Lynn Palm, Horsewoman, Champion, Trainer

I know you will enjoy catching up with Lynn Palm. She is a multiple time champion in so many equestrian disciplines that I have lost count! She is very active in the Western Dressage world currently and is giving Clinics around the globe. She also has a new book coming out. 

Lynn has been a professional since 1970. She discovered dressage early on and used classical principles to develop all around show horses. While reaching the pinnacle of competition, she coached riders and entertained crowds with bridleless musical exhibitions. Always an educator, Lynn continues to serve on committees and advisory boards as well as judge and author books and articles for equine enthusiasts.
I have been blessed to travel the world meeting new people, all thanks to horses. Spending time with those who share my passion for horses is what I enjoy and look forward to for years to come.

Transcript

Rose Cushing 0:31

Good morning. This is Rose Coaching, and I'm the hostess of the Today's Horsewomen Podcast. And we're really excited today. Our guest is Lynn Palm. And as you guys know, Lynn Palm is a many, many times over world champion in just about every discipline of horsemanship that there is. So Lynn, welcome to the show. Well, thank you so much. Tell us a little bit about you.

Lynn Palm 0:55

What have you been up to? A little bit about me. Well, um, a new chapter of my life. Um I uh we sold our uh beautiful uh whole horse farm and the facility that we host all our education programs in Ocala last year. We're a year away from that. And so it's kind of started a new chapter for us. It's it's like, well, do we retire or do we not? And our answer is both my husband Cyril and I said, How can we retire of doing work that we love to do? Right. So um now uh still, of course, I still love judging. He doesn't judge, but we both, of course, teach and coach. And um we're just feel like we're just doing it to give back and try to grow right now. My my mission is to grow the Western dressage discipline, try to marry the ranch riding enthusiast with it. It's it's a great community of people. They love their horses, they understand a horse going in a correct way in a western saddle, the ranch horse do people, the the gates are forward, they're energetic, they cover ground, horses are in an uphill balance, ears are forward. All of those things are credited, and that's the same thing that we want with our horses in Western Dressage. That's wonderful. Oh, I've been doing that. That's number one. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. But um along with that, um, let me just tell you something that Marie Francis gave us, who also works with the team of my husband Cyril Fichon, Rosalone, and myself. Uh, she she came up with the idea of having an event called Winning Ways. And we tried it last year. We did three um events and it worked really well. So we're doing seven this year. We have two more left. And um uh we it is a competition education event. So we have a Western dressage competition on Saturday. Marie puts it on. I judge the event, and on Sunday we work with 10 writers that want to grow their scores. So we're trying to grow the sport and help people grow their scores in competition. And then uh so any low scores that they get in their tests, I address it, give them tips on how to improve their scores according to my comments and so forth. So people love that. Yeah. And then uh then after that, we have a two-day clinic. So we work with all levels, and um again, that's where we're getting a good mix of the ranch enthusiasts wanting to advance their horses on their own. They're using the dressage uh scale to uh go up the the levels and the tests, and it's kind of a great self-training, self-uh uh improving skills discipline.

Rose Cushing 3:43

So people are loving it in that regard. Sure. That is such an exciting um competition to do because you know it's it it proves it's not about winning, it's about getting better. So that is absolutely fantastic.

Lynn Palm 3:58

Absolutely, exactly. And on top of it, we just did the first AQAK and WDAA approved Western Gersage show in Europe, and it was in Siena, Italy. Nice, and it was extremely well received, and the Italians love it, they want it back again next year, and it's gonna go to other countries, just give it a little time. Oh, without a doubt, without a doubt. It already is, but yeah, I think WDAA has 11 different countries um participating in their um online championship show. So that's become a very, very popular thing with the Western Dressage is the online competition. So that's brought in the other countries easily.

Rose Cushing 4:42

Yeah. Well, that's it's good to see Western dressage growing and and you put in a lot of effort into growing it because it is such a beautiful sport, and everybody that rides Western will really benefit from it.

