06/20/2025
There's a topic in the horse training world that we just don't highlight very often. The hard truth about training horses is that there's a lot of heartbreak attached to it. You work so hard to make these beautiful animals better, make them great, knowing full well your time together is short lived. That's the business. They can't all live here forever. We train them to send them onto their new careers, but all the while we're training them, they're training us. The really great ones, the ones who touch your soul, they make you a better horseman and often, a better person. If we're willing to be humble and to be the student, they will show you more about yourself than a mirror ever could. This particular horse did all of that for me. We worked so hard in many different arenas, some of them I was teaching him new skills and many of them, he was teaching me. He has come so far since I pulled him out of the feedlot. I'm so proud of him and his new career as a junior rodeo breakaway horse. But every day I walk into that pasture, my heart gets a little heavy, and I hold back tears that he's not there.
This job, this business is truly a blessing and is so fulfilling and rewarding 95% of the time, but it's important to shine a light on the tough stuff. It's always bittersweet - but it's always worth it.
I will always love you Chief 🐴❤️ can't wait to watch you shine on the Jr. Rodeo circuit.
