In 2017, American Quarter Horse Association competitor Katherine Tobin found herself in an interesting predicament. She had purchased Hereicomagain (Chloe), a 2013 brown mare by Good I Will Be and out of Lookouthereicome as a yearling, and the mare was already winning Green Western Pleasure classes and racking up AQHA points. Tobin knew she had the potential to become a great show horse but, as an Amateur Select rider, Tobin was not quite ready to take the mare over for herself.

So, Tobin, along with her longtime trainers, Jim and Deanna Searles, of Scottsdale, Arizona, came up with a solution – she would lease Chloe to the Searles’ daughter, Taylor, for her final years of Youth competition.

This arrangement is not unique. Many exhibitors and owners are taking advantage of the lease programs now being offered by various breed associations and the National Snaffle Bit Association.

There are details to be ironed out. Each association has well-defined rules governing such partnerships. The American Quarter Horse Association, for example, requires a written lease agreement, and in most cases, the parties draw up contracts and purchase insurance. But, more and more, leases are being considered for a wide variety of needs.

It was a win-win for both Tobin and the Searles family. Taylor won the 15-18 Youth Western Pleasure at the 2017 Quarter Horse Congress, increasing the horse’s value for Tobin and giving Taylor the opportunity to show a talented Western Pleasure horse.

“She was a young mare, and it was an opportunity for her to gain more experience,” Deanna Searles said. “She wasn’t quite ready to jump into the Select (with Katherine). Because she came out of the Green (Western Pleasure) classes right away, she needed a few more classes under her belt to get more experience in the show pen and become more seasoned.” 

The AQHA once restricted exhibitors to showing horses owned by family members – first defined as parents, grandparents or siblings – to eventually expanding it to extended family members. Eventually, the concept of allowing leased horses to be shown passed through the chains of committees for approval, beginning first with Novice exhibitors, then opening up to Youth and Amateurs of all levels.

To retain the integrity of the lease program, the AQHA has enacted strict rules, including the minimum lease period of one year and proper lease agreements to be filed. If a lease is terminated before the 12-month period has passed, the horse may only be shown in Open, Level 1 or Rookie classes at approved events.

By contrast, the American Paint Horse Association designates all leases to expire Dec. 31 of the year submitted and they must be renewed annually to remain in effect. The APHA show lease, which also requires filing with the association for Youth and Amateurs to show, may be terminated prior to the end of the year by written notification signed by both lessee and lessor.

The Palomino Horse Breeders Association, on the other hand, allows leases in Amateur, following AQHA rules, but Youth competitors may show any horse so long as the Youth and the horse owner are PBHA members.

Taylor continued to show Chloe in 2018 claiming World Championship titles in both 14-18 Western Pleasure and Western Riding in Taylor’s final AQHA Youth World Show appearance. At the end of that year, Tobin was still busy showing her other horses so it was decided that the lease would be extended through 2019 so that Taylor could begin her career as an Amateur competitor with a familiar horse. Tobin carries insurance on Chloe and Taylor is responsible for paying all entry fees, as the lessee and an Amateur competitor.

“I think it’s a good thing,” Deanna Searles said. “The lease is for a year, so if you were planning on doing something else, or you didn’t get along with that person, or you wanted to sell the horse, there are complications to that as well. But it was a very positive experience, all in all.”

She dismisses criticism that leasing could discourage competition due to intimidation by high profile horses.

“Depending on the rider, anything can happen,” she said. “You can have a great rider and still not do great and you can have a poor rider and do great. It’s just showing in general.”

Lease situations come up because a horse is not going to show with its owner, for many possible reasons. The lease allows the owner to keep the horse in training and showing, without the financial burden of maintaining a horse doing nothing.

“I do know that people have abused the situation,” Deanna admitted. “Just like anything, people like to push it as far as they can.”

Taylor and Chloe finished out 2019 with an AQHA World Championship title in Amateur Western Riding at the 2019 World Championship Show and this year, Tobin will start her show career with Hereicomagain.