Lynn Palm 4:54

It's it's it's the foundation for all disciplines. And you know, it's my foundation as an all-around trainer, and that was what I was best known for. And I still ride the exact same today as I did 50 years ago. Right. Growing up in the dress saddle, I rode no different if I was in a western saddle. So all my multidisciplines that I was successful with, it's because I had the good foundation of horsemanship, and that's what dressage is training and and riding horses correctly. But the best part also is that it brings a great community of people who love their horses, and those are the people I want to be around. Yes. And they want the longevity of their horse, and they they like to see them develop, and they they like to see the progression happen, and and they're patient because it does take time. It's a sport, and they do it at the level that they want to do it at or can do it at.

Rose Cushing 5:46

So it's it's all good. It's all good. It's all good. Oh, absolutely. And I mean, Western dressage is such a great basis, whether you're a trail rider or whether you're a heavy ranch competition or you actually ride regular dressage. I mean, it's a good foundation, like you say. Yeah. So then I had yeah, yeah. No, go ahead.

Lynn Palm 6:05

I'm sorry. No, go ahead. I'm just gonna say that also my in this new chapter, and it goes along with giving back is my last three wonderful schoolmasters that we used in all our programs in Ocala at Foxgrove Farm that we sold, which I'm disappointed. I still miss it so much. But anyway, they are at a beautiful um private Christian Catholic school, and they have an animal program, and of course, horses is the highlight. And when the school's not going on in the summer, they have camps, but it's used throughout the whole city of Tampa for exposing kids to animals and horses. Wonderful. And I just got um uh and also my mini is there, Mr. James Bond. They love him, he highlights, and because they decorate him all the time. And get the cards that I just got from them from summer camp just ending, and seeing these little kids and thanking me for um having my horses there that they could learn from and and love and all the wonderful things. I mean, it just that really comes gifts to your heart. I can tell you that. That's a a wonderful chapter of life to get into is appreciating that.

Rose Cushing 7:15

Absolutely. And you know, growing the children is our future, so teaching them to love for this is important. It is, yeah. So are you where are your clinics going on and where are you based out of now?

Lynn Palm 7:29

Well, right now um we have done um Virginia, Pennsylvania, Italy, of course, um uh Ohio, we're doing next, and Texas. And we've got one more, and don't ask me where, but it's somewhere, it's on our website, limpalm.com. Okay. All righty. Um but um and we've got two two last two coming up in the next uh last weekend of of August in Ohio and in Texas. And so really looking forward to those areas, and we will continue next year. We'll probably do the same amount, and we may go to other locations and develop it uh in a little bit more of an event because I've teamed up with the dressage foundation and um I've developed, I think since um I think we're in our fifth year now, a fund for Western Dressage enthusiasts for education. And people can either apply for a grant to do clinics, symposium, camps, lectures, or they can apply for grant for individual education to go to someone's clinic or to get more lessons from someone or travel money to go to the world show or whatever it may be. So um we may do some fundraisers with that next year, or I might just put all the proceeds to that foundation for those things. So that's another fun chapter that we're doing in in my life. Yeah. The dressage foundation is amazing to work with, and and of course, you know, they're they they started with traditional dressage, and I'm the first one to step up with doing um uh educational grants for the Western enthusiasts. So um it's all good. They're they're wonderful people to work with, and I've learned so much working with them.

Rose Cushing 9:15

So it's it's been a win-win all the way around. Definitely. It's so nice. You know, I I know how hard it is to retire because my son keeps saying, Aren't you ready to retire, mom? And I I keep saying, Well, son, I'm just getting you know, ramping up. I to me this is retirement. I do three podcasts and I publish books now, you know. But I did give up the side right now if we could. I did give up the TV show and the expo, so I feel like I'm retired. That's right.

Lynn Palm 9:46

Not so much travel, but still enjoying the industry and people and giving back, right?

Rose Cushing 9:51

Absolutely, absolutely. You know, I I think it gets in your blood, you can't you can't not do it.

