To 46-year-old Donnie Recchiuti, of Heath, Ohio, watching horses that he started, trained and exhibited still in the show arena competing and winning at the industry’s biggest events, is all the reward he needs.

“I always feel a sense of achievement because it’s a testament to the foundation they were given and the hands they were put in,” he said.

 Recchiuti has been a professional horse trainer for a long time now and he’s had his share of big success, showing such decorated horses as Winnie Pine Bar, Sure Desaray Diamond, Larrys Shady Zipper, Ima Good Rodder, Tell Her Shes Hot, Credit For Krymsun, Blondes Are Hot, Chocolate Only, Miss Iron Version, Perfect Chex, Heavenly Mac and many more.

He’s coached Quarter Horse Congress Champions and Reserve Champions and multiple futurity winners competing in Amateur and Youth events.

He specializes in training young horses for Western Pleasure and providing the basic skills needed to progress to other events.

“I try to treat every horse as an individual,” Recchiuti said. “I try to figure out what works for each horse. What makes them tick and what is going to make that horse do his job for a long period of time so hopefully they will go on to work for other people as well as in my program.”

In fact, that’s Recchiuti’s favorite part of the job – watching his horses go on to show for other people.

And the worst part?

“As a trainer, you love doing it but it’s really hard to make a living doing this,” he admitted. “You become a horse trainer because you love it, not for the money. It would be nice if you could make a better living at it.”

The son of Don and Leah Recchiuti, he grew up in the New Philadelphia, Ohio, area and showed horses in 4-H and at open shows as a kid.  

“The 4H program played a big part of my start with the horses,” he said. “I started showing a 42-inch pony named Nibbles. My parents traded 75 bales of hay for the pony who would go on to become Impressive Nibbles. We showed in everything from Showmanship to Horsemanship to Trail classes.”

From there, Recchiuti progressed to competition at American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) sanctioned events in Ohio and got deeply involved in the National Youth Association Team Tournament (NYATT) Program.  

He attended Indian Valley School and then Kent State at Tuscarawas Campus.

Recchiuti knew at an early age he wanted to be a horse trainer. He worked for Jim Bryce for about six months until joining Steve Heckaman in Texas, as an assistant trainer from 1993 to 1998. That year he launched his own training operation in Pilot Point, Texas and over the years has operated from Michigan, Ohio and in Georgia, while working with Carl & Trisha Yamber from 2003-2004.

Toward the end of 2004 Recchiuti moved his training operation to Gratiot, Ohio, where he rented a farm for a little over a year while building his current farm in Heath, Ohio.

Situated on 40 acres, just about three miles off Route 70, his current facility includes a 28-stall show barn; one indoor arenas with a round pen and walker and another 80×160 indoor arena, a 160×300 outdoor arena with another walker; three large pastures with houses; and room for future turnouts and additional pasture.

In addition to starting young Western Pleasure prospects, Recchiuti is currently coaching a great group of Amateur and Select riders competing in Western Pleasure and Hunter Under Saddle events.

 When he is not riding, Recchiuti enjoys shooting sporting clays, golf, fishing and watching PBR

You might be surprised to learn that he also enjoys watching Hallmark movies and his idea of perfect happiness is to take off in a camper and start driving.

He says the best advice anyone has ever given him was: “You don’t make money when you sell them, you make money when you buy them. It doesn’t matter the price, it’s the customers that matter.”

You can contact Donnie Recchiuti by calling 740-877-0540 or emailing him at recchiutishowhorses@yahoo.com. You can also follow him on Facebook at Recchiuti Show Horses.

Open Profiles are part of InStride Edition’s editorial content. If you know someone who would make a good subject for a professional profile email Corrine Borton, Editor, at: CorrineBorton@InStrideEdition.com.