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There’s a version of motherhood we all think we’re supposed to live up to — and then there’s the real one.

In this episode of Kanter Kulture, I sit down with Marissa Ledford — one of the iconic “Dalton sisters,” an AQHA competitor, a successful horsewoman in her own right, and a mom who is very much in the thick of it.

This conversation is raw, honest, funny, and refreshingly unfiltered.

We talk about what it actually looks like to be a mom and a horse girl — not the highlight reel, not the polished version, but the behind-the-scenes reality of trying to manage it all without losing yourself in the process.

We get into:

• The mental load of motherhood and horses — and learning to manage your own expectations
• The emotional rollercoaster of kids who want to show horses… and the fear of what happens if they don’t
• Navigating school decisions (homeschool vs public school) and letting go of the judgment around both
• Marriage, dating, and how to keep the spark alive when kids, careers, and chaos take over
• Identity shifts after becoming a mom — including appearance, confidence, bras, bodies, plastic surgery, and the pressure to “bounce back”
• Giving yourself permission to evolve — as a woman, a mom, and a competitor

There’s no pretending here. No sugarcoating. No “perfect balance” myth.

Just two moms having a real conversation about loving their kids deeply, loving horses fiercely, and learning how to exist somewhere in between.

If you are:

• A mom trying to hold onto you
• A horse girl navigating motherhood
• A woman who wants kids someday and wonders what that life really looks like

This episode is for you.

🎧 Now live wherever you listen to podcasts.

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Motherhood Meets Horse Life: A 3-Part Podcast Series

Being a mom is hard.
Being a horse girl is hard.
Being both? That’s a whole different level of chaos, grit, and humor.

In this three-part podcast series, we’re getting real about what it looks like to juggle motherhood and life in the horse world — whether you’re an amateur, a professional, or a trainer whose job doesn’t stop just because your body is doing something wild.

This series is for:

• Horse girls who became moms
• Moms who never stopped being horse girls
• Trainers who rode through pregnancy
• Riders who wondered “how the hell do you do both?”

🎙 Episode 1: Trainer Moms Tell All

Guests: Blair Townsend & Samantha Aderhold

This first episode kicks things off with humor, honesty, and zero sugar-coating. Blair and Samantha — both professional horse trainers — share the good, the bad, and the ugly of pregnancy, labor, delivery, and the realities of trying to ride, work, and train while growing a human.

We talk about:

• Riding while pregnant (yes, really)
• The physical and emotional changes nobody warns you about
• Trainer guilt, barn responsibilities, and setting boundaries
• Laugh-out-loud moments and very real “why did nobody tell me this?” stories

It’s raw, funny, slightly unhinged, and extremely relatable — especially for women who live a physically demanding horse life.

This episode sets the tone for the series and opens the door to deeper conversations in Episodes 2 and 3, which explore motherhood in the horse world from additional perspectives you won’t want to miss.

👉 This is a series meant to be listened to start-to-finish.

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In this episode of the Kanter Kulture Podcast, Ali Hubbell sits down with Deanna Baker for a real, honest conversation about where the horse industry is headed — and what we need to be talking about if we want stockbreed showing to survive and grow.

We dive headfirst into participation numbers, accessibility, and the growing gap between people who are brand new to horses and those who are already deep in the show pen. Deanna coins a term you won’t forget: the “beginner-mediate.” These are the riders who are learning, improving, and hungry for more — but aren’t quite ready (or financially able) to jump into showing. So the big question becomes… what are we doing with them?

Ali and Deanna unpack why there seems to be a shortage of instructors willing to work with entry-level riders, especially in the Quarter Horse, Paint, and Appaloosa worlds. Is the barrier cost? Culture? Expectations? Or are we unintentionally pushing people out before they ever get the chance to fall in love with showing?

This episode also delivers a few hot takes on how to make stockbreed showing more approachable and affordable — from rethinking education pathways to creating better on-ramps for new exhibitors. And at the core of it all is one shared belief: if you want to be in this industry, you have to be a student of the game. Learning doesn’t stop once you can lope a circle.

If you care about the future of horse showing, growing participation, and building an industry that actually welcomes the next generation — this episode is a must-listen.

This episode is brought to you by Basic Animal Health.

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If you’re done feeding supplements that just look good on social media, check out Basic Animal Health — science-backed, horsewoman-approved, and made to actually work.

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