Lynn Palm 9:57

Yes, of course. Why not? And especially when if the little kids, if you can touch their hearts and you know that they'll remember the experience for the rest of their life, come on. You can't ask for anything better than that. Absolutely. Right. Yeah. And we also got a future star award, uh, it's called. Um, my mentor signed that uh for a graduation present she gave me out of high school, call me a future star. And we've got an award at the WDAA, the Western Dressage World Show for the high-scoring use and all levels this year. Oh no. Intro to third level. So they all have a chance to go for some money in their classes that uh is going to uh make them smile. I can tell you that. You know it will. You know it will. You know, yeah, yes. Now I understand you've written a book. Uh yes, we've got one coming out in a few days. I think uh they said it's September 11th, but who knows with the foreign countries and China and shipping and boats and cargo and that that whole world. Um anyway, it's soon. Um yes, and it's uh finding your own super horse. And it's uh uh a lot, it's kind of a a bio about my 50 plus years in the horse business, and I hope it's inspirational and a lot of wisdom to to young people in the industry of experiences I've had because I I certainly shared what I got out of it. And um, and then also um how horses influenced those things with different things that I did with horses that I hope people will do with their own that'll help them build the longevity of the horse and uh to build their own super horse. Absolutely. So so it's it's really gonna be uh unusual, but a really fun book. Um, so I'm hoping it's one that uh you one likes to read from cover to back, and then you put notes in there of exercises you want to go back to with a little tab saying, you know, what that's for, and and have a good reference book. So, you know, it's a little educational, a little bit bio, but it was fun to do. I got to uh work with one of the um owners of the Trafalgar Square book company. Um they're just uh wonderful people. I've worked with them before, only with educational books, but uh Marie Flaxis is also a big part of the book because a lot of the information in the book is what she did with our 50th anniversary on social media. And she put out um, I see it in different ways now. She put out um information um on social media uh three days a week, like where where we were on Wednesday or um Saturdays, I don't know, something. She'd have a little saying with each up one of them. And um anyway, she had a she went 365, I mean 52 weeks a year, and three days of those weeks, she put out information about something in my career or business. Cool. And uh so anyway, th those were easy for the writer then to you know take a lot of that information that Marie had already done and really make it a a wonderful 50-year story of of of um someone uh a lady in the horse business and having fun and successful and wants to share the story.

Rose Cushing 13:28

Does your book talk about rugged lark? Oh, yes, of course. I would think. He was my boyfriend, of course. I know. I mean, he was such an amazing creature. You guys were magic together. I know, and he taught me so much.

Lynn Palm 13:42

A lot of the horse in the what rugged lark taught me. And it was funny, I was watching uh the other day um the horse racing channel, and they were interviewing a jockey, and it was interesting. I guess he's one of the winningest jockeys in Saratoga, New York, and and he was a young guy and he was full of just full of good vibes, you know. He just he seemed to have a halo around him, and he's had a lot of success and was very humble with it all and very professional. And um I just um uh I forgot where I was going with my story with that, but I just really appreciated that's you know, that that's what horses can do for us. Oh, and I know what he said. He said one particular horse, what was his most favorite horse, or that, and he said the one that taught me the most, and he's named the name, and I forget the name, but he rattled it right off. And of course, the interviewer knew exactly the horse like rugged bark in our world. Right. Um, and uh so you know he was saying what that horse taught him. So, you know, the great horses, or any horse, any horse can teach us something if we just knew how to listen to them. And that's the that's the fun part. That's the part of, you know, knowing that the creature, the animal, his instincts, his behaviors, his natural behaviors, his, his um habits that, you know, are gonna be there. Some horses important, some it isn't, uh, but how to manage them and and and get along. And you know, then when it comes to the athlete, uh, that's another spin of of keeping them sound and how and and managing what you're doing and how you're developing them so you don't break them down. Right. You know, you might have to change things along the way as you're developing a horse, just to always bring the best, bringing out the best in the horse. So that's where you know your team players as your blacksmith and your vet and uh your your mentor, um, or instructor, coach, all of that, it's becomes a good team if you're gonna make a great horse.

Rose Cushing 15:45

Absolutely. Yeah, super horse. So what's left on your bucket list?

