Lindsey Taylor Reflects on a Whirlwind Three Years with Boyd Martin

Lindsey Taylor and Shamwari 4 at Luhmühlen. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Lindsey Taylor and Shamwari 4 at Luhmühlen. Photo by Jenni Autry.

A barn fire. Olympics. Burghley. Boekelo. Luhmühlen. World Equestrian Games. It’s an understatement to say Boyd Martin and Lindsey Taylor endured a lot together in her three-year tenure as head groom and barn manager at Windurra in Cochranville, Pa.

And that makes it all the more difficult to leave, Lindsey said after last week’s announcement that she has moved on from Boyd’s program following his eighth-place finish with Shamwari 4 at the World Equestrian Games.

“It’s been a wonderful thing for me, and, honestly, I didn’t want to leave,” Lindsey said. “I’ve been feeling very mixed about the whole thing, but in order for me to have more of a balance in life and be heading in a direction to pursue my own goals, I had to consider a different working situation.”

Lindsey started working for Matt Flynn last week, which provides a much more low-key environment than Boyd’s busy Windurra program. And the new job will also give her the spare time to pursue her newest endeavor of launching a grooming school in Ocala this winter.

“It will initially start out as a small operation with just a couple of interns who want to learn the grooming side of the business,” Lindsey said. “I’m thinking about week-long sessions going over basic grooming procedures and horse care. I’ve also thought about doing grooming clinics for adult amateurs around the country.”

She’s also hoping to make herself available as a freelance groom at FEI competitions, whether in the U.S. or abroad, though she said she especially loves traveling with the horses overseas. And she certainly whet her appetite for overseas travel while working for Boyd.

Boyd really helped me get my career going and taught me a lot, giving me amazing opportunities along the way,” Lindsey said. “I want to use that knowledge to go forward and continue to pursue horsemanship and teach other people.”

Lindsey came to Boyd’s program about three years ago, five months before the fatal barn fire that claimed the lives of six horses at True Prospect Farm. She had previously worked at an eventing barn in Illinois while finishing up her degree at Wheaton College, and one of Boyd’s owners, Faye Wolf, recommended her for the job.

“I’ve learned a lot from working with him, and I think he’s developed himself too in my years working with him,” Lindsey said. “We’ve kind of been on this path together, figuring out all the things that come along with running a business at this level, like sponsorships and owners. It’s been a whirlwind.”

A whirlwind is an apt term. The barn fire, the 2012 London Olympics, too many injuries and broken bones to count, and then Silva’s traumatic brain injury this March leading up to WEG — it’s not been an easy road by any means, and Lindsey has walked every step of the way with Boyd in these last three years.

What’s impressed me the most about him is his professionalism in dealing with the hardships — like not passing the second trot up at the Olympics, and the barn fire and Silva’s fall and his own injury this year,” Lindsey said. “He’s always upbeat and looking ahead to the next thing.

“He has an amazing work ethic, and he instills that in everyone around him,” she said. “He inspires everyone to work hard and do the very best they can. Those are things I’ll always remember and take with me for the rest of my career.”

As for a moment that stands out as a defining event of the past three years, Lindsey said Boyd’s third-place finish at Luhmühlen in June sticks out as particularly memorable. After breaking his leg at Carolina International in March, Boyd had ridden Shamwari 4 just a handful of times before going to Germany.

“I just remember standing there at the end of the weekend and thinking how awesome it was that he was able to do that,” Lindsey said. “It takes an incredible amount of mental focus to forget about everything else and just get the job done, and I don’t know anyone else who could get on and produce those results under the same circumstances.”

In addition to Boyd’s mental tenacity, Lindsey said his commitment to horsemanship has also stood out to her: “Horse care is of the utmost importance in his barn,” she said. “I care a lot of about horsemanship and grooming, and he does too. I think that’s rare to find in a big-name rider, and I think it’s why we always got along so well. He instilled in me a certain standard of care.”

And that commitment to horsemanship is ultimately what’s inspired the concept of a grooming school, she said. “A grooming school will let me develop my own business and help people see the importance of horse care, because I think it’s lacking in a lot of programs.”

While Lindsey initially floated the idea of starting the grooming school while staying at Windurra, she said she knew it would be difficult to pull off considering how intensive Boyd’s program is, with a slew of horses competing nearly every weekend in the U.S.

“I told him back in March that I was looking to do something different at some point this year,” Lindsey said. “He and I both came to the conclusion that after WEG would be a good time to finish up, because it was the end of Shamwari’s season. My speciality has been the top horses, so it was a good way to end. It’s been an extremely positive experience.”

Katarina Lissett, who joined the Windurra team in January, will be taking over Lindsey’s role. We wish all the best to Lindsey as she moves on to this next chapter of her career. Those interested in learning more about the grooming school in Ocala this winter, as well as grooming clinic opportunities, can email her at [email protected].

[Lindsey Taylor Moving On from Boyd Martin’s Barn]

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