Hunter rider and trainer and U.S. Equestrian Federation “R” judge Tom Brennan started riding school horses at a local hunt-seat barn in Massachusetts. As a freshman at Stonehill College, he joined the school’s Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association riding team. By the end of his college career, he had won two individual championships at the IHSA Nationals and captained his team to the IHSA team championship title in 2003. He graduated with a degree in psychology and was going to become a counselor for at-risk youth but ended up working first as a groom for champion hunter rider Tony Workman and eventually riding and competing himself, earning many championships with horses such as Dividend, Gramercy Park and Purple Heart. In this podcast, Tom shares that journey as well as his approach to teaching and giving his students confidence and the challenges he sees many amateurs riders have—riding too slow—and how overcome them. He also talks about why he thought it was important to become involved in the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association and the U.S. Equestrian Federation and gives his thoughts on SafeSport.

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