“Adorable,’ is the way Katie Jo Jones describes her current show partner, RV Wonit Lopin Lazy (Layla), a 2014 bay mare by Lazy Loper and out of I’ll Be Dun Won It.” “She reminds me of a puppy, more so than a horse,” she said. Jones started feeding her treats shortly after purchasing her while […]
The thing about training horses for a living is that if not done right, it tells on you. “That’s why we don’t have deadlines,” said Dwayne Pickard of Byron, Michigan. “They will ruin you. Work hard and be consistent. You can’t put six days-worth of training into one or skip four days and try to […]
At all times Reid Thomas has lists. A daily list. A weekly list. A monthly list. A yearly list. And the Texas trainer makes no apologies. There’s full disclosure. “If you are not a tad OCD – and list oriented – I always warn that you won’t enjoy working for me or with me.” Meghan […]
“Kari Craft got her start on horseback early in life…very early in fact. She was riding horses before she was even born. “My mom rode while she was pregnant with me,” Kari said. “Recently I was looking through some of my old baby stuff and found my baby book and saw where my mom had […]
Seventeen-year-old Halie Harner, of Wilmington, Ohio, had to be patient following the selection of her most recent Western Pleasure partner, Striking Potential. Because she had a foal on her side. Striking Potential had plenty of experience in the show arena. The 2004 bay mare by Potential Investment and out of Bite The Banana, is a […]
Olivia Turner, of Zebulon, North Carolina, has had the opportunity to work with some of the best trainers in the business – and she’s learned from every one of them. But to her, nothing compares to the lessons a competitor can get from the horses themselves. As a young rider, Turner worked with the Oakley […]
New Hampshire trainer Torey Roderick has a very specific approach to training horses and coaching her clients. “One of my theories is that people do this for enjoyment,” she explained. “We’re all competitive and want to do well, but at the end of the day it should be enjoyable for the amateurs and youth competitors.” […]
Nine-year-old Isabella Buckley, of Preston, Connecticut, has a Breyer horse collection worth as much as most people spend on their first car. But it’s her show partners, Krymsun Konfidential and Dee Chocolate Star, with whom Isabella has been spending most of her time. Isabella is the daughter of horse trainers – William and Tara Buckley […]
Julie Hoefling describes herself as a “small-town farm kid who is trying to make a few dreams come true.” The Michigan native lives in Scottsdale, Arizona, with her husband, Jerry, and spends her free time riding and competing at American Quarter Horse Association shows across the United States. “I’ve been blessed with a lot of […]
His father is a 25-time Quarter Horse Congress Champion horse trainer. His mother, Millie, was a five-time Congress Non-Pro Western Pleasure Champion and his sister, Jennifer Dickerson Webb, was a two-time Congress Non-Pro Western Pleasure Champion and two-time Reserve Champion. Taft Dickerson, of Mount Airy, North Carolina, says there was actually zero chance he’d be […]
Blake Britton has always had big aspirations. As a youngster, growing up in Chillicothe, Ohio, his parents Jana and Tony Britton, always had horses. Blake was not very old when his folks presented him with a pony as a gift. But Blake refused to ride it. “I told them I wanted a horse,” Britton recalls. […]
Hayley Saul, a 27-year-old Amateur competitor from Des Arc, Arkansas admits it’s not easy starting over with a new show partner, especially in Trail and other all-around events, but it’s what she loves the most and what motivates her to show. “I love the reward of finishing a young horse,” she said. “Taking them to […]