Damien Griffin is an Irish international show-jumper from Ballinasloe in Co. Galway. After running a successful sales yard for 10+ years, he decided to make a change and focus on sourcing & producing top quality young horses for show-jumping & eventing with his wife Fiona. In addition they also run a rewarding breeding programme with over 100 youngsters ranging from foals to 3 year olds. Damien radiates an immense amount of passion & determination & with that he has worked his way to accumulating numerous titles to his name from Puissance wins, winner of Cavan Indoor Derby, placings at Hickstead Speed derby alongside national titles. We dived into many areas of Damien's life with horses, from the importance of having patience when producing young horses, building resilience & staying focused. Damien also kindly opened up about his stammer, and the stress & anxieties he felt surrounding it during his early days, especially whilst competing. In our chat he also outlined his management practices he's learned over the years that he uses today and i cannot thank him enough for being so open & honest. Damien's Website: Showjumping | Damien Griffin Lissyegan Stables | County Galway

Joining "The Show Ring" series is a super episode I had the pleasure of recording with the lovely Ciara Mullen. Ciara is a hugely successful rider based in Malahide in Co. Dublin, and she runs an extremely educational page on Instagram known as "It's A Grooms Life"Ciara is regularly seen amongst the ribbons in the showing world and has completed in the likes of HOYS, Royal Windsor and of course the Dublin Horse Show. She has taken home many titles from Dublin such as Riding Horse Champion, Intermediate Side Saddle & Hunter Mare Champion but to name a few. Ciara and I decided to do something a little different and add in a Q&A to our episode, and she gave her insights and advice on starting young horses, preparations for the showing season, what to look for in a horse or pony, clipping and loads more. Ciara was such a joy to talk to and of course we covered many topics throughout her career from, balancing horses and a job, the importance of giving a horse time to mature, being a good sportsperson, the benefit of keeping a diary for horses, her time with other riders and so much more! Ciara's Instagram: Ciara Mullen (@itsa_groomslife) • Instagram photos and videos

Tara Oliver Donohoe is an Irish international dressage rider based in Limerick. Along with her husband Mark, they run a small livery and training yard whilst also providing top quality young horses from Preliminary to Grand Prix. Originally from Dublin she made the move west to study Equine Science in the university of Limerick & found her love for dressage. Since then she's worked her way up on the high performance team for dressage & has completed internationally many times in Premier Leagues, along with holding many national titles and wins around the country. It was so nice to sit down and chat to Tara and she gave put so much helpful tips and advice applicable to riders of any discipline & level. We covered the importance of being adaptable, having patience, along with tips on moving up the levels. She also gave unique perspective on viewing dressage tests, why it's critical to truly listen to horse underneath you in doing what's best for them in their training, listening to judges and so much more! Tara's Facebook:

Joining me for a second time is Irish international Dressage rider, Courtney Akkari. We catch up on her life since the release of her first episode, 3 years ago which is linked below. We touch on her life now as a new mother, balancing that with the demands of horses & competing, buying & selling horses, her Olympics hopes & dreams and so much more! Courtney's First Episode: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-inside-rein-podcast/episodes/Enter-At-A-Courtney-Stuart-ersl6o/a-a4sjrkd Courtney's Instagram: Courtney Akkari ❤️ (@court016) • Instagram photos and videos

Jacqueline Murphy is a BHSAI & HSI accredited coach that runs Ahead For Horses. She has devoted so much time to her education and has achieved qualifications in Management, Coaching, Psychology, Sports & Exercise Psychology, Neuro Linguistic Programming & Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. She worked with riders from grassroots to 5* to increase their confidence, improve enjoyment & maximise performance to achieve their goals. With a background in working in the corporate world, she's takes us through the challenges she faced after an accident that led her to setting up her Ahead For Horses. Jacqueline's Website: AHEAD FOR HORSES Sports Psychology & Mindset for Riders Get A-head for Horses change your mind and the rest will follow. AHEAD FOR HORSES Jacqueline's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aheadforhorses?igshid=YTQwZjQ0NmI0OA==

Molly Sullivan is a Sports Performance Nutritionists & Strength and Conditioning Coach from Kerry. her educational background & sporting career is nothing short of impressive; with a Degree in Law & Sports Psychology, qualifications such as a personal trainer & fitness instructor and a two Masters in Sports Performance and in Sports Nutrition with the International Olympic Committee.  Along with show-jumping, she also has had an incredibly successful rowing career, representing Ireland on numerous occasions. Throughout her career she's worked with various elite & professional sports from swim Ireland, Munster Rugby & the Women's Tennis Association with a professional tennis player. Molly's Instagram: https://instagram.com/moll.sull?igshid=YTQwZjQ0NmI0OA==

Penny Sangster is a BHS Performance, British Eventing & Centre 10 Coach. She's a former 4* International Event Rider that ran her own competition & training yard in Sussex for 28 years before making the big move to Northern Ireland. Penny has accumulated years of experience in the industry working in many disciplines from Show-jumping, Point-to-points, eventers and dressage riders. Penny's passion for coaching really shone though in this episode and we covered many topics from why coaches need to hone in on the importance skill of truly listening to their riders, why we need drive & resilience, and why she's so passionate about the Pony Club.

On this episode I'm joined by Olive Clarke, an Irish International show-jumper from Co. Galway. She runs one of Ireland's most respected yards that is well-known for producing top quality young horses, alongside a successful breeding program. Olive is a 3 time national Indoor grand prix Champion and has ridden on numerous nations Cups & big stage competitions such as the Hickstead Derby and many classes in the RDS. Four Seasons Stables Instagram: Olive Clarke (@four_seasons_stables) • Instagram photos and videos Four Seasons Stables Facebook: Four Seasons Stables | Loughrea | Facebook

Join me on today's episode of the podcast where we take a deep dive into the remarkable career of Faith Ponsonby.No stranger to the horse world, Faith is an BHS Coach & International FEI Judge from Co. Tipperary. Faith has worked incredibly hard throughout her outstanding career as a coach, dressage & showing judge, former instructor at Kildalton College, a chief Steward at the RDS, to name a few. Faith is a wealth of knowledge and through her experience in the horse industry we touched on the importance of keeping things simple, why coaches need to ensure they're passing valuable information onto the next generation, why every rider needs a toolkit and so much more.

Sonya McAleer is a showjumper and equestrian coach from Northern Ireland. Through her own experience and struggles with mental health, she identified a need for a support system within the equestrian community, after speaking with clients and friends and following her passion of helping others, a charity was built called the Irish Equestrian Mental Health Project. The project offers a range of services such as counselling, webinars and in person workshops to help people find the tools they need to have good mental health and well being. The project also works to signpost people to the correct places to get the help they need in times of struggle. This conversation is so incredibly paramount for our industry and it's important to recognise and appreciate Sonya's passion, determination, honesty & resilience from her struggles that led her to setting up Ireland's only equestrian mental health hub. We touch on subjects from her experience with depression, anxiety, suicide, her 12 year riding break and how she came back from that. Overcoming the feeling of not feeling good enough, burnout, validation on social media, coaching and so much more. Find Sonya and IEMHP here; Irish Equestrian Mental Health Project: ⁠Home | Irish Equestrian Mental Health Project (iemhp.co.uk) Instagram: https://instagram.com/irishequestrianmhp?igshid=MmU2YjMzNjRlOQ== Facebook: Irish Equestrian Mental Health Project | Facebook