As the horse obsessed girl I am you might not be surprised that I also love to listen to podcasts.
I listen to podcasts most often in the car. I have a long commute to work so my episodes help to pass the time.
Here are a list of some of my favorites! I will note I use Spotify to listen to all of my podcasts but I believe most of these are available on most major platforms.
Heels Down Happy Hour: This show I’ve listened to the longest. It is hosted by three ladies Jessica Payne, Justine Griffin, Ellie Woznica. HDHH is part of the horse radio network, which you can read about below. As the title explains, each episode begins with a new cocktail recipe. Each of the ladies brings their own taste and preferences to the table; in more ways than one. They also come from different walks of life and levels of sport; they come together to chat like your favorite group of girlfriends. I always catch myself wishing I could chime in and be part of the group (but glad nobody can hear me otherwise I’d be a fool). Justine is an award winning journalist and brings a love of thoroughbreds; last year she participated in the Retired Racehorse Project. Jessica is an international eventer and runs her farm with Olympian husband Doug Payne. Ellie is a lifelong horse-lover and resides in mountainous Pennsylvania. She grew up hunter/jumper but also loves reining and cow-horses. The ladies share bits of news that they found between shows and they discuss everything that’s happening in the horse world. At the end the ladies all go around sharing “rose and thorn” where they say what’s going well in their life (rose) and what’s not (thorn). New episodes used to be more frequent (HDHR began in 2017) but we are only getting one episode per month…and I’m grateful for each one!
OTTB on Tap: Hosted by Emily Kocubinski and Niamh O’Connell this show discussed the beloved off track thoroughbreds. This is a newer show, having just begun in October 2023 and have since launched over 58 episodes. Emily is an eventer who has shown through advanced; she was one of the trainers selected for the first Retired Racehorse Project (before it’s current format as a true competition with hundreds of trainers and amateurs). Niamh grew up with a passion for thoroughbreds. When the two women met they became good friends and Niamh came to work with Emily. On the podcast they discuss all things thoroughbred and often have incredible guests like Jessica Redman. One of my favorite segments is when they look at horse conformation photos and pedigrees. Through their discussion I have learned quite a lot and I’ve since downloaded all of the race records of my own Stanley to try dissecting more about his past.
Retired Racehorse Radio: Hosted by Joy Orr and Kristen Kovach Bentley this podcast is another from the Horse Radio Network. Joy is a dressage rider in Michigan and Kristen is a ranch horse rider in NY. Together they celebrate the retired racehorses…thoroughbreds, standardbreds, even arabians. They have meaningful conversations with guests, get training tips, and spotlight a new adoptable horse at New Vocations every episode. This show airs twice each month.
In Stride: (I can’t seem to find a landing page for the show itself so the link is for Spotify). Hosted by Sinead Halpin Maynard this show is a creation of Ride IQ. Sinead is a 5* eventer and not-so-secretly one of my favorite equestrians in the horse world today. She takes hew roles seriously and is very well spoken. She brings on top equestrians to have intelligent meaningful conversations about themselves and about their sport. I really enjoy hearing what each athlete has to say and I often find myself inspired and uplifted by these conversations. Recently an interview with Matt Brown and Cecily Clark discussed some tough topics about how to overcome the negative press and outdated training styles. It was a thoughtful, thought-provoking conversation that had a lot of empathy and consideration attached to it. I was so moved I had to share the episode to my personal social media account. At the end of the show Sinead wraps up with a series of questions for her guest that I find fun and informative.
Major League Eventing: Hosted by Karen and Robby Bowersox this show is “for eventing fans by eventing fans.” The show originally began in 2017 and was hosted by Karen and her husband, Rob. Today their son Robby co-hosts. Karen and Rob’s other son, Joe, worked for and rode under Boyd Martin for some time before he moved to Phil Dutton’s farm; he is competing at the FEI 2* level. Together Karen and Robby interview not only the top riders in the sport but also the other people that make this sport happen. One of my favorite recent episodes was with course builder Tyson Rementer. They discuss their “origin stories” and all the nuances of their lives in eventing. At the end of each episode the pair do “quick fire questions” and we get a little more insight on the rider’s personalities. Having grown up watching sports with my father this podcast certainly has an ESPN feel to it, the intro music is perfect for the title and screams “Major League.” For once it’s a show I WANT to follow. I love sports…but I don’t go out of my way to watch them on my own (unless horses are involved of course).
Feed Room Chemist: Hosted by Dr. Jyme Nichols this show is dedicated to educating you about feeding our equine friends. Dr. Nichols covers a variety of topics and had 139 episodes and counting. I find myself getting excited about a lot of what she talks about and explains. She does it very well; making the science digestible for everyone. The downside I found is that the podcast is funded by BlueBonnet feeds; not to put BlueBonnet down it is likely high quality if they put this much effort into educating the public. Dr. Nichols is the Head of Nutrition at BlueBonnet. Although there’s always a risk of skewed/bias information Dr. Nichols comes across passionate about nutrition and delivers her facts with real scientific research. My final gripe about this podcast: I reached out with a question/suggestion for a podcast topic and was responded with BlueBonnet wanting to schedule a consult for their feeds. To be honest I haven’t listened to another episode since then because it was so off-putting to be swept across to the company like I was.
With this list of podcasts I’m often kept as busy as I can be with the time I have available. I also listen to a couple short non-horse related podcasts like The Newsworthy (with Erica Mandy) and Optimal Living Daily. If you have different horse interests some other options you might be interested in include (I have listened to at least one episode of each of these but cannot keep up with all shows):
- Horses in The Morning
- The Plaidcast
- Jon and Rick Show
- Scoop and Scale
- Dressage with Amelia
- Ride On With Julie Goodnight
- Horsemanship Radio
- The Journey on Podcast
Horse Radio Network is home to over 40 shows. They have something for everyone; western, reining, barrel racing, quarter horses, racehorses, celebrities with horses, horsemanship, dressage, endurance, and even horse husbands!
HRN began in 2008 and since then has created more than 10,000 episodes, interviewed more than 13,000 guests. I was new to podcasts in the mid/late 2010s and found HRN. I listened to several shows religiously while I worked overnights and on my long commutes. Several of my regular shows belong to HRN. You can download the episodes and bring them with you to the barn to do chores if that’s your thing, too!
You can find HRN at www.horseradionetwork.com. Peruse their shows and what they have to offer. Most if not all shows should be available on whatever platform you use to listen to podcasts (I use Spotify).
The Green Horseman 
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