Lynn Palm 15:51

Well, that's a good question a lot, I hope. Yeah. I've got a lot of left because I have a lot of things I want to do. Um, you know, uh really um right now as I'm enjoying now traveling. I've got the time now to spend to go see people that I've you know again. Here's the horses. I've got friends all over the world, and now I've got the time to go visit them and go to see the area that they live in and uh and appreciate another destination in the world that is magical, you know. And again, those horses is what's magical that put those things together. So definitely travel is in the uh cards. Um, still with horses or without, or my best is like, you know, where we went in Italy. Um, the horse people, it's a it's a beautiful community and region of a lot of people that have American quarter horses, they love that horse, and and to do ranch discipline and dressage and reigning, they were all about it. Right. So uh those kind of things I always want to keep developing for sure. Um, you know, I um I you know, just doing what feels good. You know, I'm I'm fortunate to be in a a lifestyle that I can I can choose at and and um just be continue to be smart in what you're doing. I'm I'm remodeling my vintage barn. Um I have two stalls only, which my the where I'm living right now used to be, well, I grew up here, but this is where I used to take the horses from Ocala and have private training. But it's close by the beach and it's a beautiful destination. Uh-huh. And so I I I'll have two horses. I I do have one. I do have a young horse. I bought a ranch horse that will be that, which he's um gonna has competed already and will also this fall in ranch, and then I will also do the Western Grassage with. And then um I'm uh have been leasing a beautiful um Lusitano. I like them really grown to like the Spanish breed of horses. Yes. I like their temperaments, their gates, um, are easy to ride. I want easy, and I would really like to still compete and do the FBI levels, the pre-Saint George and an intermediate one and two, and the Grand Prix. So as I need to buy, I've been looking, but I haven't found anything, and I've leased a beautiful horse that knows more than me. And um, so I'm at that present right now, and if I could do that, that's really on my bucket list. Right. And then last when I can't ride and compete, well, I could still compete, but when I at the point where I'm not riding, I'd really like to get into combined driving. Oh, I know for that hobby or competition or be around it. That's another beautiful community of people I really have gotten to touch with, and and I really appreciate the driving and and that and that community of people. They're really neat people. Absolutely. And it looks like it would be so much fun to do. I know. Yeah, we did uh event, the one that we did in um oh I know what we also did an event in Massachusetts, and the one we did in Massachusetts, the owner that hosts the the event, she did combined driving. So when we got done with the show on Saturday, um we they had a um a a nice cookout, and then she hooked up, they hooked up a pony and a horse, what her horse that she competes with, and we went all over her property, which is like a hundred acres right in the middle of Massachusetts, an hour from Boston. Wow. Wow, it was beautiful. Yeah. Yeah. Countryside, like in the northeast, was amazing. That close to the coast and everything, or a big city. Yeah. That's one busy area, the northeast that I would never live in. Me either. Me either. North Carolina works really good. As far north as I want to go. Well, Virginia, I like Virginia too. That's so pretty there. But anyway. Yeah. Anyway, I have one last question. I think go ahead. One yeah, one more really good question. Yes. What is it?

Speaker 19:53

Hey y'all. This is Ronnie from Yale City Special Beds located in Vincent, North Carolina. It's almost springtime.

Rose Cushing 20:54

The horse industry is a hard place to make a living. And what advice would you give to women coming into our industry how to be successful and leave their mark? Right.

