MEET OUR TRAINERS

Megan O'Dwyer Thiel and Lindsay Haselden are the brains behind the operation at EqSport. With a combined experience of over 50 years in the horse industry, you can be sure that you are learning from the very best in the business. They each bring their own unique style of training and collaborate daily to make sure their students and horses are receiving the top notch care EqSport is known for.

Megan began riding in early childhood, and has successfully competed on the hunter/jumper A rated circuit for over 25 years. Most of her career was spent in South Florida where she showed primarily in Wellington. She has trained under and traveled with many internationally renowned riders such as Nona Garson, Denis Flannelly, Alan Korotkin, Pablo Barrios, and Edward Doyle.

She is a four time qualifier and competitor in the "big-eq" medal finals including the Pennsylvania National Horse Show and ASPCA Medal Finals. Her first year competing at a national level was at the age of 14. In addition to the equitation, she also rode her Children's Jumper, Kelsey's Flight, to a USEF National and Zone 4 Championship, and entered the North American League Children's Jumper Finals as the leading competitor.

She moved up into the High Junior Jumper division competing on multiple mounts and qualifying to compete on the Prix de States Team at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show representing Zone 4. She also became the only person to win the Florida Jumper League Happy Al Trophy three consecutive years in a row. At the age of 17, Megan began to compete on the National Grand Prix level in the southern US.

After a few years during college competing in the med and high Amateur Owner Jumper circuit at WEF, Megan decided to make a career of the equestrian lifestyle. She continued to compete in local Grand Prixs, 1.40 speed classes, and various classics while training a new group of up and coming riders. Many of her students have won jumper championships at WEF and pulled ribbons in the winter medal classes. EVERY previous student that has tried out for an intercollegiate equestrian team has been accepted. Previous students now compete for University of Florida, Florida Atlantic University, and Oklahoma State University.

In 2010, Megan married and moved to Atlanta, Georgia where her and her husband, Stuart, decided to start a family. She took a few years away from the equestrian industry while she had her daughter, but now calls Alpharetta home. A highlight of her recent career was competing in the Longines Global Champions Tour in Paris, France in 2023.

Megan is the current sitting President of Georgia Hunter Jumper Association as well as the Chef d'equipe for Zone 4, and is very active in the Wills Park Equestrian Foundation. She enjoys giving back to the industry.

Lindsay is a lifelong equestrian who hails from Kentucky; with horses in her blood she began riding at the age of 7 and started the first year of her riding career in a western saddle. She was too small to put it on her horse Moe so she rode bareback for a year which began her love for connecting with horses any way should could. Lindsay prides herself on her discipline to the sport and the care of the horses, and has always focused on the training aspect with a talent for bringing along the young horses carefully and competently to bring out their best.

As a junior, Lindsay competed in the Big Eq including Maclay & USET Talent Search, AO jumpers, High Children's Jumpers, Children's Hunters, and Junior Hunters. She finished 2nd overall for the ACL Jumping League and had multiple GHJA year end awards over the years.

Lindsay currently competes and rides a multitude of horses in the jumper and hunter rings. Recently she has competed at the LGCT in Paris, France; the Bolesworth Horse Show in the UK; and in Colombia (South America). Lindsay has an extensive international network and specializes in finding sport horses all around the world, with an emphasis in Europe.

One of Lindsay's proudest achievements is her daughter Ryan, who she placed on the back of a horse before she could walk. Lindsay has helped Ryan move up the levels and is thrilled to watch her succeed in the jumper ring. In 2023 at age 12, Ryan competed successfully in Ireland, Paris, and the Zone 4 Junior Jumper Championships . Ryan's success is a direct reflection of Lindsay's training and is a testament to her dedication to developing the next generation of riders which is a major focus of her professional career.

Lindsay regularly competes her own horses as well as client horses and particularly enjoys the training piece. She loves finding and developing a horse for a specific client and helping them to reach their goals. In addition, Lindsay really enjoys breeding sport horses with Megan and producing the young horses that result

Lindsay focuses on the core fundamentals of riding and has a talent for teaching beginners and advanced riders alike. She loves sharing her horse knowledge and passion for horses with everyone, from the show ring to the barn, and is a wealth of knowledge for all things horsemanship. She worked for both a vet and as a professional groom for many years when she was coming up the ranks and enjoys sharing that information with all of her clients. In addition, Lindsay was the head coach for multiple IEA teams for 8 years and IEA region 6 president in 2013.

Lindsay takes learning seriously and continues her education with top professionals in the sport. She routinely clinics and consults with some of the very best in the business and has developed close relationships with many at the top of the sport both nationally and internationally. In particular, her professional relationship with Edward Doyle in Ireland has been beneficial to not only her but also to the EqSport clients as she has access to some of the best knowledge and horses in the world and is happy to share!

Fun fact: Lindsay has 3 dogs- 2 corgis and 1 chihuahua. Married since 2010 to her wonderfully supportive husband Will, they live in Cumming, GA with their daughter Ryan. She has lived in GA since 1999. Lindsay hates flying but loves traveling. and her favorite city so far is Amsterdam, favorite country so far is Ireland!