From Mustangs to Badminton and the fun and tears in-between : Elisa Wallace

This week, Jenny and Ben are joined by five-star eventer, Mustang trainer and exceptional horsewoman Elisa Wallace — and wow, what an episode.

From training Mustangs and building relationships with horses others might overlook, to competing at the very top of eventing, Elisa’s career has always put horsemanship at the heart of everything she does.

But this conversation also goes somewhere much deeper.

Elisa talks openly about her fall at the final fence at Badminton — and the brutal social-media backlash that followed, including death threats. She is truthful, vulnerable and wonderfully honest about what that experience did to her, what she learned from it, and how you keep going when suddenly everyone has an opinion.

At the heart of the episode is a question we keep coming back to:

When you’re competing at the very top, which hat wins — the horseman or the competitor?

Expect tears, some incredible insights and Ben at possibly his happiest — talking horses with another person who truly thinks like a horseman.

Elisa is thoughtful, refreshingly honest and a fierce advocate for the horse. This is a conversation about competition, pressure, mistakes, social media and what putting the horse first really looks like.

Is this what the horse world needs to learn?

Watch the whole shut up and ride tour here on vimeo vimeo.com/ondemand/suartour26

CONTACT US : shutupandridepodcast@gmail.com

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This Podcast is sponsored by Charles Owen - https://www.charlesowen.com

Pod merch found - https://superxcountry.co.uk/

Want to find out more - check out BE Prepared it's free - https://beprepared.britisheventing.com/

Chapters

• (00:00:00) - Sponsor: British Eventing's Be Prepared Initiative
• (00:01:13) - Introduction and Welcoming Elisa Wallace
• (00:03:27) - Elisa's Background and Road to the Horse
• (00:04:38) - Discovering Mustangs and Fledge's Story
• (00:10:01) - Mustang Training and Wild Horse Realities
• (00:17:12) - Mirroring, Energy, and Connecting with Horses
• (00:22:36) - Building Trust and Managing Frustration in Horses
• (00:25:19) - Mental Focus, Mistakes, and Show Pressures
• (00:29:25) - Position, Teaching, and Groundwork Philosophy
• (00:33:13) - Comparing Training Styles and Enjoying the Process
• (00:35:44) - The Badminton Afib Incident and Its Aftermath
• (00:45:40) - Rebuilding Trust After Trauma
• (00:50:43) - Horses Finding Their Right Jobs
• (01:00:55) - Bridleless Riding and Testing Communication
• (01:07:47) - Classical Horsemanship and Testing Yourself
• (01:12:21) - Quick Fire Questions
• (01:18:08) - Dealing with Online Trolls and Criticism
• (01:23:51) - Closing Thoughts and Farewell