Lynn Palm 21:05

Well, you know, that's exactly me as a young person. And first of all, you have to be absolutely dedicated to every facet of what would be involved in whatever you choose in the horse industry. It doesn't have to necessarily be a trainer. I mean, the trainer was always the highlight, you know, of the equine industry, but it's not today. There's so many different paths that one can go in, evolved around the horse and still have horses in your life for a lot of different ways. But as a professional, whatever you do with the equine sport is that you totally have to be passionate and dedicated. That's number one. And that will shine on you. But number two, to be different. And where I was different, very fortunately, I was growing up and didn't realize it in the dressage saddle, making me different. And dressage in the late 60s or the 60s and early 70s was just starting in the United States, coming from Europe. And it was a background that was unique, and people were interested in it. And that made it me be different. Being different, I think, is important. And finding being different right now is even more important, especially when I was highlighting that why I'm promoting the Western Versace and the ranch, it's it is it is um has a community of people who love their horses. And those people that like their horses are gonna take care of them well, they want the best for them, they're gonna be patient, and they're darn sure going to bring out the best in them that they can. And they're not gonna be the horse as a tool, and he's got his job, and they want to compete in winning everything. No, the opposite. Right. And and and the longevity of the horse, you know. I I love this saying from my husband when he gives lectures, you know, horses don't give a darn about our goals at all. They want to graze all day long, right? And when you want to participate with your horse, you better have some respect and and want a knowledge to be able to understand and be able to get along with him in a good way that you can understand each other. And yeah, they're a big animal. They've got to respect you, and you gotta respect them too in a lot of different ways because they can't talk to us. We gotta we gotta recognize those things through all their behaviors and instincts and confirmation, form to function as an athlete and and fitness and all those fun things that horse ownership gives to someone. Right. And I'm just mentioning a few, but yeah, you know, that being different, I think, is is important. And then the next is is to defining longevity of clientele. How I found longevity, like my longest client until she stopped her breeding and stopped horses altogether because of age, was at 48 years. Wow. That was my longest client. Next one's 34, next one always 30s or years or longer. That those clients always trusted me. Number one, that I was gonna take care of their horses 100%. And the horses were more important than my my own self. Right. Number one, right? Number two, I was always honest with them. And horses, you can't build a glorified picture and try to reach the stars and fall down because you can't reach there because you you're not, you don't have the knowledge, you're not telling the truth, you don't really know, and you always have to project with a horse because you can't say the horse, hey, what would you like to do today? Or what do you want to be when you grow up? Right. Something can't tell us that. So it's the professional eye, it's the experienced eye, it's the horse telling us. You know, something I've been developing a horse to do, and he starts arguing with me and starts resisting what I'm doing, I better start listening. Maybe I'm going too fast, or maybe it's not the discipline for him. That's true. That's very true. So both things of what working with a professional, uh, it's an amateur, certainly a youth, um, having a coach, a good instructor, that that makes common sense. That that training horses and training people should be easy to understand. But like any sport, you can't do it once in a while and be good at it. Yeah, you're gonna have people that have a natural ability. However, anybody can learn to ride and and be with horses. If but they have to understand it's a sport and you've got a live being. So it's like having a dog in a sense that you just can't put them in a closet and close the closet and then you open it to play with them again the next day. Right. You know, you still have to have a relationship with that animal as being part of your life. Right. So that makes desperate even harder sport, but I think the thing that people don't think enough about is, geez, I really like to do horses. Once in a while, and they want they're they then they get frustrated because they're not good at it or can't do it as well as their friends, their peer pressures, or whatever. But you know, I always relate that this is a sport, and I don't know any sport that you can and do it once in a while, right? You know, so I think people have to do at least three times a week with horses. Four is better, five and six, you're primo. You should be competing, or you know, you can do it before that, but just depends on the horse that you have, and keeping the horse ticket and what his program is. So it's all workable, but it's you know, it's it's um everybody's got a different story with horses, and whether they're a recreational rider or they're a competitor. And those are the clientele that I've always um um catered to, or the breeder, of course, when you're training horses, right? It's lovely to work with a breeder, and then you know, everything that spins off from that is like any other common business. You've got to have knowledge in marketing, accounting, uh management, uh, supply, um expenses and how to manage expenses. Uh you got to create programs, you got to create a clientele, you gotta find your target market. I mean, I could go on and on and on, yeah. Just all the common basics of what businesses are for any business. So that all comes to play. And I had great mentors along the way, starting with my dad, who was an entrepreneur with making uh uh manufacturing contact lenses. Oh funny enough. But yeah, so he helped me put my first brochure together. It was called my maiden name is Salvatore, it was called Salvatore's School of Horsemanship. So what I was learning in 4H, and when I was learning how to care for a horse, there was my first school in basic horsemanship. Saddling, bridling. Right. The horse accepted, and you know, horse mounting was standing still and on and on and on and on from there. Right. Yeah. I think that's really good advice. Yeah, and and the honesty, that's the biggest. Not to paint a big rosy picture, you know, because people don't know. You can get to their hearts with an animal. And, you know, owners love their horses. And if you're working with an owner and their horse, whether it's instruction or training, um, you gotta separate friendship that you gotta build in someone in a relationship so they understand what you're you're you're seeing and you're talking about and how they can make decisions or help them to. And then um uh from there it's um um just being honest and how you feel about the the horse for the owner. And it may not be what they want to hear, and sometimes they don't like what they want to hear, and sometimes they say, Well, we're gonna try another training. You say, Okay, that's fine. Please. Right. And usually those people will come back and say, We we really liked what you were doing. Yeah, yeah, the grass is not greener. But time is the essence. I learned from my mentor, and when it comes to training horses or building any business, but she always told me the longer you take to train a horse, the longer he'll trul he'll last. Right. The more you get in a hurry, the longer it's gonna take you to train that horse. That means you always gotta go backwards. Yeah, get further back than where you get went, try to climb back up because you've messed something up. Yes, yes. Yeah, yeah. So it's the same in business, you gotta take stepping stones, but asking questions. I mean, I didn't have money, I asked questions. Yeah. I asked all the professions when I was at a horse show.

