This week’s episode of the Practical Horseman Podcast, sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim, is with international eventer Megan Kepferle.
Though she was not born into a family of equestrians, Meg was always drawn to horses. After years trying to convince her family to let her start riding, she finally began lessons at a nearby stable nearby her home in Southern Maryland. Within a few years, she had found her way into the barn’s instructor program, progressed from pony hunters to equitation to jumpers, and then learned about eventing. She took her horse to their first schooling event, won, and never looked back.
A decade later, she found herself in central New Jersey working for an up and coming event rider in the area. That job launched her into professional grooming, which lead her to work for Sinead Halpin for five years. In 2012, Meg became the Chef d’equipe for the Area II Young Rider Eventing team and championed three consecutive medal winning teams.
Coming from the backyards of horse riding schools, Meg eunderstood the need for easily-accessible quality education from high performance athletes for kids and amateurs of all abilities—not only for those seeking the top ranks of eventing, but also those simply wishing to learn how to produce confident, safe and enjoyable partnerships with their animals.
This inspired Meg to start her business, Kepferle Equestrian, which offers programs to riders of all ages, abilities and financial backgrounds. And, in order to be the best role model and trainer she can be, Meg set fierce goals of her own. Climbing up the ranks of eventing, she has reached the four star level with her off-the-track Thoroughbred gelding, Anakin, and now has a goal of competing in the five-star at the Kentucky Three-Day Event in 2024.
The road with Anakin has not always been a smooth one, though, as he was diagnosed with kissing spines. For the first year and a half after purchasing Anakin, Meg worked to properly treat and maintain the disorder. She built his training and conditioning program around stretching and core strengthening—building muscle over his topline and abdomen. Through Meg’s hard work and dedication and the support of her veterinary team, Anakin is comfortable, successful and has continued to compete.
In this episode, Meg dives into her journey with Anakin and explains the program she’s developed to keep him happy, healthy and competitive. She also speaks about her training philosophy for both horses and students and gets candid about the financial aspect of the sport.
Veterinarians, farriers, trainers, riders, grooms – everyone plays a role keeping horses at peak performance. Boehringer Ingelheim is proud to provide the tools to help your team keep them healthy. Learn more at bi-animalhealth.com/equine.
