Cowgirls and Carriages

Draft Animal Power Podcast

Draft Animal Power Podcast
Cowgirls and Carriages
Apr 12, 2026 Season 2 Episode 1
Draft Animal Power Network

Join Maggie and Jared in a conversation with Taylor Van Zyl, a professional carriage driver, horse trainer and trader, rodeo cowgirl and all-round horsewoman in Arizona. She travels up and down the West with eight Percherons, doing public and private events and rodeos. She tells us stories of flipping Gypsy Vanners, taking her carriage business to Hawaii, training all her horses to be ridden by a person wearing a giant inflatable unicorn suit, and she dispels rumors about Scotch shoes. Her thoughts on the differences between riding and driving, and how to create a horse that can go anywhere and do anything, are especially interesting. 

Check out Ride and Ridden Wine, which featured her on a wine bottle, at https://rideandridden.com.

Episode Artwork Cowgirls and Carriages 55:07 Episode Artwork Love Them Through It 51:28 Episode Artwork Experimental Archaeology & Draft Cattle in Germany 59:52 Episode Artwork Field Days 2023 Retrospective 52:51 Episode Artwork I'm Still Doing What I Wanted to do When I Was 12 47:29 Episode Artwork We're Not Luddites, We Just Like Horses 55:08 Episode Artwork The Art of Working With Draft Horses 49:49