Rose Cushing 29:44

Oh, they were all my friends. That's one good thing about this industry. If you really want to know and and you're serious, people will share with you. They'll teach you. And uh a great mentor, Tommy Mannion.

Lynn Palm 29:57

He's he's an amazing, amazing man. Doesn't have a good track record in a lot of ways, and not honest in a lot of ways, and he got in trouble for it in a lot of ways. But he always said, he had it he had his first educational event with horsemanship and riding clinic in the early 70s. He'd always say, I'm gonna share my knowledge with you. He says, if you can do something with a horse better than I can, he says, I'm gonna be the first one to come pat you on the back and congratulate you. And that's exactly how I feel. Right. Why not?

Rose Cushing 30:32

Absolutely. You can't be perfect at everything and you want your students to see you.

Lynn Palm 30:39

Absolutely. And that's that's okay. That means, you know, that's yeah, that's part of training and and the whole ambiance of it all. So those are the kind of things that's in my book that are really good sayings that I I I hope people that can grasp and and and they can use it sometime in their life because it's it's really uh um uh it's it's meaningful and and it's all based around our magical horses, Rose.

Rose Cushing 31:06

Yes. We're so blessed to have horses in our lives. Yes, we are, when that without a doubt. Without a doubt. I've enjoyed talking to you today. Now let's let's recap just for a second. All your all your schedules on lynpalm.com. That's right. And your new book is Find Your Own Superhorse coming out about September 11th from Trafalgar. That's right.

Lynn Palm 31:30

That's right. Exactly right.

Rose Cushing 31:32

All right. That sounds really good. So everybody out there listening, you know, just remember that Lynn Palm is is, I don't know, 50 time world champions. I mean, she's amazing. And and this is the source that you should check out to get information and grow and learn because you'll never be sorry for the money you spent with a Lynn Palm product. There you go. Let's go. All right. Thank you. All right, thanks for being on the show, and thank you guys for the show. Oh, my pleasure. Anytime, and thanks for doing what you're doing.

Lynn Palm 32:02

It's just a fantastic idea. I can't wait to get the book and uh be a part of it, and anytime. I I'm a part of whatever you're doing.

Rose Cushing 32:11

I'm a team player with you anytime. Thanks, Lynn. I really appreciate that. You're very welcome, Rose. And thank you guys for listening. I hope you enjoyed today's show. Our souls wander in similar places. Even though we may not know each other, we touch the same wind, we walk under the same sky, and our hearts wander in the same direction. We are one. Women, just like you and me. Thank you for listening.