The horses I present to you for sale, and the horses I campaign, are carefully selected by me with one goal in mind – competing at the top level of each horse’s chosen discipline.

Each year, I start with an elite group of athletes that have been bred to be outstanding performance horses. The reality is that not every horse lives up to his bloodlines to compete at the highest level of competition. In fact, by the time the horses reach their 3-year-old year, I’ve whittled the original group of horses down to between four to eight extremely talented prospects.

Finding those special horses that can compete at the world-level takes knowledge, experience and ability mixed in with a little luck. It’s an ongoing process, and I am constantly evaluating each prospect to be able to determine if a horse has the heart and mindset to handle the rigors of training and the stress of competing on this level, but the more horses you work with, the better you get at recognizing that special something in a true competitor.

Every horse gets ridden for at least four months. At that stage in the horse’s training, it’s evident whether or not he has the talent and mental and physical abilities to train for and show at top-level competitions. At that point, after four to six months of training your horse, I’ll talk with you about what I see your horse’s future being. He’ll either continue down the performance horse track, or he’ll be cut from the Performance Horse Program and we’ll work together to select an option for him.

Horses Cut From the Program

If your horse is cut from the Performance Horse Program, I will be happy to help you select an option below that suits your needs and goals.

Option 1

Take the horse home and enjoy a great riding partner. All of the horses are taken through the Fundamentals, Intermediate and Advanced levels of the Method before starting their specialized training, so they’re extremely well-broke, quiet and safe horses.

Option 2

Send the horse to another trainer for a second opinion. If you’d like another trainer to evaluate the horse to see if he’d make a futurity prospect, I encourage you to do so – you won’t hurt my feelings.

Option 3

I can help you sell the horse by recommending the best industry-leading sale to put the horse in or by connecting you with a highly respected horse broker to find the best home for the horse.

Limited Openings

Owning a performance horse is limited to an exclusive group of horsemen I choose to partner with. Each customer may have no more than two horses at any one time in training. Most barns focus on big numbers and training as many horses as they possibly can. My program is different. I only bring in horses of the highest caliber and choose to partner with owners who are as passionate as I am about the animals and performance. By focusing on a carefully selected group of horses, I can personally train and interact with each one on a daily basis and give my customers the best experience. Each year, I only have eight slots available.

Gelding Stud Colts

I strongly believe in castrating stud colts. I am dedicated to training horses to be competitive at the world level, and generally speaking, geldings make better show horses than stallions. They focus on their jobs more and have great minds. I have a saying: If he’s a good stud, he’ll make a great gelding. Nine times out of ten, colts that are kept as studs eventually get gelded after it interferes with their training. Competing and winning are our main goals for the performance horse program, and there are plenty of great studs today that we can breed our mares to.

Some people are opposed to gelding stallions because they believe that if a colt is left to mature as a stud, he’ll develop better and faster than a colt that is gelded. That’s an old wives’ tale, it’s just not true. All of my horses are fed a nutritionally balanced diet to ensure that they mature to the best of their potential, whether they’re geldings or fillies.

If you’re against castrating your stud colt, this program is not for you.

Your Horse’s Trainers

I am actively involved in all aspects of a performance horse’s training. As a 2-year-old, your horse will be started by Professional Clinician Kristin Hamacher, who has been with the company since 2013. I oversee all of the horse’s daily training, ensuring that the correct techniques are being used and the horse is progressing well. Every two weeks, I personally ride each 2-year-old and evaluate him. When the horse enters his 3-year-old year, I take over his training entirely.

By the time a horse completes four to six months of training, I have a good idea about whether or not I want to keep him in training as a performance horse. I have no incentive to keep the horse around if I don’t think I can do well on him – I am losing my time and you’re losing money. The trick is to pick which horses will succeed and try to get them to succeed as early as possible.

Now, just because a horse doesn’t make the cut for a top-level performer, it doesn’t mean that he won’t excel as a non-pro or rookie horse. That’s why, if I cut your horse from my program, I’ll recommend that you get a second opinion. A lot of trainers would be threatened by that because they never want another trainer to give their opinion or critique the work they’ve done on a horse. I am not threatened by that because I feel confident I have made the right decision, and if the other trainer likes the horse and gets along with him, great! Everyone is happy. If the other trainer doesn’t care for the horse either, it is still good you got a second opinion.

Communication

You’ll be kept up to date about your horse’s training progress, and I’ll routinely invite you to visit the ranch to watch and take part in your horse’s training sessions. Once a month, I’ll set aside time to call you and speak with you about your horse. I’ll share the horse’s successes and what I feel his weak points are and everything in between. I would like if you could visit the ranch every three months to watch your horse’s training sessions in person and interact with me and my team. We’ll also plan your horse’s show schedule together and keep reviewing our expectations of our partnership and what your horse is realistically capable of achieving and the best track for him to succeed.