When I decided to start my coaching consultancy back in 2010, I sat with the same question many new founders face: What on earth do I call this thing? I knew the name mattered. I wanted it to hold meaning, to reflect not only what I do but why I do it. And as I thought about what coaching truly represents—growth, resilience, clarity, momentum—I kept coming back to a horse named Forge Ahead.

The Horse Who Taught Me Everything About Moving Forward

Forge Ahead belonged to George and Lisa Williams, and I was incredibly fortunate to be offered the ride. He wasn’t the kind of horse who handed you anything for free. Forgey was particular. Opinionated. A specialist in calling your bluff. If I wasn’t fully present, fully committed, or if I dropped him at the base of a fence, his response was simple: no thanks.

In fact, for the first six months of our partnership, I ended up on the ground at every single show. Every. Single. One. We were quite the spectacle.

But something happens when you keep showing up—when you decide to persist long enough to understand, to connect, to grow into the relationship rather than trying to force it. And once I figured out how to ride this remarkable horse, everything changed.

Forgey and I went to Johannesburg for a year, competing in enormous D-grade classes of 80 to 100 riders. We were either first or third in every class. Every time. He was extraordinary—powerful, willing, sharp, speedy and generous once he trusted me.

Despite being labelled a horse who “wasn’t keen on flatwork,” he took beautifully to dressage. He threw his whole heart into eventing. At home, he was the gentlest soul. My toddler twins could lead him around. I used to play hide and seek with him in the paddock. He would quite literally look for me. He was a character, a partner, a teacher.

Eventually, I retired him to a friend’s farm, where he lived out his days happily hacking and enjoying a slower pace. When he died, a chapter of my life closed. I hung up my riding boots, choosing instead to focus on my career and raising my children. Fifteen years went by.

A Name Inspired By a Teacher

When the opportunity arose to open my own coaching practice, I knew I wanted a name that captured the spirit of the work. Coaching isn’t about giant leaps. It’s not about quick fixes or overnight transformations. It’s about movement—sometimes bold, sometimes barely perceptible, but always forward.

It’s about making progress even when life feels dark or uncertain.

It’s about taking the next small, courageous step when the path isn't yet clear.

It’s about resilience, patience, partnership, and trust.

In other words: it’s about forging ahead.

And of course, the name held an even deeper layer. Forge Ahead wasn’t just a phrase—it was the horse who taught me discipline, tenacity, partnership, humility, and the absolute joy that comes from perseverance. He taught me that progress rarely looks elegant at first. That falling down isn’t failure; refusing to get back up is. That trust grows moment by moment. And that once you find the rhythm, the results take care of themselves.

The Long Runs and The Long View

The name also echoes my long-distance running days, especially the 90-kilometre Comrades Marathon. Those hours on the road taught me the same lesson: you don’t complete something that big by thinking about the finish line. You do it by taking the next step… and then the next… and then the next.

The Coaching Philosophy Behind the Name

Forging Ahead is more than a company name. It’s a philosophy embedded in the coaching work I do today:

• Progress over perfection.

• Small shifts, consistently applied, create lasting change.

• Partnership, not instruction.

• Coaching is a relationship much like riding a horse—you can’t force it. You meet each other honestly, build trust, and move together.

• Courage through clarity.

• We work to clear the noise so you can see—and take—the next step forward.

• Resilience as a practice.

• Falling down is part of the process; getting up is where strength is built.

• A belief that you already have what you need.

• Sometimes you just need someone beside you to draw it out.

Forge Ahead the horse taught me these lessons long before I had language for them. Today, Forging Ahead the company exists to help leaders, teams, and individuals experience the same truth:

• Forward is a direction.

• It doesn’t matter how fast you go.

• It matters that you keep going.