Explore Equestrian Adventures with Meghan Brady 🌍🐎 | Equestrian Journeys Podcast

Welcome to Equestrian Journeys. I'm Sandy Colling, your guide to the captivating world of European horse culture. In each episode, we talk about century-old traditions, rich history, and the vibrant modern horse scene. You'll hear stories, get insider tips, and meet wonderful guests who share our passion. So whether you're exploring your next adventure or exploring from home, Equestrian Journeys offers a unique perspective on travel and equestrian As well as culture all around Europe. So join me each week as we uncover hidden gems and stories from Europe's magnificent equestrian heritage. And today I'm with Megan Brady. So I was connected to Megan through a mutual friend, and Megan does so many horse-related things, and she's a great massage therapist, equine massage therapist, from what I hear.

Thank you.

And also has a business helping equestrian coaches. However, I brought her on today because she has a platform called Equestrian Horse Association.

Equestrian Travel Association.

Yes. Equestrian Travel Association. And of course that goes hand in hand with Equestrian Journeys. And so Megan, thank you so much for being on today. Super happy. I know you're busy with all the things you do, but I'm grateful. Thank you for having me. Yep. Really grateful that you took the time. So share a little bit about your business, your travel business, what it is and what made you decide to bring this to the world.

Yeah. So back in 2010, I was building my equine bodywork business and I was traveling all around the country, United States, and actually in South America and in Europe, parts of Europe. And I was building that business, but I wasn't riding. So I was going to these equestrian travel vacation spots or day trips, and I was going to some fabulous places all over our country. And like I said, South America and Europe, and I was having really wonderful experiences, but I was also coming up against some places that maybe weren't holding up to their end of the bargain, would you say, on horse care and horse welfare? And I was at the time also working for, it was called EquiTrekking at the time, and I was doing a lot of travel riding for them. And so I was going to all these places and I realized that there was no really set standard that these businesses had to abide by. And so a lot of people would go there, consumers, horse people or non-horse people. They just wanna have this experience. They're going there and maybe in some of the cases weren't really happy with the way the horses were their condition, you know, their tack, everything like that. So I developed the Equestrian Travel Association, and what we do is we represent equestrian travel businesses, outfitters, retreats, anything like that, day trips, multi-day trips, dude ranches that uphold to a high standard of horse care and welfare and customer service. So these businesses join our association. And then we help promote them to consumers. So that's a little bit about what the association is and how it was developed. We have an advisory board, so I have people from all over the world that advise me because obviously the set of standards that are here in the United States are different than South America or Africa or Asia. So we can get a whole big everybody's advice on the set of standards that would be appropriate for that.

I think we've, maybe not all, but a lot of us have seen while we're traveling and we wanna ride that the horses maybe not be cared for the way we would like them to be cared for. I know I've been to countries and wanted to ride and then saw the situation and I'm like, no, I'm not gonna do that. So I love, love, love that you do that. Now you said you have an advisory board. Do you also, obviously you can't travel, well, you can, but I don't know if you have the time to travel to all these countries.

I do.

places or how do you vet them? Quote unquote.

So we have 3 sta— uh, 3 tiers of our membership, gold, silver, and bronze. And our gold members are the ones that sign a contract. I go out and visit them. I experience what a consumer would experience for these members. Um, so we vet them that way. If I can't get there right away, I set up just like we're doing right now. I set up a Zoom call. They give me a tour of their facility. I see all the horses. They carry their phone around and show me all the conditions of their horses, their tack, things like that. I also require that they submit documentation from their vet that the vaccines are up to date. They give me farrier reports. So we have checks and balances as to how these places operate. And obviously some places, some regions of the world are a little bit different than others. So that's how we're doing that. And then I plan if I can't get there, like we just had a member join from Canada as a gold member. And so it's their off season right now for the winter. So I'm planning a trip to go there in the spring. But before that, we're getting on a Zoom call and just doing what I just said. So that's how I vet them. And then for the bronze and silver members, they're conducted a little bit differently. The bronze members just have a listing in our Equestrian Travel Guide. And it is listed that they're just a bronze member. Um, and they just check a box saying, yes, um, we abide by these regulations, but I don't go out and visit them. And then the silver members are a little bit different. I don't go out and visit them, but we do set up a Zoom call and I do look through their facilities and their horses and things like that. But our gold members are the ones that are the highest standard.

Right.

And they're the ones that we really promote.

