A message from our host and founder, on our mission and our story

Hi everyone - Kaitlyn here!

 

I am so excited to be launching Season 2 this week! Feeling a little sentimental, I wanted to take a moment to share with all you wonderful horse people out there, a couple of things.

 

Hold on tight - this might get a little mushy. Apologies in advance!

 

One, to extend my deepest gratitude for all of the support - and feedback! More on this in a moment.

 

And two: To talk a little bit about why I produce this podcast, where we go from here and some changes that may be coming this season.

 

So first things first! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. Thank you to those who have been with me since the beginning - listening to each episode and sharing with your friends. To those who have discovered the podcast recently and have reached out with the kindest words, asking about more episodes.

 

And thank you for sending your feedback. For letting me know what you enjoy about each episode, and what you don’t. For suggesting new questions, and even letting me know when there’s a flaw in production quality (like an episode being too quiet). I soak in all of this feedback and hope to make each episode better than the last.

 

So please, keep it coming. Send us a message on Facebook or email me directly at kaitlyn@findingthefeel.com. I’m all ears.

 

I truly hope to make a positive impact on the horse community (that’s you!) with this project - however small.

 

If you’ve listened to any of the episodes, then hopefully our mission is clear - to make elite horsemanship accessible through the sharing of experiences, mindsets and knowledge. However, on this journey of helping other people tell their stories, it’s become clear that we skipped telling our own.

 

And, nobody can dictate your story but you.

 

So, here’s the short version:

I started this podcast at a turning point in my life, and personal horse journey, where I needed access to knowledge and experiences outside of my current circle. Doing this seemed way more difficult than it should have been. I can go into all the reasons why that may be, but we’ll skip that part for now. If you’ve been there, then you know.

 

This led me to obsess about a particular thought:

 

If I grew up in the industry and still struggle to get access to more resources and knowledge. . .what must it be like for somebody just starting out, or who aspires to join the performance horse community?

 

And truly, this made me sad. Especially with all of the technology and other modern means of communication, like social media. It should be easier than ever to share knowledge, not only within a single community, but across disciplines.

 

Why wasn’t this happening more? Why are we, as an industry limiting ourselves to knowledge to that of our one trainer at the time, and as a community limited ourselves to sharing only the experiences of the people within that barn. And frankly, risking being ostracized when looking for answers outside of those avenues…

 

The more I thought about it, the more frustrated I became. And so, I had a decision to make: Sit around, and be frustrated. Or...be a part of the solution. And so, my goal became to build a platform for ALL horse people to share their passion, build confidence and overcome obstacles.

 

Podcasts were already one of my favorite means to access leaders in other industries. And so I made one for the industry about which I am most passionate. Now, here we are...that’s the long and the short of it. I look forward to bringing you more stories and even more value from like-minded horse people.

 

If you’re still reading at this point - you da bomb! So here’s a few more points, for clarity. Because this podcast is always for you, our listeners, first. For the trainers, it’s a platform to tell their story in exactly the way they want to tell it, and support their businesses - from clinics to video series to podcasts of their own. And for me, it truly is a passion project.

 

With growth, and time, comes change
Because this is a passion project, I don’t want or need to make money from this podcast. Though I try to run it like one, it’s not a business. This gives me the freedom to partner only with brands and trainers who believe in our mission. This season, you may see a few partnerships to help keep the lights on, but we promise not to fill our episodes with ads.

 

You may also see some crossovers with other podcasts. After all, the best way to reach more podcast listeners is...you guessed it!...to connect via other podcasts. We’re pumped to see so many great horse-related podcasts launching and growing out there. And we're excited to collaborate with like-minded people!

 

Have some other favorite horse podcasts? Let us know!

 

Expansion and focus
We’ll still very much be focused on the performance horse industry, but we had some great feedback on the guests from other sports and communities. In an effort to bring you more unique knowledge and stories, you may see us experiment with new types of guests and formats.

 

We also put in place new processes and resources to help avoid long gaps between seasons.

 

And lastly, we’re going to make a serious attempt to maintain a blog this season (right here). There’s so much that happens outside of recording episodes that we want to share!

 

Okay, okay, that’s all for now. Here’s one final extension of gratitude for all of our listeners out there. I feel connected to every single one of you, and I hope you feel the same when you tune-in.

 

It’s passion for the horse that inspired me, and it’s your shared passion that keeps us going.

 

Love always
- Kaitlyn