“I think overall for us it was a great experience,” Deanna said. “I think it’s a positive for a lot of people.”

Iowa AQHA/APHA/NSBA trainer Shannon Vroegh has had lease situations work for her Youth and Amateur clients in a wide-variety of situations.

Last year, Shannon’s Youth client, Lily Anderson, needed a show partner for her final year of Youth competition. Shannon knew that the AQHA gelding, Lover Treat Me Good (Vince), was just sitting because his owner was attending veterinary school. So, she initiated a lease.

“They (the owners) didn’t think they wanted to sell him, so that created an atmosphere where he was still being trained and getting shown, and still getting a record out there, and Vince’s owner wasn’t having to pay for it,” she explained. “It also gave Lily a very competitive horse to finish her youth career with.”

Vroegh also finds lease opportunities through her personal network.

“I do a lot of work with Blake and Kendra (Weis) and they were able to help me find something for Lily,” she said. “I work with close friends on things like that.”

Leases can be difficult to orchestrate if you’re looking outside for horses.

“Most trainers will tell you they have one for lease, but it has to stay with them,” Vroegh said. “That gets hard when you go for a lease because you don’t want to give up a customer. You don’t want to see them go to somebody else because the only lease they could find had to stay in someone else’s barn. So, a lot of the time I try, and everyone does, to lease in your barn.”

Many trainers agree that in-barn leasing benefits the horse by keeping it in a continuous program. The trainer still has control over the care and maintenance for a horse they know. Vroegh feels that’s why most of the leases that happen remain in the same training barn. Occasionally, you might find a horse someone has at home that hasn’t been showing that you can lease and bring it into a training program.

Vroegh also uses leases to solve issues that perhaps are preventing someone from showing horses.

Creating A Win-Win Situation

“I have a situation right now where a family bought a horse and they’re having problems with the horse staying sound,” she explained. “They put their money into that horse. They can’t go out and buy one but they can continue to show because they had that planned; they were prepared for taking care of one. The savings they had to purchase a horse is gone. It’s been a huge benefit for them to lease one while their personal horse needs to be on stall rest, or have time off, for whatever reason.”

As a trainer with a strong youth clientele, Vroegh cites other examples where a family may have a child who wants a horse to show. Perhaps they can carve out a budget to allow the child to have a horse and show, but the cash outlay to purchase a competitive horse may not be available. Leasing can solve that obstacle. Leasing may also allow someone to step up in quality because there’s not a large initial purchase price.

Vroegh requires leased horses in her program be insured.  Sometimes people who own the leased horse who want to carry the insurance on it, as their investment, so they can collect on it in the event of a loss. That varies from customer to customer.

When a horse leased in her program came in without insurance by the owner, Vroegh required the lessee to cover the insurance on the horse.

“I make sure the horse has insurance for the entire duration of the lease,” she said. “I don’t want that to be a bad situation between two customers in the same barn. We’re fortunate enough that we’ve not had to collect on insurance on a leased horse.”

It is also crucial to understand the differences between AQHA and APHA leases.

“I think the APHA lease is pretty neat myself,” Shannon said. “AQHA requires a lease to be a year in length. If a lease is terminated before the end of the year, the horse cannot be shown by an amateur or youth before the year is up. When you lease an APHA horse, you can break that lease at any time and the owner can go back and show it, so the horse can continue to show.”

Vroegh explains that if she wanted to lease a horse through the (APHA) Youth World in July, it would be possible.

“We’re allowed to break that lease, then the owner can show it the rest of the summer if they want,” she said. “But the horse is only allowed to show in one Youth or Amateur World show in that calendar year. What I thought was smart about APHA doing that, is there’s so many kids that can’t show after August. But it kept those horses going back to their horse shows, they just couldn’t go show at the world show.”

Vroegh feels the ability to terminate a lease before the end of a year keeps horses that were leased for a youth from being put up and standing in a barn, doing nothing, waiting for their lease period to run out.