So when you, when we go to your website, it's basically twofold. I can go there as, okay, I wanna go on a riding trip. So it's not what I do with Equestrian Journeys where I focus more on culture and tradition. You, it's actually riding either, like you said, a couple days, a couple hours, a couple weeks, maybe not a couple weeks, but more long-term. So I, as a customer, can go to your website and say, I wanna go to Ireland and I wanna go ride for 3 days. And I find that on your website or. How do I become a member? So talk a little bit about the different ways to utilize your website.

So the Equestrian Travel Guide, think of it as sponsored by the Equestrian Travel Association. So as a consumer, you can go on there and say, hey, I wanna go to Ireland. I wanna go on a multi-day trip and I wanna be doing eventing. You can even, even narrow it down to that. Or I wanna go cross-country, or I wanna go trail riding or whatever, whatever you wanna do. And then, uh, you'll get a list of all the businesses that are in In Ireland, um, and they'll be from gold, silver, and bronze. So that's how you as a consumer can look for vacations or outings or things like that. As a business, in the footer of our website is about our businesses, like where businesses can learn about the association, learn about our advisory board, and become a member that way. So it is a twofold website. It's definitely more geared towards consumer, and then the businesses can, when they join, they have their own login information. And so then they can update their listing and add pictures, videos, whatever they wanna do, reviews, things like that.

And for those of you who are interested, I'll be linking the information, the website and everything in the show notes. But Megan, do you wanna just share just the name of the website if somebody's just listening and they wanna log on right now and not wait?

Yeah, sure. It's www.rideeta.com.

Awesome. Now you said you also do America, but you do international travel as well. Is there any particular advice you'd give riders that are preparing to go on a, in the, on their first international horseback riding trip?

Definitely bring lots of layers of clothes. You wanna layer, layer. It doesn't matter where you're gonna get warm riding, but then you're gonna get chills. So I always tell people bring lots of layers. Obviously bring boots with a heel. Different places provide helmets or not helmets. Do your research if that's something that you're gonna be riding and you're more comfortable in your own helmet, you don't wanna have one provided for you, bring that along. Paddock boots are a great idea. You know, they're great under jeans, things like that. And if you wanna bring britches or things like that, that's always a good thing, just depending on the type of riding that you're gonna be doing. And I always tell people to always bring your own water bottle. That way you can fill it up in the airport and then take it along with you. Yep.

Yeah. The, the helmet question actually came up the other day when I had a friend that is going to Ireland and she asked me about helmet and I said the same thing to her. I says, depends on what you feel more comfortable with. That again, that's another big topic that we talk about. So do most of your places require helmets that you, um, that you, no.

It, it just depends on the type of riding. I would say generally not. You sign a waiver, you're over 18, you don't need to wear a helmet. That's up to your I will say a lot of the places are catered to beginners to advanced. And then obviously if you're gonna go over to Ireland and go on a cross-country tour, you're gonna be wearing a helmet.

Say I'm a more advanced rider and I wanna go to Ireland, but I, or I wanna go to, I don't know, France or wherever, but I don't wanna just be walking the whole time. I wanna really be riding. Is there a way you can filter for beginners, for more advanced, intermediate?

So on our website you can say what type of rider you are. And then it'll be listing a lot. I do have members that just need, want experienced riders only because there's a lot of trekking. They wanna gallop, they wanna, you're riding. I took a riding vacation years ago out in California and it was all around endurance riding. And so you had to submit actually a video of you riding because we rode for 8 hours a day and we were doing all the things.

Wow.

That is listed on our website, and if you're a beginner, if you can just You've never been on a horse to advanced. You can do it all.

That's good to know because I do actually know somebody who was just talking to me again about riding. It's the same person and she's a complete beginner and she just wants to go somewhere where she can walk. So I'll let her know that definitely is a possibility. Yeah. That's awesome.

Absolutely.

And so do you see any trends, any countries or America that's more popular, like Where are people wanting to go to?

Or is it like a mixed bag? This is something that I've really noticed, which I think is a fantastic way to travel, is I'm seeing a lot of people that are offering volunteering while you're there. So I just have a member from Guatemala and she does horse tours, but while you're there, you give back to the community. So whether it's within the horses, you help her with the horse care, or they have an orphanage with children, so you volunteer your time there. So. A lot of community service within your vacation. So you take this luxury vacation, in that case, she, you're horseback riding up to the volcanoes. And then you get to later that afternoon, you get to go visit the children of that community. In Guatemala specifically, a lot, all those horses provide for their families. So when these cowboys have these horses that you're riding, That's providing for their family, providing that money that you're spending goes right back to their home and their family, and you get to meet them. And I just think that's so wonderful that you get to have this. You're not just going riding, seeing this beautiful countryside, which you are, but you're meeting the people. And I just think that is such a valuable component to travel.

