Adversity is like rain for plants. To grow tall and strong, we need a steady supply of it. We can have too much, a flood, or too little, a drought. Most of us don’t need to go looking for adversity. Just like water for plants, it will mostly find us wherever we are. What matters is how we face the rain.
― Tik Maynard: Starting in the Middle
Hey friends and readers! I didn’t get you a review like I wanted last weekend. As you may know I’ve been going through some life stuff (see Navigating Greif: Finding Strength to Heal). I am, however, behind on book reviews so today I am giving you another Book Club entry in addition to our book coming for next week. I am just too excited about this book to wait on it.
Those of you who know me know that I am a huge fan of Tik and Sinead Maynard. I’ve attended a few clinics with them in 2022,2023,2024 (Covid shut down our first clinic in 2020); I always leave inspired and directly apply what I learned to my horsemanship at home. You can read about the three clinics below:
During Covid, in lieu of the clinic that was cancelled, I read his first book In the Middle Are the Horseman. I wrote my article about it long before thinking to make this “Book Club” more of a regular feature on this site so my review does the book absolutely no justice. I owe him a re-read and re-review. (Read that article here: Quarant-Reading)
When I learned about Tik’s new book coming out I was thrilled. I couldn’t get it into my hands fast enough. The new book is called Starting in the Middle: How Horses, Those Who Study Them, and 265 Minutes with One Colt Helped Me Find Myself at Midlife.
You can get your copy directly here at Trafalgar Square books!
Even better, you can get a discount for buying BOTH books as a set:
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that the number one cause of stress in horses is confusion. They just don’t understand.
-Tik Maynard: Starting in the Middle
Starting in the Middle is a large book of 464 pages, but it is a fast read. It was just published and officially launched this past April. The layout of the chapters was well considered and expertly executed. The chapters are short and broken down digestible portions. I know I’ve expressed my appreciation more for those shorter pieces as they are more compelling to keep reading. Long chapters with no breakpoints require more commitment. It seems silly but it makes a huge difference.
Starting in the Middle is a book about Tik’s journey to compete in his first Road to the Horse. His internal struggle to find his own way and do what feels most authentic to him. I’ve mentioned before he is a deep thinker and asks some truly powerful questions. He is also incredibly tough on himself and very modest. He has the formula for excellence.
There are 36 chapters that describe the work, research, and planning during the months leading up to the Road to the Horse Competition. After chapter 36 the final chapters are titled, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and After, respectively. It’s a brilliant and simple way to stay organized. You can FEEL the anticipation leading up to those DAYS. The anticipation built within me as I counted 31,32,33,34….Wednesday was coming!
Tik is an exceptional writer, I dream of being the writer and thinker he is. Tik organized a fantastic support team for Road to the Horse. He developed an extensive plan to train with and speak to a number of people from all walks of life to gain insight, knowledge, and perspective.
The first few chapters begin with Tik’s questioning of the very concept of Road to the Horse. Is it ethical and fair to start young horses on a timeline and as a competition? He consulted with others on answering this until he developed his own answer. He agreed to do the competition but with his own team he laid out a list of ten guiding principals to help guide them as their north star. Their farm name is Copperline Equestrian and I really love the ninth principal of staying above the Copperline. It’s a culture he and Sinead developed in their lives and darn good way to live. In its essence it means you stay curious, open, and committed to learning, and you are NOT defensive, closed, or committed to being right.
When you think training a horse is a zero-sum game…when you think marriage is a zero-sum game…well, you have a long road in front of you, most likely involving lawyers and therapists.
-Tik Maynard: Starting in the Middle
As you can probably tell, I’ve plucked many passages that resonate deeply with me from the book. Sprinkled between the great passages are more great words of wisdom or insight. Sometimes spoken from another trainer amidst conversation. Either way you get a lot of Tik’s personality in this book. The book is HIM; not dry, not stuffy, and not too serious either. Peppered throughout you get dad jokes or some special moments between him and Sinead or him and Brooks or Goldfish. His choice to include these moments mean a lot and speak to his character and values. They are precious and emulate love.
I am now willing to act in the presence of fear. I hereby resolve that I will never again allow fear to keep me from doing something I genuinely desire to do.
-Tik Maynard: Starting in the Middle
Starting in the Middle is like auditing 20 clinics in one book. We are given bits and pieces from so many expert minds from all around the world. I don’t even know how to choose any one favorite “mini clinic.”
For one, I loved the chapter where Tik visited Ireland to meet Eric Smiley. I’ve listened to podcasts interviewing Eric and have his book on my shelf (I still need to read it) but the more I hear and learn about Eric the more I want to hear and learn about Eric. I love what he says and the points he makes. In this book they discussed allowing horses to make mistakes and the concept of bringing horses along on a timeframe.
I admire Tik for exploring even the most extreme counterviewpoints. He met with Ren Hurst who’s contrasting viewpoint states that “any use of a dependent animal is abuse”. Her statements feel like an assault to our entire lifestyle, she believes we as animal owners, are abusive to them for the mere enjoyment of owning them. Tik met with her to explore her opinions. He was curious and open-minded. He left admiring her commitment to her values…we don’t need to agree with them but we can appreciate her conviction. Imagine if the world was this open-minded and willing to accept the coexistence of two truths.
Last year during our clinic, Tik had mentioned going to chicken camp. I laughed at the time and as he elaborated and it all made sense. He spends a couple of chapters describing his time at this camp. The camp was helpful in getting him to think laterally. Learning about cues and how to break things down little by little to avoid overwhelm and to set the chickens up for success.
