In this episode of “In Stride,” Sinead is joined by Olympic event rider Bettina Hoy.

Bettina Hoy is a 5* event rider that competed for Germany in multiple Olympics games, World Championships, and European Championships. She was the first German woman to make it to a championship, eventually riding in the 2004 Athens Olympics, 1996 Atlanta Olympics, and the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics where she won a team bronze medal at 21 years old. Bettina has been incredibly successful on multiple horses, one of them being Ringwood Cockatoo. This pair won team bronze at the Blenheim European Championships in 2005, team gold at the Aachen World Equestrian Games in 2006, and individual bronze at the 2007 European Championships. Bettina was the coach for the Dutch eventing team for three years and stepped down in 2019. She also coached the Mars Bromont Rising U25 Grant Program in 2022.

In this episode, Bettina Hoy discusses various topics related to her career as a rider and coach, including:

•Her father’s influence on her riding career from a young age.

•Being naïve about pressure early in her career and eventually realizing that she needed to work harder.

•Her approach to teaching feel and the value in having a trainer occasionally ride your horse.

•Knowing that the sport was not about physical strength but understanding your horse and being able to adjust to the situation.

•Dealing with different personalities as a coach and realizing that not everyone is as determined or willing to learn as they could be.

•Using rider fitness to minimize miscommunication between you and your horse, establish a correct position, and teach your brain to talk to certain parts of your body.

Join Bettina and Sinead in this exciting conversation on becoming a top rider through hard work and determination.