Best Horse Practices Summit director Maddy Butcher and the Board of Directors are pleased and excited to announce the presenters for arena and academic offerings for October 21-23, 2022, at Spy Coast Farm in Lexington, Kentucky.

Registration opens in February.

Electives for Friday, October 21, and more details on specific presentations will follow in coming weeks.

Dr. Doug Thal — An accomplished veterinarian and owner of Thal Equine in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Thal is the developer of the Horse Side Vet Guide, an encyclopedic website and application for all things medical. He will discuss topics around the client-vet-horse relationship.

Jim Masterson

Dr. Sheree King  PhD – teacher, author, scientist, researcher – is Professor Emeritus and founder of the Equine Science program at Southern Illinois University. Dr. King is a Distinguished Service & Fellow with the Equine Science Society, Past President of the Horsemen’s Council of Illinois and Ex-officio Board member of the BestHorsePractices Summit. Providing continued education for horse lovers and working for equine welfare is a lifelong passion for her. She will speak on equine digestion.

Jim Masterson offers a unique method of equine bodywork for equine massage therapists and horse owners in which one recognizes and follows the responses of the horse to touch to release tension in key junctions of the body that most affect performance. He created the Masterson Method and has certified instructors across the globe.

Nahshon Cook will present in the arena. He is a classically-trained dressage trainer from Denver who has coached, competed, and trained internationally in jumping and dressage. His current training interests lie in rehabilitating horses with major mental, physical and emotional training-related trauma. He is the author of Being with Horses. Visit his Facebook page.

Patrick King will offer a hybrid presentation, blending academics with arena and likely in collaboration with another clinician. King is an accomplished horseman of Western and dressage disciplines and has studied with Ray Hunt, Mark Russell, and scores of others. He has a large following and travels the world to offer clinics and present at expos. Visit his website.

Daniel Dauphin is a Louisiana horseman with a steady client base and growing podcast. He will present an interactive talk on the horse’s mouth, anatomy, and bits. Dauphin has done exhaustive research and produced a multi-disc, multi-hour video on bit information/horse mouth anatomy. Learn more here.

Jec Ballou
PC: Grimshaw Photography

Josh Nichol is a Canadian horseman with strong Western and dressage backgrounds. He focuses on the horse-human relationship and will present in the arena. Learn more about Josh here.

Jec Ballou helps horses and riders from multiple disciplines to become more fit and better performers with straightforward tools. Ballou is the author of several books and works tirelessly as an advocate for understanding proper biomechanical movement and ease. A proponent of interdisciplinary study, she serves as an advisor to the Western Dressage Association of America. Visit her website here. Check out her podcast collaboration with Maddy Butcher here.

More presenters added soon!