Donal grew up in a remote part of Australia on a cattle station known as Saddlers Springs. From moving cattle, boundary riding and crossing land inaccessible by any other means,horses were essential for work. It wasn’t until Donal was 19 years old, that the idea of training horses or riding for pleasure, entered his mind.  

Donal’s late teens took him to the Northern Territory, and success in rodeos and bull riding drove him to the coast of Queensland. Donal made contacts that led to an audition with the Australian Outback Spectacular show on the Gold Coast. This was his first glimpse into the world of liberty and the true capability of horses — a glimpse that ignited a hunger to learn as much as he could.

Donal’s quest for knowledge took him to America, where he apprenticed under Double Dan Horsemanship. Donal spent time with not only Dan James and Dan Steers but also the likes of Craig Johnson, Heath Harris, Josh Lyons and KYB Dressage. It was this time, witnessing some of the most talented horsemen and horsewomen, that opened his eyes to an incredible level of skill of both horse and rider that he could aspire to. 

Donal invested time working with experts in a variety of disciplines and specialities such as liberty, reining, camp drafting, cutting and dressage; this has helped him to develop a well-rounded idea of horsemanship.

Upon returning to Australia, Donal worked for Jay Charnock, furthering his knowledge and experience in colt starting before founding Hancock Horsemanship in 2016, developing and fine tuning his own program.

Donal is now a respected Australian colt starter, trainer and clinician based in Queensland, Australia, where he continues to teach, show, train and travel to horsemanship clinics. Learn more about Hancock Horsemanship at www.hancockhorsemanship.com. 

Donals’s Competition history includes the 2017 TEQ Trainers Challenge: Champion, 2019 NZ Equitana “Way of the Horse” Team Australia Champion, 2021 Cowgirls Gathering Liberty Competition Champion and a 2023 Man from Snowy River Colt Starting Competitor.

“When I was a kid growing up in the remote outback of Australia, if you had told me that I would be competing for a world championship title in colt starting, I don’t think I would have believed it. It is with no small amount of gratitude to the people that have made this possible that I look forward to the opportunity to represent Australia at Road to the Horse 2024”

Donal Hancock

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Tik was in Pony Club from ages 6 to 21, where he achieved his ‘A’ level certification in 2002.  He was Canadian National Champion in Tetrathlon (2000) and part of the National Champion Team in PPG (1997). In addition, Tik was part of the Canadian Team that won gold in Kentucky in 1998.

Tik received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of British Columbia in 2005.

For much of his twenties, Tik competed full time in the sport of Modern Pentathlon (running, swimming, shooting, fencing, show jumping).  Tik was on the Canadian National Team and a two-time National Championship.  He has also competed at multiple World Cups, World Championships, and at the 2007 Pan-Am Games in Rio.

Since 2008, Tik has been training horses full time.  After spending three years as a working student, he became assistant trainer to Anne Kursinski, then the head trainer at Bow Brickhill Stables in New Jersey.  After marrying Sinead Maynard, Tik started his own business, then in 2016, after Tik and Sinead bought Copperline Farm in Citra, Florida, they merged their businesses into one. 

Tik has evented at the Advanced level and been long-listed and short-listed for Canadian National Three-Day Event Team. 

Tik is a two-time freestyle winner (2015 and 2018) at the Throughbred Makeover and has also judged the competition (2017). 

Tik serves as an on-line instructor for The Horseman’s University and for the Noelle Floyd Equestrian Masterclass.  He is a regular guest on podcasts, and a contributor to the Practical Horseman, Noelle Floyd, Chronicle of the Horse, Horseman’s Journal, and others. Tik was a columnist for Off-Track Thoroughbred Magazine for six years.

Tik is the author of In The Middle Are The Horsemen, published by Trafalgar Square Books, in 2018. The book was then published in German, 2020 and to an audiobook in 2021

Tik is married to Sinead Maynard, a USA Three-Day Eventing Olympic Team member, and host of the popular podcast In Stride, by Ride IQ.  Together they have two children, aged 1 and 4. Tik and Sinead regularly teach eventing and horsemanship clinics. Learn more at www.copperlineequestrian.com.

“RTTH is a one-of-a-kind competition.  Truly the World Championships of Colt Starting and I’m honored to be chosen to represent Canada next year.  I’ll see you all in March of 2024 at the Kentucky Horse Park”

Tik Maynard

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Since then, he has been changing people’s lives through his weekly television show (“Discovering the Horseman Within” airing on RFD-TV and The Rural Channel), social media platforms, nationwide clinics, three-week apprenticeship programs and special appearances at large expos. He still carries with him the passion and conviction he had as a young boy. Living his life on horseback has proven to be the ultimate way for Ken to reach out to people and their horses. In 2013, Ken was the recipient of the Telly Award for an educational program called “A Day in the Life of a Rancher.”

Ken is known for creating a unique environment where each horse is trained using gentle methods and the rider is coached to become their best. Ken often tells folks to “Dream Like a Kid and Ride Like a Cowboy.” Ken’s faith in Christ, along with his commitment to strong family values and patriotism, help make him the kind of speaker people truly enjoy and connect with.   

Ken’s other passions have always been ranching & livestock production. In 2009, Ken partnered with Diamond Land & Livestock of Douglas, Wyoming, to host the first ever Diamond-McNabb Ranch Horse Sale. The sale is now working towards its 16th year.

Together, Ken and his wife, DeeDee, with their two sons, Kurt and Trent, live in Lovell, Wyoming, at the base of the Bighorn Mountains, where they are dedicated as a family to teaching others to dream bigger, ride taller and live happier. Learn more about Ken McNabb Horsemanship at www.kenmcnabb.com.

“I am excited to return to Road to the Horse. I have always believed the principle that iron sharpens iron and that sharp iron should also be tempered by fire to bring about its greatest strength. My experience with Road to the Horse is that the competition will temper what the other competitors have sharpened. I am honored to be asked to compete this year as the representative for America. I look forward to meeting each of you at Road to the Horse, the greatest colt starting competition in the world”

Ken McNabb

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