Meet Aurora Chaffee | Ex-racehorse Specialist & Equine Professional

We had the good fortune of connecting with Aurora Chaffee and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Aurora, what do you attribute your success to?
I have many ideas about how to answer this question, but they all come back to one core theme: mindset.

Mindset is shaped by various factors and plays a pivotal role in achieving success. These three concepts have profoundly influenced my mindset and, in turn, the success of my brand:

1. Surrounding Myself with Supportive People – I’ve made it a priority to be around people who inspire me to feel expansive—people who reinforce the belief that anything is possible, that I am enough, and who genuinely support my mission. While it’s difficult, setting boundaries or cutting ties with negative and overly critical individuals has been essential in freeing my mindset and allowing me to grow.

2. Meditation – Our minds often feel like a crowded coffee shop or a noisy bar, constantly buzzing with thoughts. Meditation provides that much-needed quiet time—a closed door for the “shop” of our brain. It allows me to quiet the mental noise, reconnect with my authentic self, and re-align my mindset to my True North.

3. Believing in My Future Self – When setting goals for the future, I recognize the importance of believing that I already have the skills and knowledge to start making the right changes today. This mindset requires addressing limiting beliefs, self-doubt, and hidden fears. Only by removing these barriers can I fully embrace the belief that I’m capable of achieving my goals.

These principles have shaped my mindset, empowering me to grow personally and professionally, driving the success of my business.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Aurora Equine Partnerships provides training, coaching, and online courses designed to help off-track thoroughbreds (OTTBs) thrive as they transition into new lifestyles and careers. OTTBs make incredible partners as they are athletic, versatile, and affordable, but they are not without their challenges.

OTTBs often face mental and physical challenges when leaving the racetrack. These can manifest as reactivity, impulsive behaviors, chronic ulcers, difficulty bending, lameness, and more. While many trainers focus on addressing these behaviors with techniques pushing the horse into a new performance career, these methods often fail to resolve the underlying issues.

Through work with many incredible and unique thoroughbreds, I’ve developed an approach that addresses these tensions at their core to rebalance the horses from the inside-out, giving them a fresh start and solid foundation for second careers. While science-based, it is designed to be accessible to anyone, anywhere, empowering horse owners to help their OTTBs truly thrive. My philosophy centers on a partnership-first approach—when the partnership is strong, performance follows naturally.

There is an inspiring shift in the equestrian community away from traditional training methods rooted in submission and learned helplessness. While being on the forefront of that requires a lot of courage, the transformations I witness in the horses and the renewed hope I see in the eyes of their humans make every moment worthwhile.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
There is so much to do and see in Colorado. For me personally, I’d focus on three things: Coffee, mountains, and food.

I love quality coffee! There are a decent amount of quality coffee shops, but top of my list are Sweet Bloom and Corvus in the Denver area.

Once you’ve had a delicious coffee there are so many outdoor adventures to choose from! North table and South Table in Golden have awesome views for mountain biking and hiking. If it’s winter I highly recommend backcountry skiing or hitting up a resort.

For food, If you’re truly here for the Colorado vides, you have to go to a local brewery for their craft brews, live music, and food trucks. It’s a must!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Shout out to my family (Mark, Monie, Macklin, Quinn, Griff, Cathal, and of course, my husband Canon) for being in my corner. None of you are horse people, but you all have been curious and supportive nonetheless! I would not be here if I did not have the love and support of these individuals.

Website: https://auroraequine.com

Instagram: @aurora.equines

Facebook: https://facebook.com/aurora.equines

Youtube: @auroraequines

Other: Email: info@auroraequine.com