🐴 Monday Night Classes With Mary — from The Ground Up

Participants will be learning:

How to use body language, position, and alignment to communicate effectively with your horse.
Ways to establish yourself as a leader, guide, and partner in your horse’s training.
Groundwork exercises to:

Improve your horse’s attention, relaxation, and trust.
Enhance perception and awareness of their feet, limbs, and body.
Build confidence when faced with new or challenging situations.

How to use groundwork as a productive alternative when short on time or when riding isn’t possible.
Techniques that help the horse think rather than react, improving mental focus and calmness.
Gentle exercise without speed — ideal for horses needing low-impact work.
Helping your horse learn to defer to you for reassurance in uncertain situations.
Developing maneuverability and responsiveness from the ground.
Suitable for all types of horses — young or un-started, older horses, those resting from competition, or those returning from injury.
Using minimal equipment: rope head collar, 8ft lead rope, gloves, and a wand, natural horsemanship stick, or stiff dressage whip.
Discovering how everything you do on the ground translates to success under saddle!

Who can join:
All participants must be over 18, able to stand and move with a horse for 45-minute sessions, and have basic horse-handling skills.

Mary D. Midkiff

PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS

BHS Level 3 Coach and Instructor

College of West Anglia Instructor and Course Director for L3Y1 and Y2 Equine Department. Courses instructed: Riding; Working Horses from the Ground; Lunging; Coaching; Stable Management; Horse Health; Horse Fitness; Feed and Nutrition; Equine Studs; Tack and Equipment; and Rehabilitation and Therapy. Cambridge UK
University Equine Lecturer in-seat, labs/stables, off-campus farms, veterinary facilities, and online. Teaching all levels of Equine Rehabilitation and Therapy at Midway University, a four-year baccalaureate university equine degree program in the United States.
Course Lectures: Equine Rehabilitation and Therapy 1,2 and 3rd level; Introduction to Equine Sales and Business; The Evolution of the Human and Horse; Animal Welfare, Rights, Ethics, and the Law
Equine Physiotherapy private practice Lexington, Kentucky USA
Riding and Training Horses: including Off the Track Thoroughbreds; warmbloods; Quarter Horses; gaited pleasure horses and mixed breeds. Rode and trained for numerous clients in Kentucky, Virginia, Colorado, New Jersey, Maryland and Pennsylvania.

Managed own training stable with a mixture of horses for dressage, eventing, hunters, and pleasure riding; and later focused on training young Thoroughbreds for racing careers. Exercise rider for dressage and event horses with some competition for 40+ years.

Kentucky Horse Racing Commission Licensed Trainer and Stable Manager of 6-8 Thoroughbred racehorse stable yard. Sales preparation of young Thoroughbred horses for auction; presentation of yearlings at auction before potential buyers; race campaigned Thoroughbreds as a licensed trainer; started yearlings for race careers going to top trainers Graham Motion, Tom Proctor, Jim Bond, Buff Bradley, Dallas Stewart, and Lon Wiggins.
Created and Presented Women & Horses™ programs, workshops, and products. Brought together horse industry and medical experts for workshops focused on the fitness, health, and performance of female equestrians. Traveled nationally and internationally to expos and conventions promoting W&H products with demonstrations. Arranged for venue, speakers, signage, media coverage, sponsorship's, publicity, and registration. Author of two award winning international books, clinician, and presenter.
Presenter of “Fitness, Performance and the Female Equestrian seminars”: All Equitana Expositions in the United States and the Pacific Rim; state sponsored expos and state fairs; Expo Cavalo in Brazil plus private clinics at Haras Lagoinha; all Equine Affaire Expos in the United States; World Equestrian Games 2010. Included speaking, demonstrations, riding, saddle fit for the female instruction and rider exercises for balance.
Executive Secretary of Showing and Director of Membership for the American Horse Council, Washington,D.C.

Represented all aspects of the horse industry before Congress and the worldwide horse industry. Interacting with USEF, USEA, USDF, FEI, AQHA and many other breed and discipline organizations.

