Tik Maynard — two-time Road to the Horse World Championship winner, author of Starting in the Middle, elite horseman, and father — joins Dr. Dan for a powerful conversation about fear, flow, authenticity, and what horses teach us about being human. In his book Starting in the Middle: How Horses, Those Who Study Them, and 265 Minutes with One Colt Helped Me Find Myself at Midlife, Tik chronicles his journey preparing for one of the most intense horse competitions in the world — starting an untouched colt over just three days. But this isn't just a horse story. This is a masterclass in self-awareness, discipline, presence, and the courage to show up fully as yourself. Tik shares how one sentence from a writing book changed his life: "I am now willing to act in the presence of fear." He explores the concept of high involvement, low attachment (drawn from ikigai), why authenticity is the foundation of effective leadership, what it means to experience four hours of complete flow state over three days, and the question that transformed his approach: "What does the horse need from me right now?" From training barefoot in Argentina to taking the word "should" out of his vocabulary, from competing without competing to asking whether a good horseman must be a good human, Tik reveals how the round pen became his path to self-discovery at midlife. This episode is for horse people — and for all people seeking to live with courage, curiosity, and authentic presence.
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN
How to act in the presence of fear — the sentence that changed everything: "I will never again allow fear to keep me from doing something I genuinely desire to do"
The power of high involvement, low attachment — fully engaged in process, letting go of outcome (drawn from ikigai philosophy)
Why authenticity is your superpower — every teacher/leader has their own unique, authentic way; imitating others doesn't work
What flow state feels like and how to access it — four hours over three days of complete presence; most focused he's ever been
The question that transforms relationships — "What does the horse need from me right now?" applies to partners, children, colleagues
Why "should" is toxic — removing "should" from vocabulary and replacing with "How do I make them feel?" and "What have I taught them?"
How presence requires practice — putting phone down with kids, leaving it in barn with horses, turning it off during conversations
LEARN MORE
Get new episodes every Thursday
July 24, 2025
Tik Maynard
Fear, Flow, and the Courage to Begin Again: What Horses Teach Us About Relationships and Life
"I thought, I need to own who I am. There was no point in being somebody else at this point—no point in pretending or imitating. Let's see if I can be all me."
TIMESTAMPS
00:04:36 – Acting in presence of fear: The writing book sentence that changed his trajectory and approach to competition and life
00:07:04 – Authenticity as superpower: KIPP teachers story — every teacher has unique, authentic way; can't imitate others successfully
00:25:28 – High involvement, low attachment: Ikigai concept — fully engaged in process, letting go of outcome; not commanding but leading quietly
00:28:30 – Competing without competing: Jim Murphy's Inner Excellence — compete with love, courage, wisdom; don't know if you're supposed to win; universe decides
00:31:03 – Flow state in competition: Four hours over three days — most present he's ever been; everything else blurred away
00:33:31 – Generalizing presence: Putting phone down with kids, leaving it in barn, turning ringer off during conversations; it's a muscle
00:35:53 – "What does the horse need from me?": Taking yourself out of your body and putting all attention on what they need
00:37:13 – Barefoot training in Argentina: Christos and Oscar Carpatti — feeling dirt between toes made him more grounded, quicker, aware
00:40:36 – Taking "should" out of vocabulary: No "they should do this" — comes down to "How do I make them feel?" and "What have I taught them?"
00:40:52 – "They don't care what you know until they know that you care": Foundation of effective horsemanship and leadership
00:59:16 – Good horseman = good human: When someone is good with horses but not authentic/honest with people, doesn't inspire learning
SHOW NOTES
In this powerful episode, Dr. Dan sits down with horseman and author Tik Maynard to answer the question “What does it mean to truly live with purpose?” and to explore what starting a colt, facing fear, and leaning into the unknown can teach us about self-awareness, resilience, and the courage to live authentically.
On today’s episode and in his memoir Starting in the Middle: How Horses, Those Who Study Them, and 265 Minutes with One Colt Helped Me Find Myself at Midlife, Tik shares his journey from elite equestrian competitor to beginner again—accepting the call to enter one of the most intense horse competitions in the world at midlife. What followed was not only a test of horsemanship but a deep personal transformation.
LINKS & RESOURCES
Tik Maynard
Website — Copperline Equestrian (copperlineequestrian.com)
Instagram — @copperline_equestrian and @tikmaynardcompany
Books — Starting in the Middle: How Horses, Those Who Study Them, and 265 Minutes with One Colt Helped Me Find Myself at Midlife and In the Middle Are the Horsemen
Publisher — Trafalgar Books (small publisher in Vermont; also available at local tack shops, bookstores, and Amazon)
GUEST BIO
Tik Maynard is a two-time Road to the Horse World Championship winner (2024, 2025), author of In the Middle Are the Horsemen and Starting in the Middle: How Horses, Those Who Study Them, and 265 Minutes with One Colt Helped Me Find Myself at Midlife, and international horseman and clinician. He spent much of his 20s competing full-time in modern pentathlon, won the Canadian national championship twice, and competed at multiple World Cups, World Championships, and the Pan Am Games. He has evented at the advanced level and been long-listed and short-listed for the Canadian National three-day event team. Tik won the freestyle twice at the Thoroughbred Makeover and judged it once. He travels year-round teaching clinics across the US, Canada, England, and Scotland, and is an online instructor for Horseman's University and the Noel Floyd Equestrian Masterclass. Alongside his wife Sinead Halpin, a top-level American eventer, he runs Copperline Farm on 20 acres in Citra, Florida, where they live with their two children.
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