it, and there was much he absorbed and took for granted from growing up around horsey parents. It was time to make a choice. 

When Tik chose horses, he went all in. He made a list of the top names in the horse business and set off with an open mind and an able body in an exchange of labor for learning, known within the horse industry as ‘a working student position’.  His book In The Middle Are The Horsemen chronicles his journey in barns all over the world. He didn’t just choose one genre of equestrianism, but set out to find the common threads between ALL great horse people, including dressage, jumping, eventing, and even some ranch work and Natural Horsemanship and Liberty training. 

Altogether, the journey produced a uniquely well-rounded human who lives to share his knowledge and passion with others. Tik currently owns and runs a training center in Citra Florida with his wife, Sinead – one of the world’s best riders in the sport of Three-Day eventing. While they are both pursuing international athletic careers and raising two young children, they are equally passionate about teaching and can be found online and at clinics at the links below. 

https://www.copperlineequestrian.com/

https://www.equestrianmasterclass.com/tik-maynard-masterclass

https://www.facebook.com/tikmaynardcompany/

Tik is the author of In The Middle Are The Horsemen, published by Trafalgar Square Books, 2018.

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