At Honos Nutrition Co., we’re passionate about horses, science, and doing the best we can do for our horses, while empowering others to do the same. We love to support and promote like-minded, dedicated horse people and small businesses. This month's small business spotlight features Katie Fisher-Mansfield of Renegade Equestrian!
We've been following Katie for a while, and she is such a positive light in the sport, dedicated to always growing and learning more. We're excited to feature such an exciting and genuine young professional! Tell us about yourself Katie!
I am a freelance coach and trainer based in Princeton, Ontario. My riding journey started at a very young age (at around 5/6 years old) attending a few different local riding schools, where I caught the ‘horse bug’. Fast forward a few years later, my riding journey took me to a local eventing barn, in Ayr, Ontario. At this barn I found my niche in the eventing discipline; from my early start in Pony Club, competing in my first shows on our local SOCTA series, all the way to competing successfully on the OEA and USEA circuits.
Over the years, I was also given the opportunity to lesson and even groom at competitions for various upper-level eventing and dressage riders, both in Ontario and Florida, and to participate in the Ontario Young Rider/U25 Program. These opportunities allowed me to learn from some of the best athletes our sport has to offer, in and out of the show ring, which taught me what it takes to develop and maintain an equine and equestrian athlete.
Along with these opportunities, I trained under the watchful eye of various experienced coaches on a weekly basis, whom assisted in the development of not only my riding but also my horsemanship. To this day, even though I am assisting other riders and horses, I am furthering my own knowledge and development through my own ongoing participation in lessons, as I continue to be a student of the sport and keep my programs updated with new teachings and techniques. I also hope to work towards becoming a Licensed EC coach and to obtain my Competition Coach Status within the next few years.
How have horses shaped you as a person and inspired your career path? How
did Renegade Equestrian get started?
Renegade Equestrian is named after my longtime partner Renegade, or Eamonn as he was known in the barn. Eamonn was purchased for me back in 2015, when he was an exuberant 5 year old OTTB. He embodied immense amounts of talent as an equine athlete, and really set the stage for me to be seen as an up and coming rider on the eventing circuit.
Over our 7 years together, I was able to gain knowledge on how to take a sensitive and fiery 5 year old OTTB and develop him into a confident equine partner. Along with the development of confidence in Eamonn, I also found a fascination towards the coaching aspect of the sport, along with the psychological development and maintenance equestrian athletes require to perform at our best. Because of this, I found myself furthering my education on these topics; eventually combining my passion for equine and athlete development with the recognition of the importance of mental and emotional wellbeing for both rider and horse alike.
The main goals Renegade Equestrian recognizes and focuses on are the training and development of both the equine and the equestrian athlete, along with the much-needed psychological aspect to develop confident riders and horses, regardless of discipline.
How do you leverage your education to help your clients succeed?
Currently, I am enrolled in a Youth and Children Studies program, along with minoring in English and Psychology. Through this, I have been able to learn valuable insight into child and human development, along with different psychological techniques to adjust to different learning styles and emotional needs of individuals in competition or in lesson.
With my University background, I am able to adjust and develop training sessions tailored to each individual; utilizing different engaging techniques that are suitable for rider age and development in order to ensure skill progression and confidence building instruction. Along with this, various psychological techniques such as goal setting, visualization, emotional regulation, and much more allow me to further assist students and their equine partners to achieve their goals, no matter what they may be.
In future years, I plan to attend teachers college to become a teacher, which will further develop my knowledge and a different outlook that I can bring into my programs.
Do you have any tips and advice on how to keep learning fun?
One thing I emphasize my students to work towards is short (1 month), mid (6 month), and long term (1 year) goals. These goals may be to improve rider seat or position within the month, or to get a personal best dressage score within the next half year. Once the riders and I are able to collaborate on the goals we're setting, I am able to break them down into different steps we need to take to
achieve our bigger picture. I find that by having these small “pillars” to success that lead to much larger ones creates a clear path to achieving these goals and keeps students engaged within the learning process. I believe it is always extremely important to also celebrate both small and large victories, along with providing students constructive feedback and words of encouragement. This fosters a healthy and engaging learning environment where students are learning more effectively.
What services do you offer? Where can interested readers learn more &
connect with you?
I currently offer freelance coaching, training, and showing services to those in Paris, Brantford, Woodstock, Kitchener/Waterloo, Cambridge and the surrounding areas. I am a fully insured, EC Registered coach. If you would like to get in touch, or to simply check out Renegade Equestrian you can find us on Instagram (@renegadeequestrian) or Facebook (Renegade Equestrian).
What advice would you have to other like-minded equestrians who are
dedicated to learning all they can/being the best they can be for their
equine partners?
My best piece of advice would be to learn from each and every individual you can; both those who are in the business (coaches, professionals, veterinarians, farriers, bodyworkers, nutritionists etc.) and even those who you can learn from in an educational standpoint (professors, researchers, and other professionals). You can find invaluable information, experience, and different perspectives that can contribute your growth and overall knowledge as an equestrian and horse owner.
Secondly, take advantage of learning opportunities in your community such as auditing and attending clinics, seminars, workshops, and information sessions to broaden your overall knowledge, and to learn different pieces of information from various standpoints and in different fields.
Thank you so much Katie! We're so inspired by your development and growth mindset, and your dedication to compassionate coaching for both equine and human athletes!
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