OTTB Success Stories Episodes

n this episode of OTTB on Tap, we’re joined by newly minted 5* rider Alex Conrad, fresh off his incredible Kentucky debut with his OTTB superstar, Malibu Preacher. What we expected was a great conversation about eventing, Kentucky, and producing an off-track Thoroughbred to the top of the sport. What we got was something even more special: a genuinely heartwarming, thoughtful, and unexpectedly emotional conversation with one of the warmest guests we’ve had on the show. Alex takes us back t...

What happens when you stop playing it safe and finally choose the horses? In this episode of OTTB on Tap, we sit down with Courtenay Brown, who went from a stable remote career to riding racehorses full time. Her path is anything but linear, and it will hit home for anyone who has ever felt stuck in a job while dreaming about being at the barn. Courtenay shares how she grew up around racehorses, stepped away for years, and came back to the saddle later in life. She talks about producing he...

What happens when you take an off-the-track Thoroughbred (OTTB) into the hunter ring and stop treating it like an “alternate” to a warmblood? In this episode of OTTB on Tap, Niamh flies solo for our first truly hunter/jumper-focused OTTB episode with Pennsylvania pro Madison Barnett of MB Equine (USEA event rider + hunter/jumper trainer) and standout junior rider Caden Nolt. Madison breaks down why Thoroughbreds became the backbone of her program, what retraining her first OTTB taught her abo...

What does it take for a 15.1-hand off-track Thoroughbred to storm around the 2024 Kentucky Three-Day Event and win the crowd’s heart? In this episode of OTTB On Tap , we sit down with eventer Ali Kuhn to hear the incredible story of Little Hail, her pink-wearing OTTB who went from years in a pasture to galloping across one of the sport’s biggest 4★ stages. Ali opens up about her journey as an OTTB retrainer, how a fateful call from John and Dorothy Crowell changed the course of her career, an...

In Part 2 of Madeline's Camp Windurra experience, we follow Madeline and her OTTB, Pepe and Heywood or "Pete" as they wrap up their final days at Boyd Martin’s Camp Windurra. On Day 4, Madeline worked closely with Olympic-level trainers, including another cross country school with Boyd and dressage with Silva Martin, honing her dressage skills and focusing on precision, rhythm, and connection with her OTTB. By Day 5, Madeline and her Thoroughbred faced a mock horse trial, tackling a challenging ...

In this episode of OTTB on Tap, we sit down with Madeline Conley, an active duty member of the US Air Force and co-owner of Bridge the Gap Equine, an OTTB resale and equine wellness business in Southern New Jersey. Madeline shares her recent experience at the inaugural Camp Windurra - an eventing training camp hosted by Olympic Eventer Boyd Martin. Throughout the episode, she discusses the training sessions led by fellow Olympic equestrians: Dressage rider Anna Buffini and show jumper Peter W...

Join Niamh and Emily on this episode of OTTB On Tap as we chat about Thoroughbreds in the Olympics. We spotlight Bold Venture, an Australian OTTB who made a dramatic entrance at the 2024 Olympics, and Regal Realm, Lucinda Green's remarkable partner with a wild backstory from the Australian outback to Olympic silver. Hear William Fox-Pitt and Lucinda Green discuss their favorite TBs from their past - in their own words - exploring the exceptional Thoroughbreds that propelled them to the top. D...

*** The full episode starts at the 3:55 mark, we were having such a great recap of Devon Arena Eventing before we started and wanted to share it with everyone!*** In 2017, Kirsten Schuitema accompanied a friend who wanted to try a couple of OTTBs that our hosts, Emily and Niamh, had sourced from the track and had been bringing along. Little did Kirsten know that she would meet her future upper level partner, One Sly Fox, or “Tango” as he is known in the barn, that day. Back then, Tango was owned...

Join us for Episode 19, where we chat candidly with Heather Gillette, 5-star event rider, graduate 'A' Pony Clubber from Spring Valley Hounds PC in NJ, USEF Licensed Eventing Dressage Judge and Technical Delegate, Co-Chairperson of the USEA’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee and Co-Founder of Strides for Equality Equestrians. Not only is Heather a very experienced eventing competitor, as her career has spanned both the long- and short-formats of three day eventing, she just may be one ...