505. Tonya Johnston's Inside Your Ride with Winn Alden

Send us Fan MailIn this episode hosted by Tonya Johnston, Metal Skills Coach: Winn Alden Winn Alden is an accomplished hunter/jumper professional based in Virginia, where she runs Winn Alden Equestrian, a full-service boarding and show barn offering both horse training and rider coaching. With decades in the sport and a résumé of wins at many of the country's top shows across the hunters, jumpers, and equitation, she has earned a reputation as one of the East Coast's most respected horsewomen.A consistent winner in the show ring, Winn has piloted top mounts to championships and blue ribbons at premier venues. Among her many highlights, she swept multiple features at the Tryon Fall Festival at TIEC in 2019—claiming a Welcome Stake, a Jumper Classic, and a USHJA National Hunter Derby—and captured the Grand Conformation Hunter Championship and the Robert M. Reel Perpetual Trophy at the Lexington Spring Encore aboard Genuine. She also topped the USHJA National Hunter Derby at the Lexington National Horse Show with Attila.In addition to riding and training, Winn is a USEF licensed "R" judge in both Hunters and Hunter/Jumping Seat Equitation, with a judging schedule that has included numerous IHSA and IEA shows, among them two IHSA regionals. She is also a sought-after clinician, sharing her eye for correct, quality riding with students at every level.Tonya's Tips to Prepare for Inportant Fall ShowsTonya Johnston, MA, is a Mental Skills Coach and author who works with riders all over the world. Tonya specializes in working with equestrian athletes from disciplines such as hunter/jumper, three-day eventing, reining and dressage. Tonya’s book is called “Inside Your Ride: Mental Skills for Being Happy and Successful with Your Horse.”Tonya’s individual clients range from youngsters just starting out in the pony divisions all the way up to professionals competing at international championships. She conducts mental training clinics at private barns throughout the country and also works with high school and university equestrian teams, including the Stanford, Savannah College of Art and Design and USC Equestrian Teams. Tonya has presented mental skills workshops for the USHJA, USEF, CPHA and PCHA associations.Tonya has a monthly podcast called “Tonya Johnston’s Inside Your Ride” that is a part of the Plaid Horse Magazine’s Plaidcast. She has presented at the U.S. Dressage Federation and the U.S. Eventing Association national conventions, as well as the national conference for the Association for Applied Sport Psychology. Tonya had regular columns in Practical Horseman and Eventing USA, which at the time was the official publication of the U.S. Eventing Association. Tonya has appeared in a variety of equestrian magazines including The Chronicle of the Horse, The Equestrian News, The Plaid Horse, Equine Journal, iJump, Horse Showbiz, Equine Wellness, Paint Horse Journal, Riding, and Hoofbeats.theplaidhorse.comThank you so much for joining us today on the Plaidcast. This podcast is a labor of love, and every single episode exists because of this incredible community of riders, trainers, barn managers, parents, and horse lovers who show up in the barn, in the ring, and right here with us.At The Plaid Horse, our commitment goes far beyond the show ring. We believe deeply in the power of literacy and education and that every rider, at every level, deserves access to knowledge, stories, and ideas that make them a better horseperson and a better human being. Reading matters. Learning matters. And the stories we tell each other in this sport matter more than we sometimes realize.Whether you are a junior rider picking up your first copy of The Plaid Horse  Magazine, a professional trainer looking for inspiration, or someone who simply loves horses and everything this world stands for then this community is for you. You belong here.We build this together. Every article, every episode, every conversation is an opportunity to learn something new, to feel less alone in the challenges of this sport, and to be reminded of why we fell in love with horses in the first place.Until next time, keep reading, keep learning, keep riding, and remember that the horse world is better when we build it together. I will see you at the ring!