“Personally, I’ve enjoyed the Paint (APHA) lease a lot,” she said. “I had this work with a paint horse and it worked out perfect. I re-leased him before the World Show because the little girl got hurt and couldn’t ride and so I was able to break the lease and re-lease the horse so the horse could go on and show because the first girl that had him leased couldn’t ride. So, I do like the Paint idea of the lease.”

Vroegh addressed criticism that allowing horses to bounce from World Show to World Show provides an unfair advantage to exhibitors not purchasing horses.

“The biggest concern is there’s two World Shows,” she explained. “With APHA doing it the way they did, they’re keeping their horses showing. If it shows at the Youth World, I can still show it at the Open World but no Amateur can show it.”

Does Vroegh believe leasing practice stifle horse sales?

“No, because it’s flat out awkward to have someone (else) own your horse,” she explained. “If people are truly wanting to show they want to own their own horse, they want to be able to do their own thing with it. They don’t want to have to call someone for permission. There’s not a ton of horses out there for lease.  If I can find one that will work to sell them first, as a trainer, obviously, I’m going to do that. I have maybe three horses leased this year out of 28 I have in training. It’s not like I’ve just stopped selling horses. Most of the time, it’s hard to find one maybe in a budget they have.”

Perhaps the biggest benefit Vroegh finds in using leases is that they help introduce new students to horse showing and get them involved without a large investment of money up front. She uses it as a tool for a sale down the road, much like the 30-day free trial for Netflix. The goal is to get you hooked. It may start with a kid taking lessons.

“I don’t have a lesson horse. I can’t give lessons on a horse that they don’t own,” she explained. “You can get them started with some lessons, but once you know they want to do it, you can help them lease one without a lot of money down right away and you have a leased horse you can take to a horse show, they find how much fun it is and want to buy their own.”

With Vroegh’s barn of Youth and Amateur clients, she can help new exhibitors with the tack and apparel as they’re coming into showing.

“We always have kids going through things, or amateurs going through things, that are willing to sell them items,” she said.

Vroegh uses her daughter (Mallory) as an example to address the negative gossip that travels without knowing the full story. As a youth, Mallory achieved great things with a mare from a small, local breeder who Shannon found as a young prospect and turned her into the show horse she became.

“Everybody wants to think it’s such as bad thing that Mallory leases a horse. It’s all ‘oh it’s not hers’ and everything,” she said.

Perhaps the owner can’t show the horse or has no desire to show but wants to get it out and seen so it can be sold. Leasing solves two problems.

“Mallory’s very good, but I can’t go drop $50-$60,000 for a horse for her and that’s the level of horse it takes for her.”

Vroegh sees a lease situation as a solution.

“I am making it so I can get a horse out there that needs to be marketed and sold, which keeps this client in the business and buying more and selling and it gives me a horse I can afford,” she said.

Vroegh thinks leasing actually helps keep things honest.

“Horses have been changing hands for showing for years, with transfers made without actual sales,” she said. “Leasing actually just helped to legitimize it.”

Helping Kids While Avoiding Pitfalls

Oklahoma trainers Leonard and Leigh Berryhill have a large number of Youth and Amateur clients. Leigh said she sees potential for a downside to leasing arrangements.

“The negatives are emotional, it can be weird and awkward,” she offers. “Horses are so personal to people. And if it’s a horse that is leasable, it’s probably a horse they don’t want to sell because they love it, and then the new people are going to end up loving it. And then you get too many people involved in choices for one horse.”

While she may have reservations about the whole leasing practice, Leigh admits they can fill a needed gap to get kids showing.

“A lot of leases may be trainers’ kids,” she said. “Or it may be kids that wouldn’t get to show, and I’m all for that. If we have to have some bad in the good … then whatever.”

Berryhill won’t consider a lease that doesn’t remain in their barn, but they have used leases in certain situations. They’ve had a customer who moved on to another horse, so they leased theirs to someone who needed a horse, instead of selling it. In one instance, a horse was injured so they needed a horse. It was convenient. “That’s the only reason we’ve done it,” she said. “It helped both situations.”

