Book Nook - Starting in the Middle: How Horses, Those Who Study Them, and 265 Minutes with One Colt Helped Me Find Myself at Midlif

I recently had the chance to review a new memoir about self-discovery, second chances, and what it means to find purpose in midlife. In Starting in the Middle: How Horses, Those Who Study Them, and 265 Minutes with One Colt Helped Me Find Myself at Midlife, bestselling author and professional horseman Tik Maynard shares a raw and relatable story of midlife transformation.

Tik had a successful equestrian career, a loving family, and life on a picturesque horse farm - yet he still felt adrift, which led to a journey of self-discovery that included mentors and an hours-long encounter with an untrained colt.

“While this book is about starting horses, I hope it will also offer guidance applicable to whatever your passions are,” Maynard says. “It’s about being strong enough to listen, brave enough to question, and real enough to return to your own counsel.” 

Although I'm not really into horses, the memoir was still enjoyable to read. It's an inspiring book that can encourage readers to take chances and make changes to their own lives if they need to get out of a rut and find meaning.

About the Author
Tik Maynard spent much of his twenties competing full time in the sport of Modern Pentathlon (running, swimming, shooting, fencing, show jumping). He was on the Canadian National Team and won the National Championships twice, and he competed at multiple World Cups, World Championships, and at the 2007 Pan-Am Games in Rio de Janeiro. Maynard has evented at the Advanced level and been Long-Listed and Short-Listed for the Canadian National Three-Day Event Team. He won the Freestyle twice at the Thoroughbred Makeover (2015, 2018) and judged it once (2017). Maynard won the Road to the Horse 2024 World Championship of Colt Starting and has been invited to compete for the title again in 2025. Maynard travels year-round, teaching clinics in the United States, Canada, England, and Scotland, and is an online instructor for The Horseman’s University and the Noelle Floyd Equestrian Masterclass. He is a regular guest on podcasts and a contributor to many equestrian magazines and online news sources. He is the author of In the Middle Are the Horsemen, published by Trafalgar Square Books (2018). Maynard lives with his wife Sinead, a top American eventer, and their two children in Citra, Florida, where they run Copperline Farm (copperlineequestrian.com).