Tik Maynard: Always Up for Another Horse Adventure
Tik Maynard has never been one to shy away from a challenge. He spent much of his twenties competing full-time in the sport of Modern Pentathlonwhich includes running, swimming, shooting, fencing, and show jumping. He won the Canadian National Championships twice and competed in multiple World Championships and the 2007 Pan-Am Games in Rio de Janeiro. Maynard has competing in eventing at the Advanced level and has been long-listed and short-listed for the Canadian National Eventing Team.But in 2024, Maynard was in for a surprise.It was the most stressful thing Ive ever done in my life, Maynard says.As a first-time competitor, he competed inand won2024 Road to the Horse, the World Championship of Colt Starting. His partner was an American Quarter Horse gelding named TomCatt.There were moments when I didnt know if I would get through it. I learned a lot about myself and what I can handle, Maynard says.Tik Maynard at the 2024 Road to the Horse with his equine partner, TomCatt. Photo by Haley Boothe, Impulsion MediaAlthough feeling the crushing weight of stress, Maynard realized it would be detrimental to pass it on to TomCatt.I had things I wanted to accomplish and goals, but I didnt let my horse feel that. I had to be very present in the moment and process-oriented so that I could always go at the speed he needed to go, Maynard says. It made me think about the importance of the process and not getting caught up in the goals. You can have goals, but you have to leave them behind once you are working with the horse.And Maynard is ready to do it all over againwith a new colt and up against new competitors at the 2025 Road to the Horse, which will take place March 27-30, 2025 in Lexington, Ky.Growing Up With HorsesMaynards love of horses started early and was nurtured by his father, Rick, a Grand Prix show jumper, and his mother, Jennifer, a Grand Prix dressage rider and judge.My parents both rode, Maynard says. It was instilled in us at a young age what a privilege it was to have horses in our lives. When I was young, what I loved most was the sportmounted games, show jumping, and eventing. But I never thought I would do it as a career. The turning point was in my mid-twenties. I discovered the world of horsemanship and horse psychology. That was when I started to think of it as a mental thing and not just physical.Maynard still enjoyed the excitement of jumping, but realized that delving into the psychology of horses could become something I could do for the rest of my life. Its like a puzzle youre trying to work on and get better.Photo by Kya Photography for NOLLE FLOYDMaynard spent years as a working student, learning from Olympians, prominent equestrians, and trainers. He observed what is needed to transform a good trainer into a great trainer, particularly the ability to be an effective, compassionate communicator.I think you have to be a good person to be a good trainer, Maynard says. Some people are good with horses, but you see them with people, and they are rude. It matters how you interact with people. If a person lacks emotional balance and maturity, I dont think they have that inner thing that will eventually make them a great horse person or trainer.Understanding HorsesEveryone has a different take on what natural horsemanship is.Depending on who Im talking to, I might say natural horsemanship, or horse psychology, or groundwork. Its how you interact with the horse. For me, that involves trying to work with the horse in a way that is natural for the horse, how they learn and play Trying to bring out behaviors that a horse does naturally in the wild, Maynard says.When it comes to groundwork, Maynard explains, I do groundwork with every horse I work with, and most of what I do with horses is working on myself. But everyone has a different relationship with their horse. Some want to be a mentor and teacher, a passive leader or a dominant leader; others look for a codependent relationship with their horse. While I think a few of those ways might be unhealthy, I think a lot of those could be good. Depending on which of those things you are looking for, groundwork may not be essential in every situation, but it can help you learn more about yourself and your goals. We all need a little less guilt, a little less judgment, and a little more gratitude.Maynard on set with NOLLE FLOYD Masterclass: Introducing Spooky Fences. Photo by Caleb Hansen for NOLLE FLOYDMaynard is often asked to help a spooky horse.Spooky and anxious are quite different things when you think about the horse, Maynard says. Spooky can be sharp, in the moment, and then it ends. Rather than acute, an anxious horse is more of a chronic thing. A chronically anxious horse can turn into a physical thing. Horses have evolved to deal quite well with a spook or mild spurt of adversity but do not do well with chronic stress, so I look at the whole horse.I think the number one thing that causes a horse stress is confusion. In training, when you have a flag or a stick, its not usually one of those items in isolation that causes the horse stress; its the not understanding what those things mean. Communicate with your horse. When your horse does something, like get on a trailer or do liberty, see that the horse has the look of understanding in their eye and not that they are just moving around out of stress. There are various ways to get there. Encourage curiositycuriosity is a great bridge to confidence. Every horse is curious about things. Allow, encourage, and direct that curiosity, and the horse will get less and less spooky. If your horse is scared of the dark corner of the indoor arena, put some cookies on a barrel over there, and every once in a while, give your horse a break and go over and give him a cookie off the barrel. Over time, he will be more curious, relaxed, and associate good things with what he previously spooked at.How Tik and Sinead Maynard Work as a TeamSince 2008, Maynard has focused on training horses full-time. In 2016, he and his wife, Sineada highly respected eventing ridermerged their equine businesses into Copperline Equestrian in Citra, Fla., and together they are raising their two young children.Maynard explains what he appreciates most about working with his wife as a partner in a multi-faceted horse business.When it comes to the emotional, financial, and time output, if you dont have a spouse that gets it, that can be stressful to a marriage, Maynard says. You need someone who understands that you might have to call off a vacation because you have to go to a horse show. We are both really supportive of each others careers. At the end of the day, you can talk about the stuff youre going through with a horse, bounce ideas off of each other. Sometimes we ride or do demos with each others horses; my weaknesses might be my wifes strengths or vice versa, so it works well for us.And when Im at home with my wife and 2-year-old and 6-year-old, I see the need to be fully immersed in the present. If Im distracted by my phone, then Im not paying attention to them; I need to be present.Tik Maynard and his son, Brooks, share a love of books. Photo by Hannah C. Kinlaw for NOLLE FLOYDLearn from Tik MaynardA gifted communicator, Maynard loves sharing his deep understanding of horses. He is an online instructor for The Horsemans University and a NOLLE FLOYD Equestrian Masterclass Instructor. He is the author of the bestselling memoir In the Middle Are the Horseman(published by Trafalgar Square Books) and the highly-anticipated follow-up Starting in the Middle (coming March 2025).This article about Tik Maynard is a web exclusive for Horse Illustratedmagazine.Click here to subscribe!The post Tik Maynard: Always Up for Another Horse Adventure appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.
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