When it comes to influencing people and the choices they make, I doubt we will change the top ten percent. They have been doing what they do a long time and they are set in their ways. And we can’t change the bottom ten percent that doesn’t know what they are doing, because they aren’t searching for answers. But I believe that most people, the eighty percent in the middle, want to do the right thing, and they might just listen to the right person. That’s who we are trying to reach when we teach.
-Tik Maynard: Starting in the Middle
I really enjoyed the bits and pieces I read about other works that I also enjoyed. Tik mentioned Sinead’s podcast “In Stride” and at the time they were working with a Natalie Hummel in Equestrian Mastermind. I loved this series! The series took a group of professional riders Sinead Halpin Maynard, Jon Holling, Tamie Smith, and Will Faudree and they worked with high performance coach Natalie Hummel for four episodes. They were real and raw and relatable (I’m not going into any upper level eventing any time soon but the same fears apply). You can listen to the series here: Equestrian Mastermind).
Tik also referenced Dr. Janet Jones and her book Horse Brain Human Brain. I tell everyone who listen they should read this book. It is among the best books I’ve read to date. It should be read and re-read because of HOW MUCH information Dr. Jones gives us within those pages.
Science is not perfect but it is the closest to the truth we have at that moment.
-Tik Maynard: Starting in the Middle
When I finally reached the days of Road to the Horse I was on the edge of my seat. I came into the book previously knowing the outcome each day but I didn’t follow closely enough to know the details. We got to look inside Tik’s mind moment by moment as he grew a relationship with a young colt that came to be called TomCatt (definitely not me slightly cheesing at the slightest coincidence that Tiger’s registered name is R Tom Cat).
I ate up page after page get more details. What went well, what what poorly. Tik was still being hard on himself. Just more pushing and striving towards excellence.
Winning does not encourage us to know ourselves; it might not even allow it. But when we lose, when we break up, when we leave home, when we get fired, those are the events that allow us to grow. Why? Because we tie our self-identities to something else, we end up shackled to that thing, be it a job or hobby or sport or horses. And when I lose at that sport, if I lose with horses, who am I?
-Tik Maynard: Starting in the Middle
SPOILER ALERT
He won. He won every day and he won the whole thing. I won’t spoil much more than that because those facts are common knowledge. You’ll still enjoy the reading. If you’re like me you might get emotional, too.
He also competed this spring for the 2025 Road to the Horse. I will not share any more than that. It’s not in the book but it’s not relevant at this time. You can find the results quite easily if you wish, I even left you the link above.
For every celebrated accomplishment there are thousands of people who have attempted the unknown…and failed. There are also thousands who have thought to start something but have never begun. Fear overwhelmed them, and they never took the first step.
-Tik Maynard: Starting in the Middle
Final Word:
Starting in the Middle was an incredible book, perhaps one of the best I’ve read in a while. It is far more than just a book detailing the prep it took to compete at Road to the Horse. Instead it is a collection of thoughts and conversations that shape how we view our role in horses’ lives. It’s deep, intellectual, thought-provoking…and it’s peppered with witty banter or precious moments between friends and family. I have sent passages to several friends, talked about it within my groups, and recommended it to others whenever I can. It truly feels like taking 20 mini-clinics in one book, offering insights from many professionals throughout the world. If I could, I’d buy 20 copies and give them to all of my friends.
Anyone can read this book, even those without a horse. You do not NEED to read In The Middle Are the Horsemen first. The two books are both wonderful and I recommend them both but they are not entirely related.
I don’t get to consider Tik a “friend” but at his clinics we have all sat as a group eating dinner, having a margarita, perhaps…he’s friendly. He’s down to Earth. He’s empathetic. He’s kind. I prepare for clinics by remembering my best dad jokes and show up with a notebook ready. I read his book hearing his voice in my head the entire time, picturing the gestures or facial expressions.
A few moments in Starting in the Middle Tik questioned if you can be a good horseman if you weren’t a good person. Personally, I don’t think so…at least not in my definition of horseman. The better I become with horses the better human I find myself to be. The more curious I am to improve my horsemanship I am also curious about exploring what makes ME tick. Self control, self exploration, self awareness, self-improvement. Those are all important factors that can make us better horsemen and better humans.
Yes. I love this book and HIGHLY recommend it. Both Tik and Sinead are two of my favorite horsemen around. My next question: when do we get a book from Sinead, who is also a deep thinker and an excellent writer?
What I felt for TomCatt was a sharp love, biting, like a teenage affair during summer vacation. The two lovers meet, they spend every waking moment together; at night they lie awake dreaming about the other. Then all too soon vacation is over. Back to school, back to work. Their young minds had not planned for the end.
-Tik Maynard: Starting in the Middle
I also want to add that I buy most of my horse books from Trafalgar Square Books. I’m excited to say that I am an affiliate with the publisher, and so proud to be. Trafalgar Square embodies the spirit of horse people…. they ARE horse people. The operation is based in an old barn in Vermont and run by only a few people…people you can talk to and meet in person at events. It’s not a big corporate conglomerate, and for that I am grateful. This happens to be one of such books. You can find your copy through my affiliate link here, it’ll let TSB know I sent you!
Published by Trafalgar Square books, North Pomfret, VT
If you have any questions, comments, or would like further information, please contact:
contact@trafalgarbooks.com / (802) 356 6706
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