About Mary Midkiff

Mary Midkiff has been involved with horses her entire life. Beginning with being the granddaughter of a Kentucky horseman who was passionate about every aspect of life around horses; she grew up on horse farms in Woodford County until she was 9 then moved into the city of Lexington and continued taking riding lessons as a working student.

She went to the Keeneland races with her family and rode Saddlebreds and hunters until 1978 when she witnessed the first World Championships of Eventing at the Kentucky Horse Park as a volunteer. A whole new world opened up her horizons after that and she pursued learning how to become an event rider. Midkiff graduated from the University of Kentucky with a specialty in advertising and communication and rode on the UK equestrian team while she was a student.

She spent two years at the Potomac Horse Center in Gaithersburg, MD achieving her Horsemaster’s Certification from the British Horse Society and Maryland Department of Education. There she learned what the eventing world was really like and was exposed to every aspect of managing a stable, grooming, veterinary education and instruction.

From there she began exploring what was possible in employment around horses, whether it be hands on or indirect, it was her path. She worked for a bloodstock agency; a racing stable partnership; a hunter/jumper barn; and assisted in setting up a large training center for a nationally known sales company, all in New Jersey and New York. She received a call to interview for a position with the American Horse Council in Washington, D.C. and took that position. All the while riding and taking lessons anywhere she could.

Once again expanding her horizons, she met and represented horse people from all over the United States while becoming familiar with the laws that regulated the industry. After 5 years this position had given her the contacts to start her own marketing business and conduct a national survey on the demographics of the horse industry. This national survey indicated that 80% of the English equestrian participants were girls and women; and 60% of the western industries were female. Horse racing reported 30% female but growing in numbers. These numbers indicated a huge shift from the past male dominated horse use. Midkiff knew her own frustrations with riding and now wanted to contribute to the growing female athlete riding population.

She used this information to launch WOMEN & HORSES™. She traveled nationally and internationally with experts discussing and speaking about the differences in female riders, the saddles that would fit their bodies, exercises to strengthen them, equipment that would support them and female equestrian athlete education. Fitness, Performance and the Female Equestrian (Macmillan, 1996) was her first book which is still being published and sold today. It’s the definitive guide for girls and women who want to ride. And she met Peggy Cummings, a Centered Riding Instructor, (now she teaches her own Connected Riding programs). Peggy opened her eyes to what was possible beyond the traditional ways of doing things with horses. Again, it was a whole new world of possibilities.

Midkiff spent from 1992 to 2007 working as a consultant, a marketing specialist and running her own Equestrian Resources business developing Women & Horses materials, programs, products, and resources. In 2002 Midkiff wrote her second book She Flies Without Wings: How Horses Touch a Woman’s Soul, (Delacourte Press, Random House) addressing the emotional, mythological, intuitive connections women have with horses. This book was a best seller in Denver, Louisville and Lexington and won a national literary award. It is still being published today.

In 2007 she moved to Louisville, Kentucky and began training young and problem horses opening her own Midkiff Training Program. It was a chance to bring in all of her knowledge, contacts, and physical skills to bringing along youngsters and horses that puzzled people. She ended up with two really nice racehorses that someone had rescued from an abusive situation and wanted her to train them for racing. This was another opportunity she had to take on. She worked for a recognized trainer at Churchill Downs for several months to gain his support to sign off on her ability to be a race trainer in Kentucky.

Midkiff received her Kentucky Horse Racing Commission Thoroughbred Trainer’s license in 2014 and trained for racing for 3 years with as many as 6 horses at a time. Midkiff moved back to her hometown of Lexington after her mother became ill and needed care. She began teaching Equine Rehabilitation and Therapy at Midway University at that time at Midway University, where she supported, challenged and mentored students just like herself.

She continues to work with horses mainly as a therapist now utilizing all of her intuitive abilities, natural affinity with horses. She incorporates manual techniques such as myofascial release, orthobionomy, massage, trigger point therapy; dowsing energy work and modalities such as the HERO PEMF (Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy), Laser, TENS and E-STIM into her practice.

Midkiff has now relocated to the United Kingdom, continuing her career as a therapist, technician, teacher, coach and trainer to the British horse community.

COMPLETE RESUME FOR MARY MIDKIFF