To Ohio trainer Brian Cox, Western Pleasure is an ever-evolving discipline, especially when you are talking about futurity horses.

“I believe in a solid foundation,” he explains. “If you do your job correctly in the beginning your job will be easier in the long run.”

Cox says the first 90 days in a horse’s training program can “make or break a horse.”

“Each day is a building block toward a bigger goal,” he explains. “I let the horses tell me when they are ready to move on to the next step. Body positioning is huge, they have to be smart on their feet placement right from the start.”

Cox got his love for horses from his father, Wayne Cox, and grandfather. Growing up on his family’s dairy and hog farms in rural Ohio, Cox watched as his father would go to sale barns, pick the worst horses and turn them in to great ones.

In high school Cox was actively involved with the school’s basketball team and played Varsity all four years. After graduation he attended The University of Findlay to play basketball but soon realized he would rather be in the barn than on the court.

After a year at Findlay Cox decided to turn his passion for horses into a career. His first stop was Ty and Karen Hornick’s barn in Jamestown, Ohio. Under the watchful eyes of the Hornicks, Cox learned the ins and outs of the industry. After three years he headed south to Mary Robert’s facility to work under the guidance of Greg Wheat. Two years later he returned home to work for Randy Wilson where he had the opportunity to ride Congress and Reserve World Champions for another two years.

“Each one of these stops was a great experience,” Cox says. “To this day I value their opinions and friendships. I learned so much from each of them.”

In 2005 after leaving Wilson’s facility Cox decided it was time to start his own business.

He moved into his current property in Zanesville, Ohio and has been there ever since. The farm boasts 77 acres with a fully heated 35-stall barn, an indoor and outdoor arena and several turn out pastures.

“I decided to start my own business for the challenge,” Cox recalls. “I was comfortable working with others that I respected, however, I wanted to prove to myself I could do it on my own.”

And prove it he most certainly did. The very same year he went out on his own Cox won his first Congress Bronze aboard Blazing N Crystal in the GMC 2-Year-Old Western pleasure at the All American Quarter Horse Congress. However, it wasn’t exactly an easy road for the young trainer.

“Two months before the Congress I was in Winfield, West Virginia riding my GMC horse around, she was being really good and I may have been slightly cocky so I decided it would be a good idea to take her hackamore off and ride her bridleless…..needless to say it ended with me in the dirt and her running out of the arena,” Cox recalls. “It was pretty funny, everyone got some good laughs. She pulled it together though and we won the Congress that year.”

Since then he has gone on to record several more Congress Championships and Reserve Championships, AQHA World and NSBA World Show Top 10s along the Championships at several of the most prestigious futurities across the country. He has had the opportunity to ride such great horses as Repeated In Red, The Best Martini, History Repeats Itself, Rewind and Repeat, Cool Lookin Moonie and Really Sudden.

At the Congress in 2009 Cox met Maggie Kerola through one of his clients, Libby Trucco. The pair dated for several years before tying the knot in a lavish ceremony at the Stambaugh Auditorium last July. When they are not busy at a horse show the couple loves to be out on the water having fun on their boat and traveling. Cox also enjoys building and showing semi-trucks. His idea of perfect happiness would be starting a family with Maggie soon.