Award-winning podcast hosts Abigail Boatwright and Kate Bradley Byars bring their combined 30-plus years of experience covering equine events to the forefront of The Freelance Remuda’s Episode 38, where the two offer a “Crash Course in Event Coverage.” As freelance equine media professionals look to enter the industry through print or digital work, covering the innumerable events produced be the English and Western facets of the equine industry is key to propelling a business forward.
In the episode, which launched in mid-January on both freelanceremuda.com and through iTunes, highlights both the basics of event coverage needs and also zeros in with details on ensuring your coverage is unique. The co-hosts drop personal tips as well as commonly-held industry practices that can take a newbie time to learn, but through the podcast they can avoid a misstep.
“My first event coverage experience came during the American Quarter Horse Association World Championship Show as a college intern,” Boatwright said. “Now, I can cover multiple organization and multiple disciplines with confidence because I had strong mentors that started with that internship. We are passing that knowledge along to our listeners.”
Byars, who is the communications manager for the National Reined Cow Horse Association, speaks from both the show producer side and the side of a media member.
“Some of the horse shows covered have multiple classes presenting awards daily, and that becomes a gauntlet for a journalist to travel but also impacts how much time they have to access a rider who may need to get to another class,” Byars said. “Through my experience on both sides of this process I’ve learned how important it is to be both persistent and courteous to the interview source. We talk about different ways to gather information that still get the job done and leave everyone with a positive experience.”
This is the first of six planned episodes in 2022, as The Freelance Remuda ramps up content for subscribers in response to the increase in interest by writers, photographers and other media members on the freelance side of the industry. Not only does the podcast bring experts in the equine media industry on to speak to listeners, it coordinates with other professionals to produce blogs that educate and entertain.
An archive of podcasts provides a great resource for those wanting to understand how to navigate through the horse industry with ease and professional grace. Those looking to make a splash and gain regular work within the industry also have a chance to mentor under Boatwright and Byars through the Freelance Remuda Mentorship Program, which offers three levels of immersive learning. The mentorship has assisted several individuals who are now regular contributors to magazines like Horse Illustrated, Horse & Rider, Western Horseman, Reined Cow Horse News and the American Paint Horse Journal.
“I’m so glad I decided to invest in the Futurity Mentorship. Kate and Abigail gave me the push that I needed to accomplish several important milestones,” said Allison Rehnborg. “They offered constructive feedback on my portfolio, helped me hone my pitching skills, and encouraged me to plan the next steps of my career.”
The Freelance Remuda Podcast is produced for freelance professionals looking to navigate the equine media frontier. Find and subscribe to The Freelance Remuda on iTunes. Learn more about The Freelance Remuda and sign up to receive updates and exclusive content at freelanceremuda.com or connect on social media at facebook.com/freelanceremuda, instagram.com/freelanceremuda or twitter.com/freelanceremuda.
About The Freelance Remuda Podcast
The Freelance Remuda is a podcast about navigating the equine media frontier. Co-hosted by seasoned freelance professionals Abigail Boatwright and Kate Bradley Byars, the podcast explores the trials and triumphs surrounding life as a freelancer in equine media, while sharing valuable tips from equine media editors and creatives doing what they love. The dictionary lists a remuda as: re•mu•da (noun): a herd of horses that have been saddle-broken from which ranch hands choose their mounts for the day. Our hope for the Freelance Remuda is to help train up a herd of professionals specializing in horses, from which editors and businesses in equine media can hire to do great work. Find and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, and for more information, go to freelanceremuda.com.
For more information, contact
Abigail Boatwright, podcast co-host at (210) 414-6761
Kate Bradley Byars, podcast co-host at (713) 907-4329
freelanceremuda@gmail.com