For 28-year-old Justin Melvin there are no “one size fits all methods” when it comes to training horses.

“I like to learn what works for each horse specifically,” he explained. “Some horses may learn more quickly than others and some may need to be started a little slower.”

Melvin became seriously involved with show horses in 2011, following in the footsteps of his older sister, Lyndsay. It was while he was watching the Western Pleasure classes at the 2009 American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) Youth World Show in 2009 that he realized he wanted to show on a more serious level.

His show partner for Youth and Amateur competition was Prinzziples N Cash, a 2003 bay gelding by Prinzziple and out of Miss Cash Asset. Together they earned numerous top 10 Youth placings at the Quarter Horse Congress in Western Pleasure and Trail. As Amateur competitors Melvin and Prinzziples N Cash were top 10 in Level 2 Trail at the AQHA World Championship Show.

In 2016 Melvin went to work as an assistant trainer for Dough Rath in Ohio, where he remained until 2021 when he moved to Purcell, Oklahoma to work as an assistant trainer at Gil Galyean Quarter Horses, polishing his Western Pleasure skills.

There he had the opportunity to ride and show such decorated contenders as Made Ta Order, Sleep Over, The Chrome Shoppe and Sleep N The Moonlite.

“Made Ta Order was the first horse I showed while working for Gil,” Melvin recalled. “We won at numerous futurities including the Tom Powers and The Sudden Impulse.”

Melvin rode Sleep Over to a fourth place finish in the 2-Year-Old Limited Open Western Pleasure at the 2022 Congress and he piloted The Chrome Shoppe to a fourth place in that same class in 2023.

In addition to riding himself, Melvin got the opportunity under Galyean’s direction to coach several successful Non-Pro contenders, including Bill Cox and Sleep N The Moonlite, winners of the Level 2 Amateur Select Western Pleasure at the AQHA World Show in 2023 and Robbie Herman and The Chrome Shoppe, who placed fourth in the 2-Year-Old Non-Pro Western Pleasure at the 2023 Quarter Horse Congress.

After working as an assistant for a total of eight years, Melvin moved back to Ohio to open his own facility in April of this year and feels ready for the job.

“Gil doesn’t only teach you how to ride horses, he teaches you how to run a business and be well respected,” Melvin explained. “Gil allowed me to work with clients and their horses one-on-one and entrusted me to prepare the horse and the client for shows. This really allowed me to understand the whole process from start to finish and allowed me to see what all It takes to have clients of my own. I was very fortunate to have some great success while working for Gil to gain to confidence I needed.”

His new operation is situated on five acres in Delaware, Ohio and includes a 15-stall show barn, a 178-by-72-foot insulated indoor arena; an apartment and viewing room; and six turn-out lots. There is also a large pole barn for hay, bedding and trailer storage.

Melvin will specialize in the preparation of Western Pleasure futurity horses and western all-around contenders.

“I really enjoy starting the young horses and to see their progress over time,” he explained. “I know that Western Pleasure isn’t for all horses, so I enjoy being able to try other things with them to see where they are going to excel, like the Trail, Western Riding, etc. While working for Gil our main focus was always Western Pleasure, but I would enjoy every chance I got to take some of the horses over poles and do some lead changes with them.”

Melvin will also coach and prep Youth and Amateur riders for competition.

“My favorite part of the job is when I can feel the horse figure it out and things start to click,” he said. “When you start a horse from the very first ride, It is very rewarding when everything comes together. I also enjoy seeing horses I have trained and ridden, go on to new owners and have success in other events, not just the Western Pleasure. I also enjoy when clients are able to have successful rides and feel like they are able to enjoy the ride with their horses.”

In July, Melvin also celebrated another major milestone in his life when he married Anna Trucco, after eight years of dating.

“We actually met showing horses in 4-H in 2010 and then I began showing horses at the same barn as her,” he explained. “We grew up friends and didn’t start dating until 2016.” 

Melvin attended Buckeye Valley Local School K-12, where he played basketball and football through sixth grade and he was on the Bowling Team in High School, graduating in 2014.

When he is not riding or at a show, Melvin enjoys golfing, fishing, watching sports, working out and spending time with family. ]

“I think a good work life balance is very important, and these are the things I enjoy doing to maintain that balance,” he explained.

Melvin describes perfect happiness is being able to run a successful business with training horses and clients doing well at shows while being able to enjoy his life outside of horses.

“I never want to feel burnt out by my job, so I think having balance is a very important part to allowing me to bring my best self to my job day in and day out,” he said.

And he has always taken to heart this important bit of advice:

“If you have a dream, chase it,” he said. “I feel like this advice was a big part of my motivation when I moved out to Oklahoma away from my family. I knew I had a dream to be a horse trainer, and I knew what I needed to do to accomplish it. When I moved, I was chasing my dreams.”

You can reach Melvin by calling (740) 513-6976 or via his Justin Melvin Show Horses Facebook Page.

Open Profiles are part of InStride Edition’s editorial content. If you know someone who would make a good subject for a professional profile email Corrine Borton,  Editor, at: CorrineBorton@InStrideEdition.com.