Lindsay McLain grew up in Iowa, showing horses with her sisters, Maggie and Kelsey Gulling.

With all three of their daughters showing at the same time, having a trainer was not an option for Steve and Carrie Gulling.

So McLain learned to figure things out for herself.

“We took lessons from older 4-H girls in the area and then moved up to local instructors,” she explains. “After a while, we had surpassed those in our area. We had moved up to breed level shows by then, and I began watching those that did well, and tried to learn as much as I could by watching and listening to their trainers in the practice pens. We would go to the APHA World Show and I would just spend hours sitting and watching practice pens. I would never go out to lunch with my family or leave the grounds, I was too busy learning.”

In 2000, Steve Gulling got a Senior horse, but not really all that broke. McLain started riding the horse for her dad to help get him finished.

“I continued to train the horse for my dad throughout their career,” she says. “They won the Masters Amateur Senior Western Pleasure at the 2005 APHA World Show.”

Maggie, also got a new horse around that same time so McLain also started riding that one and coaching her sister.

“By this point I had basically become the family trainer,” she explains. “I was coaching my little sister Kelsey on her horse and then training/riding my dad and Maggie’s horse.”

McLain went off to college that fall but she didn’t leave the horses behind. She enrolled at Iowa State University and took her horse as well as the horses her sister and dad had been showing.

McLain earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management and is now a Senior Client Service Associate with Principal Financial Group.

“I administer 401(k) and Pension plans for clients with plans of $5-20 million in plan assets,” she says. “ I am responsible for making sure they operate their plan in accordance with their plan document and IRS/Department of Labor regulations.’

But horses remain a big part of her life.

In 2011 she married Lonnie McLain, who shows Halter horses and fits a few outside horses from time to time.

They met showing horses, of course.

“Lonnie has been involved in Paint horses his whole life,” she says. “I started showing them when I was 12. We started dating when I was 21.”

The couple live in Altoona, Iowa, and they enjoy spending time together in the barn after work each night and going to the shows together. This year, she is showing Talkabout A Roadster (Bentley), a 2002 APHA bay overo gelding by Talkabout Charisma and out of Just Send Me (by Zippo Sent Me).

“I show him in Showmanship, Hunter Under Saddle, Equitation, Western Pleasure and Horsemanship,” she says.

She is also bringing along Hopefully (Hope), a 2012 APHA sorrel overo mare by Double Up Investment out of Sheza A Good Time (by All Time Fancy)

“I plan to show Hope in Hunter Under Saddle at the beginning of this year and add Showmanship and Western Pleasure as the year progresses,” she explains. “Eventually, I will teach her the pattern classes and transition from Bentley to her for the all-around.”

Her favorite show is the APHA World Show.

“I love seeing everyone from other parts of the United States that you only get to see at that one show each year,” she says. “It is also fun to go to a show where the competition is very tough. The Classic Amateur division has gotten very tough and I enjoy showing with all of those great riders and horses. You get a feel for where you stand and can pick up new things to work on for the next year.”

McLain says the biggest prize she ever won was the Novice Amateur Western Riding in 2006 at the APHA World Show on CCS Double Zipped.

“I had sent him to get started on the lead changes for 30 days in 2005 and then played around on them the remainder of the year,” she recalls. “In 2006, I sent him back for three months and went for a few lessons. He would change well but didn’t have the finesse needed to compete at the World Show. He decided to do a simple lead change one way every time I asked him to change. I was getting so frustrated, I wanted to scratch. I finally just quit practicing and went in the holding pen super early. I walked for a good 30-40 minutes before my run, thinking I was going to have a horrible go. But I went in the pen and he was amazing.   It was a great feeling to win that award and know that all the hard work had paid off.   It all came together that day.”