It's building community too. I love that. That's great.

Yeah. And I just spoke to another woman. last week who's doing the exact same thing in South Africa. And you get to volunteer on these wildlife refuges and you get to meet the community of people who are there. And I just think what a wonderful way to travel.

Absolutely. Absolutely. So is there, so your website or your opportunities that you offer for a customer to go riding is pretty much worldwide?

Correct. Yes.

Everywhere.

All over the world.

Yep. Okay.

Everywhere in the world.

That's really cool because isn't Iceland become really popular in recent years?

Yeah. Iceland is very popular and I actually just went riding there 2 years ago. I went in December and I had a fa— fantastic time. Talk about being, feeling like you're on another planet almost having these Icelandic horses and you're in this winter wonderland and it's snowing and they're trekking on ice and it's just amazing. And I have amazing photographs from that. So Iceland is definitely becoming very popular all year round. And so is, like I said, a lot of the South American countries are becoming more and more popular, even places that maybe wouldn't be on your radar, like Guatemala. So yeah, and South Africa's always a big hit with all the safaris. It used to be very expensive to do that, and it's becoming more and more affordable for people to do that.

So that's really interesting because South Africa's a place that I probably, yes, for safaris, but also riding.

Mm-hmm.

Interesting.

Yeah.

Okay. Yeah.

There's the one woman, she does a lot of volunteering. So you go there for up to 3 months if you wanted to and volunteer, and you're on horseback for 6 hours a day and you're seeing all this wildlife and then you are helping her take tours too. So it's a really cool experience. You get to give back like that. And then they help with the— yeah, they help with all the, the elephants and big cats and giraffes. They have a rescue there for all those, the wildlife.

Wow. I did not know that. That's definitely on my radar.

Yeah.

It's so cool.

Can you imagine riding with a herd of giraffes next to you? I have all these crazy pictures she sent me and I'm like, oh my God.

It's, that sounds like my dream cuz one of my big dreams is to do a safari, but do it that way and then volunteer.

Yeah.

That would be like my dream come true. So I did not know that.

Yeah. Yeah. It sounds incredible. I told her I cannot wait. I need to come visit. But yeah, I would, I would like to spend like a significant amount of time there, at least 2 weeks.

Yeah, for sure. Absolutely. Um, going all that way and then you definitely wanna immerse yourself into the, yeah. This is really interesting. Do you have anything else that you wanna share about either as a customer or as a member? Anything else you wanna share before we wrap it up?

I just think as a consumer, as a customer, you're going just do your research. All the places on our website are vetted personally by me, the gold members. But if you're, even if you're out on your own, you know, do your research, read reviews, go to their website, call them if you need to. I think it's really important that we do that cuz I do find that you're spending all this money to take this wonderful vacation. You don't wanna go there and feel, um, disheartened by the, the shape and the condition of the horses.

Yeah.

Cuz that doesn't feel good. And then as a business, my goal is to educate these businesses that become members so we can also give back to the, the businesses that need more education and help. That's the goal for the the association is to also really hone in on the equestrian travel industry and promote it as a whole and help the businesses that maybe just need a little bit more funding or education to get their business to the standard of what we require in our association.

I love that. I love the educational component. So like I said, if anybody wants to take a trip or become a member, I'm gonna have all the information in the show notes. And that being said, if you at this time maybe wanna educate yourself around a country, for me it's in Europe, that you wanna travel to, I have today launched the, um, Virtual Journey Through Equestrian Europe. So you can take a look at that. That will also be in the show notes if that's something you wanna do from the comfort of your home. And Megan, thank you so much for being on today. I really appreciate it and Now I can't sleep now because all I'm gonna be thinking of is the, that African trip. That just sounds amazing.

Yeah, doesn't it?

That sounds really amazing. So this wraps up another episode of Equestrian Journeys. Thank you for joining us today, Megan Brady and I. And if you enjoyed your journey, please share it with a friend who loves horses and/or travel. Don't forget to subscribe to Equestrian Journeys on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss an episode. And for more content, travel tips, and beautiful images from our equestrian adventures, visit the website. Everything will be linked in the show notes. And for questions or suggestions for future episodes, reach out to us on social media @EquestrianJourneys. Until next time, keep your passion for horses and travel alive.