Transcript:

[0:00]

Jessica: Hello everyone, my name is Jessica and I am a nutritionist with Mad Barn. Today I am here for our second episode of The People Behind the Horses. This is a segment where we chat with different individuals who are helping to elevate the industry and bring about the next generation of growth.

[0:16]

Jessica: Today I am joined with Rebecca Howard. Rebecca is a distinguished Canadian eventing rider and coach. She has represented Canada at two Olympics, with her best finish in 2016 — a 10th place aboard Riddle Master — where she was the highest-placed female rider.

[0:34]

Jessica: In August 2023, Rebecca took on a new role to continue to enhance the Canadian eventing community by accepting the position of Technical Advisor and Chef d’Équipe for the national team. In this position, she works closely with the Canadian High Performance Advisory Group to enhance the team’s performance and preparation for international competitions, including FEI World Championships, the Pan-American Games, and the Olympic Games.

[1:03]

Jessica: To start off — thank you so much for joining us today. What an incredible journey you’ve had so far. I’m really excited to chat more about it and learn a little more from you. So to start — can you tell us a bit more about how your partnership with Riddle Master began, and what you saw in him as a competitor?

[1:26]

Rebecca: Well, actually, I was fortunate enough — the owners, and as it turns out, the breeders of Riddle Master — owned him his entire career. I had known them since I was a young teenager. They bred Riddle Master, or Rupert as we called him in the barn, and sent him to me as a six-year-old. At that point, he hadn’t competed, but he’d done a bit at their farm in Ontario.

[1:59]

Rebecca: At the time, I was in North Carolina, so it wasn’t a horse that I went out and selected — he was sent to me. Admittedly, I didn’t know he was as good as he was as a young horse. He was definitely an athlete, always a good jumper, and had desire, but he was a bit rogue. He didn’t have a natural trot, and flatwork was a struggle. He turned into quite a good mover eventually, but from day one he was really a cross-country horse.

[2:45]

Rebecca: Perseverance was key. I’d say when he stepped up to what is now four-star/advanced, I realized, “Okay — you’ve got a horse here that is more than I thought.” He just kept exceeding my expectations.

[3:03]

Jessica: Wow — that’s an incredible and inspiring story. I want to talk a little bit about what it’s like to experience the Olympics. Since you’ve been twice, were your feelings different from Rio to London?

[3:18]

Rebecca: Oh yeah — completely different. London was my first time competing outside of North America. I had been to the Pan-American Games by that point, but I hadn’t been to Europe or England — which is still the height of our sport. You don’t know what you don’t know. At the time, I felt very prepared — I had a great horse who had done the World Championships and a couple of five-stars — but London didn’t go so well.

[4:19]

Rebecca: After London, I decided to stay in the UK — for all the reasons that had drawn me there in the first place. It felt like the next step to immerse myself in the sport and progress. The gap between London and Rio was a huge period of growth and improvement for me.

[4:48]

Jessica: That makes a lot of sense. It’s great that you had the chance to come back, redeem yourself, and have such an amazing finish at Rio. From your experience, how do you balance the fitness requirements for a horse competing at the Olympics while factoring in recovery to minimize injury?

[5:10]

Rebecca: Like any high-performing athlete, you work backwards from where you want to peak and create a strategic plan. You don’t want them at peak fitness for too long, so it’s about a progressive, long build-up balanced with downtime and breaks. Start from the peak date and work backwards.

[5:45]

Jessica: That makes sense — planning out your season and working back to build fitness. I want to shift gears to your role with the national team. As Technical Advisor, what are your primary responsibilities?

[5:59]

Rebecca: The Technical Advisor role is still relatively new for me — about three years now. At championships, I act as Chef d’Équipe, but otherwise my role is to support the athletes, help each individual develop plans with their horses, communicate with their home coaches, and look at their home programs to see where we can tweak or improve for performance. At competitions, I’m there to provide eyes on the ground and ensure we’ve built trust so that at championships, we can get the best out of them.

[7:32]

Jessica: How have your past experiences — both in the UK and at the Olympics — shaped how you support athletes?

[7:46]

Rebecca: Being in the UK is a double-edged sword — it makes it harder to be accessible to athletes regularly, but it also means I’m immersed where the top of the sport is. My goal is to bring that knowledge back, keep athletes aware of the world standard, and hold them accountable to it. Not everyone can move overseas, so I work to create opportunities — like Nations Cups — for them to compete internationally.

[9:32]

Jessica: What are some of the biggest changes or support you’ve provided since stepping into your role?

[9:41]

Rebecca: First, I make an effort to get to know each athlete — visiting their farms at the start of the year to see their routines and work one-on-one. We’ve done training sessions, Nations Cup teams, and focused on building team cohesiveness. We also use virtual meetings to build community and provide education on all aspects of high performance. This year I’ve also been more present at preparation events, like Carolina and TerraNova, to offer feedback and support.

[11:42]

Jessica: We’re fresh out of the Paris Olympics, where the team finished 10th. What are your thoughts on that?

[11:51]

Rebecca: Paris was an exceptional Games with a great team of people. Our performance didn’t meet our goal of a top-eight finish, but in the context of Canada’s history, it was one of our top finishes ever. We’re working to improve incrementally — team competitions are very different from individual competition, so we’ll keep building.

[13:08]

Jessica: I’m sure Los Angeles 2028 is on your radar. Can you talk about the long-term goals?

[13:19]

Rebecca: Yes — we have an individual spot at Aachen this year, which will serve as a test event for the World Championships. Our goal is to qualify for the Olympics at Worlds, rather than relying on the Pan-Am Games. Preparation for LA started the day after Paris. We have a small group of riders, so we can take a very bespoke approach while continuing to broaden our pool of talent.

[14:30]

Jessica: I love what you’re doing with the team. Mad Barn’s partnership with Equestrian Canada lets us work closely with these riders, and it’s been wonderful watching the growth. Can you talk about fitness for both riders and horses at the top level?

[15:08]

Rebecca: Similar to before — it’s about working backwards from peak dates, building a good base, and peaking at the right time. Through Mad Barn’s support, we’ve implemented heart rate monitors to track workload and recovery. This has been hugely beneficial. The science, combined with the terrain each rider has, allows us to customize fitness programs while balancing soundness.

[16:24]

Jessica: Perfect — and for anyone listening, we have a great article on heart rate monitors linked in the caption. To wrap up — what advice do you have for young riders climbing the levels of eventing?

[17:00]

Rebecca: For young athletes — really, for all athletes — keep the drive and hunger for knowledge. Keep challenging yourself, questioning, and aiming for the highest standard. You never stop learning in this sport, so keep that mindset and be a forever student.

[17:44]

Jessica: Exactly — be that forever student. In our last interview with Dr. Tim Worden, we talked about technology and how the sport is evolving. Always be keen to adapt and absorb new research.

[18:16]

Jessica: Thank you so much for joining us today and sharing your insights. And to everyone tuning in — thank you. Be sure to like and subscribe so you’ll be the first to see our next episode of The People Behind the Horses.