Berryhill lets the lessee and lessor work out business details between them, choosing to stay out of the middle of financial agreements between the two parties. Every horse was insured.

“I think it has been used previously for the horse to further the exhibitor and, for the exhibitors that were good enough, to further the horse,” Leigh said.

One scenario where Berryhill’s employed a borrowed horse was years ago when Kristen (Glover) Galyean was showing with them as a Youth.

“Case in point, Kristen hadn’t won a Youth World,” Leigh recalled. “We were preparing her for the (AQHA) Youth World and I had a palomino gelding, Mr Gold Leaguer, that we owned and had shown in palomino forever. Back then, there wasn’t other world shows, like NSBA, etc., and the pressure was just getting to her in the Youth World Show finals.”

Berryhill put her on that horse for the Palomino World Show, where, as a Youth, she could show without owning or leasing the horse.

“When she won, it took her mentally to the next level. I think that’s done a lot, especially in novice. That horse helps that exhibitor get over the hump,” she explained.

While they have used leases for Youth riders, Berryhill is not convinced that Amateurs should be allowed to lease horses.

“We have plenty of professional amateurs but the ones that I know personally own their own horses,” she said.

Leigh believes that trainers’ kids showing leased horses could take unfair flack.

“I would not have wanted to have a girl and do my business for nothing. Is it easier for them? In ways, maybe; they’re doing it in utero,” she said.

On the other hand, she says, trainers don’t have the funds for them to do it like many professional career families who can buy horses.

Berryhill tries to protect her youth exhibitors from negative chatter and criticism, as a general rule.

“I just keep them out of the loop of stuff,” she said. “Just show your horse, don’t listen to people. I tell the parents don’t get involved. The people that can afford to buy a horse are going to buy a horse to compete. Why wouldn’t they want to buy it to avoid the criticism.”

Berryhill truly believes pride in ownership is still important in this world.

Sometimes it’s a case where parents can’t, or won’t, shell out the money that competitive (show) horses cost. Berryhill recalled a horse they had whose owner was no longer interested in riding and showing. They also had friends with a daughter who wanted a horse. She helped with arrangements and the family borrowed this particular horse and took it back home, where the young girl began showing in Walk-Trot classes. It wasn’t long before the girl wanted to show in more advanced classes, and the loaner horse wasn’t going to do it. But it opened the door for them. And they are all in now.

“Now they have two horses for two daughters,” Leigh smiles. “They were financially able, but it still needs to make sense.”

And good show horses are still hard to find.

“I think these guys don’t want to get rid of these good horses,” Leigh said. “It’s easy to keep these same horses over and over. It’s an easier job keeping broke, finished horses. We don’t have that luxury.”

Just The First Step Down The Road

Justin and Jenn Wheeler, own and operate Wheeler Performance Horses in Hollister, California. They find leasing is a great option for someone who can’t afford to purchase their own show horse. They also use leasing as a tool looking toward a purchase down the road.

“I really like a lease option for those just getting into showing,” said Jenn Wheeler. “It lets them try the sport and see what classes they really like before actually making the huge commitment to buy. It also allows first-timers to show and see what their strengths and weaknesses are in the show pen, which then allows us to really find the best fit for that person when we do go shopping.”

The Wheelers typically ask the lessee to cover all expenses associated with the horse as if it is owned.

“That includes board, training, farrier, vet and any other related costs,” she explained. “We usually let the owner carry the cost of insurance since the horse is their investment. In some instances, we have asked the lessee to carry their own policy, just depends on what the owner is asking. We have a firm policy that horses being leased remain in training or boarding with us. We also only allow hauling to be done by us to shows. It’s our responsibility to make sure the leased horse is being taken care of to the fullest extent.”

The Wheelers typically only do in-barn leases, where the horse remains under their care and control. However, they do have a couple retired older show horses that we do allow to be leased at lessee’s home. These are more practice horses or companions, though and are not intended to show or travel.

