The Whoa Podcast about Horses and Horsemanship

Gabrielle Diakon and Equestrian Yoga We last visited with Gabrielle Diakon , Gabby, nearly two years ago amid quarantine and COVID. Gabby is still doing yoga for equestrians and working with horses. Now, she is podcasting. Gabrielle Diakon's Rolling My Third Eye Podcast is available on all podcast platforms. Her show focuses on equestrian mindfulness and deals with fear, anxiety, and many other is...

Cristobal Scarpati Horsemanship Cristobal Scarpati and I met at the 2014 Horseman Reunion in Paso Robles. There, among some of the top colt-starters of the time Buster McLaury , Trevor Carter, Mary Kitzmiller , Clayton Edsel, and Buddy Uldrickson , was Cristobal's father, Oscar. I was new to horsemanship and colt-starting. Oscar walked into the round pen with no equipment and no shoes. How was thi...

Building Rider Confidence   Samantha Shanks-Husbands knows the importance of rider confidence. Once a rider loses confidence, especially an older rider, it is extremely difficult to get it back. Samantha works with equestrians of all ages and skill levels. Her techniques help riders focus on what is important. Breathing is especially important in her program. Samantha feels that proper breathing c...

Johanna Sheehe and Equine Law Johanna Sheehe has a lifelong passion for horses. Growing up on a farm, Johanna began riding around age 5. Her experience is in the English disciplines. For most of her life, she has been around Arabians, half Arabians, and national show horses. Recently, she has learned to jump horses. But Johanna also has a passion for equine law and blended the two together. Her Fl...

Horseman Domenico Sumonte Domenico Sumonte considers himself more of a horse-Man than a horse trainer. I'm lucky enough to have an arena at the End of The Road Ranch where I can work my horses. One trainer that works out of this barn is Domenico Sumonte. In between working our horses, Dom and I struck up a friendship. In our casual conversations, I quickly learned Dom has experienced an exciting l...

Along for the Ride Symposium Recap On the last week of February 2022, we traveled to the South Point Casino for the Along for the Ride Symposium Andrea Fappani, Shawn Flarida , and Nick Dowers. The brainchild of Andrea Fappani, this first-time event, brought together the leading money winners in reining with the express purpose of sharing ideas about horse training. The symposium featured the colt...

Sandy Collier, Hall of Fame Horsewoman Sandy Collier has an amazing life with horses. She was the first woman to win the Snaffle Bit Futurity. Her peers have inducted her into the Cowgirl Hall of Fame and the NRCHA Hall of Fame . Horse and Rider named her one of the Top 50 Riders of All-time in All Disciplines. In the last few years, she has judged at Road to the Horse and the Snaffle Bit Futurity...

Sami Hernandez Diamond Crest Stables Sami Hernandez is a longtime horsewoman, trainer, and horse show judge headquartered at her Diamond Crest Stables in Bakersfield . Along with her husband, George, they have a ton of horsemanship experience teaching people and training horses. I really enjoy talking to both of them. Perhaps I can get George on the show in the future. You'd like him. While they d...

Christmas Greetings 2021 I want to offer a Christmas Greeting for 2021. We had a pretty good year of shows. We began by talking with Dan Dauphin about bits. Dan has since begun his own podcast and is killing it with loads of great content. I hope you'll check out his Adult Onset Horsemanship Podcast . We talked to my friend, Joanne Galbraith , who at 82 is still actively riding and full of stories...

Globetrotting Horse Adventures With Kate Pilcher We could all use a little vacation. Wouldn't a horseback adventure be great? Sometimes it seems the civilized world has taken a temporary leave of common sense. But over the last 18 months, if you have a horse, you know there is one sure place to escape, the saddle. Kate Pilcher found her happy place when she escaped to Kenya. It was such a life-cha...

Dust n' Diamonds Mounted Drill Team Today, we are out at Rancho Rio Equestrian Center with the leaders of the local equestrian drill team, Dust n' Diamonds Mounted Drill Team. Shawna Pendley is the choreographer and drill master and Marilyn Morphis, "Mo", is her eyes on the ground. On a side-note — we are outside the main arena before the drill team practice. There's traffic, planes and even fire...

NRCHA Judge Bill Enk On a previous show, I talked to Patti Carter, Director of Judges for the AQHA . Today, I share an interview with Bill Enk, Director of Judges for the NRCHA. A lifelong horseman at 77, Bill has a wealth of experience in the horse show world. He's judged horses almost all his life. He's been a judge at the AQHA World Show many times and he judged the Road to the Horse . Even if...