Professional Awards

Award winning and best-selling author of “She Flies Without Wings: How Horses Touch a Woman’s Soul” (Random House)(Published in 7 languages) and “Fitness, Performance and the Female Equestrian” (Turner).
National Literary “Willa” Award Winner for Best Memoir for “She Flies Without Wings: How Horses Touch a Woman’s Soul”
Outstanding Service Award, American Medical Equestrian Association
Achievement Award, Boulder County Horseman’s Association
National Youth Leadership Award, American Youth Horse Council
NCFE Level 3 Award in Assessing Vocationally Related Achievement UK

EDUCATION & CERTIFICATION

Graduate Certification in College Teaching and Learning, College of Education, University of Kentucky,

May 2022 4.0 Grade

Bachelor’s degree in advertising and communications, University of Kentucky, College of Journalism

Dean’s List Honors, GPA 3.75

British Horse Society Level 3 Coach and Instructor; Accredited Professional Coach UK
Horsemaster’s Certification, Potomac Horse Center, Gaithersburg, MD, Certified by the Maryland State Department of Education

Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, Kentucky Thoroughbred Race Trainer’s License (2014 - Dec 2022)

Society of Ortho-Bionomy International: Human and Horse Practitioner 2019

COMPUTER SKILLS MS Office, MOODLE, LEARN, Microsoft TEAMS, CANVAS, Zoom, Excel, Power Point, Dropbox, Skype, Facebook, Linked In, POS systems, Quizlet.

Associations and Memberships

Gold Member, British Horse Society
Member, American Association of Equine Therapists and Technicians
Member of International Female Health Community of Practice in Equine Sports
Former Board Member of Kentucky Equine Education Project
Member Midway University Equine Industry Advisory Board
United States Equestrian Federation; United States Eventing Association; United States Dressage Federation;

Mid-South Combined Training Association; Kentucky Horse Council. Local horse clubs.

Innovator

Creator and Founder of womenandhorses.com; workshops, books, equipment, oil blend sales; newsletters, articles, products. Presenter and sales at expositions worldwide.
marymidkiff4horses.com -Current blog posts and therapy resource
Facebook - Essex Equine Musculoskeletal Body Work

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

College instructor and course director, College of West Anglia, Cambridge Milton, UK (March 2023 – current)
Exams Invigilator, Writtle University College, Writtle, UK (May 2023 – current)
Midway University – Equine Studies Professor, Midway, KY (2017 to January 2023)
Equine therapist, riding coach and trainer, independent contractor in the United States, client references available (2007 – Dec 2022)
Alltech – Tour Guide and Retail Sales, Town Branch Distillery and Lexington Brewing Co., Lexington, Ky (2017-2020) Barrel House Distillery - Tour Guide and Retail Sales, Lexington, KY (2020 - Dec 2022)
Kentucky Equine Education Project Coordinator, Board member and Committee Chair, Lexington, KY (2007-2019)
Society of Ortho-Bionomy International, Practitioner, Lexington, KY (2019 - Dec 2022)
Keeneland Association Inc. – Tour Guide and Retail Sales, Lexington, KY (2018)
Orvis, Retail Sales Associate, Louisville, KY (2016-2017)
Midkiff Horse Training, Licensed Thoroughbred Race Trainer, Racing Manager, LaGrange, KY (2014-2017) All-breed training stable (2007-2014)
Equestrian Resources, President, Boulder, CO and Louisville, KY (1992-2007)
Women & Horses™, Founder and Director, Product development and sales, workshops, publisher/author (1992-present)
American Horse Council, Executive Secretary of Showing, Director of Membership, Washington, D.C.(1987-1991)
Stonegate Standardbred Farm, New Dynasty Stables, Partnership Manager, Glen Gardner, NJ
New Jersey Historical Society, Event Planner, Tour Guide, Morven, Princeton, NJ
Fasig-Tipton, Inc., Fair Hill Training Center Project Associate, Elmont, NY and Fair Hill, MD
International Thoroughbred Breeders, Inc., Bloodstock Specialist, Hightstown, NJ

Partnering and Fund Raising

Partnered with American Quarter Horse Association and Women’s Sports Foundation to create a one-day program for New York City inner city youth. Held at Chelsea Piers in Manhattan, NY inner city youth were introduced to horses and riding; transforming and enabling young lives.
Organized sponsor relationships for the North American Young Riders Championships in Chicago.
Along with the Kentucky Equine Education Project, developed a startup $15,000 funding base and had equipment donated for the Louisville Metro Parks Summer Equestrian Program. Riding arena redevelopment and construction, weekly summer horse related activities for inner city youth and community programs during the Fall and Winter. Arranged day trips, transportation, food, publicity, and communications.
Linked Boulder County Horse Association with local public officials to spend a day together on an annual basis in a public lands space with horses and horse people. Developed invaluable relationships between the horse community and law makers. Raised over $10,000 for each annual event as well as securing a venue and organizing every aspect of the event.
Served the Kentucky Cancer Center and First Lady Jane Beshear’s Horses and Hope for 8 years to raise awareness and funding for a cancer screening and treatment van valued at $1million for Kentucky horse industry employees.