“I think when a horse is being leased and is also being offered for sale, it can get a little tricky,” cautions Jenn. “Obviously, we want the person leasing the horse to enjoy it and reach their goals with it since they are, after all, paying the entire bill. However, if the end goal is for the owner to sell the horse then we do have to sell whenever a person is ready to buy, even mid-show season. We try to allow the lessee first option to buy if they choose, should a new buyer make an offer. We also make sure the lessee is well-aware this may happen. Having open communication from all parties is just best, always, but especially with leased horses.”

The Wheelers say they have not had a negative leasing experience.

“I have never really felt slighted because someone else in another barn was leasing a higher end horse and competing against us,” Jenn said. “I think a lot has to do with the rider and, really, any horse and any rider can win on any given day. I’m mostly happy to see people get out there. Whether it be someone that can lease and start showing in my barn or even in other barns. Growth for the industry in any way, shape or form is a great thing!”

The Wheelers encourage any lease deal should be outlined in writing with signed contracts to work for BOTH parties.

“Sometimes there are situations where the owner of the horse may change their mind and want their horse back, or maybe they allow you to show the horse all season but then decide they don’t want the horse to go to the World Show,” Jenn said. “I usually tend to shy away from lessors that are not in (our) barn already as clients, for some of these reasons. Everyone here is on the same page but sometimes outside leases just aren’t. Really, it just depends on each horse and situation and, as anything else that runs successfully in the horse industry, have communication and comprehension from all parties involved.”

Sharing Is Caring

Rick and Lori Bucholz found leasing to be a great way to share a horse they loved with friends who loved him as much as they did. They leased their multiple World Champion, Good Lukin Lark (Goodie), a couple of times.

The first lease experience for Goodie was in 2012. Rick and Lori had purchased the gelding in 2008 and had enjoyed a successful show career with him, under the guidance of Kevin Dukes.

“We were at the Venice show in January when Dr. Eleanor Green stopped by our stalls,” Lori recalled. “She had shown in the over fences classes and had always loved the driving. Kevin approached us with the idea of leasing Goodie to her and we agreed, but with many stipulations.”

Rick and Lori did get a personal contract.

“I think I just downloaded something from the internet and then had our attorney tweak it, in addition to the one both parties need to sign with AQHA,” Lori said.

The contract stipulated who would be responsible for what expenditures and all of the additional ‘what ifs’ were outlined as well. Goodie was required to stay in the Dukes’ barn and his farrier and veterinarian remained the same.

“Leasing him to Eleanor was a great experience for all of us,” Lori said. “She was Reserve World Champion in the (Pleasure) Driving at the Select (World Show) in 2012 and third in 2013. Eleanor’s husband, Dr. Jim Heird, even showed Goodie a time or two in Performance Halter. It was a great way to keep Goodie showing and for Eleanor to enjoy him and be able to show too.”

Leasing worked so well for Rick and Lori that in 2018, they leased him again, this time to Connie Seekins (wife of AQHA Past President Ralph Seekins).

“Connie had always loved the Driving class and, for a surprise, Ralph and their daughters arranged the lease for her,” Lori said.

Connie was able to show Goodie a lot, and loved it. The conditions for Goodie’s lease were the same as they had been with Eleanor; Goodie remained at Dukes and responsibilities were outlined in writing between the parties.

“Again, it was a great way for our World Champion horse to get shown while still being his owners,” said Lori. “Anyone who knows me, knows that I have a REAL hard time selling my horses and Goodie had been in our lives so long and had been so successful for us that I really couldn’t think of selling him.”

Lori says she would recommend leasing as an option to anyone.

“It’s an opportunity for horses who haven’t reached the end of their career and are still competitive. It’s also a good alternative for the lessee who may not want to invest a large sum in a World Champion horse or who may only want to show for a year or two.”

She did urge those considering leasing get details worked out in advance.

“You don’t want to assume the other party in the lease understands what’s necessary and what you expect,” she said. “Our situations worked out so well because the folks who leased Goodie were all friends of ours before the lease and we all wanted what was best for Goodie.  And we are all still friends!”