For Wade and Laura Spell, of St. Louis, Missouri, not all horses are created equal. They all mature at a different pace and they really tell you what they can handle. You just need to listen and watch for the cues. As trainers of Western Pleasure and Hunter Under Saddle contenders, with an emphasis on […]
Jamie Oakley’s love for horses was sparked when she was just a little girl, riding naughty ponies and taking dressage lessons at a local barn in Eureka, California, where she grew up. “My first horse shows were open shows with my AQHA mare, she was 21 and her registered name was Magical Misty,” Oakley recalled. […]
If you like a horse with a personality then you need to meet Ella Petak and her show partner Gettin Hot. “When his stall window is open, he reaches out, grabs his halter off the hook, swings it around and then throws it on the ground,” said the Rancho Palos Verdes, California native. Ella and […]
For California Amateur competitor Parris Rice, showing horses is all about building a relationship and partnership with her horses. And when the hard work she puts into perfecting a leg yield for an Equitation pattern or smooth transitions for the rail work in Horsemanship yields a win on the weekend, she knows it is because […]
Georgia trainer Jamie English says once you really understand and accept that no two horses are alike, it makes you much more successful at training horses. That is the premise behind Jason English Show Horses, where she and her new husband prepare youngsters for Western Pleasure and Hunter Under Saddle futurity classes and older horses […]
American Paint Horse Association youth competitor Veronica John first became involved with horses when her sister, Kylee, began taking lessons at a local barn at the end of her street. Growing up in Selingsgrove, Pennsylvania, the 17-year-old daughter of Karen and Eric John of course wanted to do everything her big sister did. She began […]
For most in the horse industry it’s the thrill of competition that keeps them stepping back into the show pen year after year, but for Hampstead, North Carolina native Amy Mackie Smith it’s about so much more than that. “You know, interestingly, I am really not an overly competitive person when it comes to ribbons […]
Josh Faulkner’s parents say his first word was “horse.” That’s something they find ironic since neither of them owned or were involved with horses whatsoever when he was born. Growing up in Burlington, North Carolina the son of Glen and Vicky Faulkner wanted nothing more than to own a horse. Finally, at the age of […]
Carson Handeland may not have a lot to say but when he does speak it’s usually pretty humorous. But when it comes to his love for horses and passion for showing he’s not at a loss for words. The 17-year-old Radcliffe, Iowa native got his start showing Draft horses that his parents, Wade and Lasey […]
He can be intensely shy and it pains him to have to tell a customer their horse may not work out in a specific discipline because of its mind, ability or soundness. But for Ohio trainer Brent Garringer, watching a horse he started progress over time provides him with all the motivation he needs. Garringer […]
She’s a fierce competitor in the show arena but outside the pen 19-year-old Leah Burgess is a big softy, especially when it comes to abandoned animals. Burgess volunteers at her local Humane Society and has been known to bring home all sorts of pets. “I have a crazy soft spot for abandoned animals, and I […]
It has been said that “before something great happens, everything falls apart.” For Bobby Canady, a 40-year old farrier by trade, nothing could be more true. Bobby grew up in North Carolina, in a conventional American family. He says he was always obsessed with horses. “At one time, I had over 1,500 Breyer horses,” he […]