AQHA Horse Show Judging with Patti Carter If there are no judges, there are no horse shows. The judge can make or break a horse show experience. Because they are essential to competition, I thought it would be good to talk with an experienced judge. Patti Carter is the Senior Director of Judges at the AQHA (American Quarter Horse Assn.) . AQHA certifies over 800 judges and Patti oversees them all....

Listener Stories and Paso Finos After listening to my podcast about the health issues I had with my Quarter Horse mare, Jessie, Vicky Gormanly emailed me to tell me about her Paso Fino, River. We talked about her search for the right horse. Vicky wanted a Paso Fino and, after a long search thought she had found the perfect horse for her. The mare came from a reputable stable, RY Farms. She had rid...

Competitive Trail Riding with North American Trail Ride Conference (NATRC) Are you looking for a little adventure? Give competitive trail riding a try. The North American Trail Ride Conference is a governing body over competitive trail riding (CTR). In this episode, I talk to Sarah Rinne, NATRC's Executive Director about the sport. Involved with the organization since 1988, Sarah is a wealth of kn...

Equine Emergency Preparedness Equine emergency preparedness is so not a glamorous topic. And, it doesn't matter if you live in California with our fires and earthquakes (there was a 3.0 last night) or in the Midwest, or in a different country. Bad things will happen. No one wants to think about the disaster that may happen. No one wants to picture what will happen to their horse if they are unprep...

Nancy McKnight and Pony Club Kelly McKnight emailed me to say his mother, Nancy, would be a delightful guest on the podcast. Nancy McKnight is 89 years old and spent much of her adult life helping children learn horses and horsemanship through her affiliation with the US Pony Club. The mission statement of the Pony Club is: The United States Pony Clubs, Inc. is an educational organization which bu...

Brett Wright Low-Stress Cattle Operation Brett Wright has a cow/calf operation in Oklahoma. Three years ago he changed things up. Instead of using motorized vehicles to move his cattle, he switched to horses. The results impressed him. Brett looked for ways to improve his horsemanship and recently attended a Martin Black cow-working clinic. Brett is a listener of the Whoa Podcast. He emailed me wa...

Horseback Archery When I think of horseback archery, I think of Robin Hood and Medieval Times. I didn't realize people were practicing it today. We did a podcast on Cowboy Mounted Shooting a few years ago, and that was fun. While riding through nearby Rancho Rio Equestrian Center , we noticed them setting up the arena for an event. I keep a watch for happenings here because it is one of my favorit...

Talking Billy Cook Saddles Billy Cook Saddles have been around since 1953. Saddle making has always been a mystery to me. It's a craft, a skill. Working leather has so many aspects: tanning, cutting, stamping, sewing. A saddle maker needs to know all of these skills. He needs to know how to choose the leather too. When Billy Cook passed away in 2019 at the age of 89, it looked like his saddle busi...

Michelle Gilles Promoting Women and Horses Michelle Gilles, horsewoman and trainer, knows women are the backbone of the horse industry. Based in the Central Valley of California, Michelle trains horses, holds clinics, and shows in reined cow horse. Growing up with horses, Michelle trained under some very impressive trainers including Les Vogt , Charles Wilhelm , and John Ward . She's learned not o...

Horse Stories with Joanne Galbraith Joanne Galbraith is still going strong at age 82. Of course, you would guess that's she has been around horses all her life. She worked at feedlots and ranches and held her own with men. She passed along a love of horses to her kids. And she loves competing. Joanne rides in Gymkana events on her good horse, Ricky. I first met Joanne several years ago when I was...

Dan Dauphin Talks About Bits and Horses Dan Dauphin knows the mechanics and physics of bits. Honestly, I put a snaffle in my horse's mouth and don't think little more about it. What goes on in there is a giant mystery to me. Oh, I know that when I pull on the right rein; he goes right. But, I can't really see what's going on down there and can only imagine what's happening in that giant cavern in...

Jim Masterson Explains His Method Early in my horsemanship journey, I volunteered at Equine Affaire in Pomona. So it must have been around 2006 or 2007, while moving from one exhibit to another, that I saw this man giving a demonstration about massaging a horse.  Well, at least that's what it looked like to me. Over the course of the weekend, and the years I continued to volunteer; I saw Jim Maste...

Equine Nutrition With Will Friday Equine nutrition is a complicated subject, so I went out and found someone who has been studying it for quite some time. Will Friday has been on the show before talking about the Masterson Method , a blend of massage and chiropractic.  Will works on some very expensive performance horses.  As part of his program, he has taught himself the ins-and-outs of equine nu...