I really enjoyed reading this article. He put in real work and it was worth it, riding young horses and difficult horses and sorting them out. I also appreciated him crediting other types of showing for getting a competition mindset installed in him- whether it’s sheep or the centerline, it’s all the same.
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I’ve seen him warmup and seen his tests at several shows including NAYC at Traverse City last summer, where he kept a really good attitude and was hugely supportive of the others on his team, despite a lackluster outing himself. He seems to be a good young person and is developing into a much more tactful rider than when he began just a few years ago.
But he’s not rising like this on his own, with little more than grounded farm values & a positive outlook as the article implies. He’s had many, MANY horses purchased for him, presumably by his own family. This includes top-bred imported youngsters with outstanding movement, and more recently, seasoned horses that have gotten him the qualifying scores at the FEI levels. They set him up in a private training and sales-agent business before he was 20. It’s obvious that as much as six figures per horse have already been spent on his JR/YR/Training career, many times over.
I’m glad he participated in 4-H and that it informed his values. I was a 4-H kid too and I loved it. And we all know there are many kids participating in equestrian sport who come from extreme, multimillionaire family wealth. So it’s not like there’s anything unusual or immoral about that. It’s a part of top YR competition these days.
It’s a good story but they really glossed over that part.
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I don’t think I suggested he was a poor man’s bootstraps story, and I didn’t read it that way.
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Love this approach:
“We try to use a really diverse colt-starting process. We do a ton of trail riding on the babies,” he said. “I pony them off of our Quarter Horses on the ranch, they get to learn to cross water, they get to see cows, they get to see dogs, and they get to learn how to experience life. It seems to set them up for success.”
Sounds like a Dressage up and comer who’s been very involved in the work, as well as the riding side of it, learning good horse husbandry.
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I don’t think that was exactly glossed over, it just wasn’t the focus of the article.
I know Josh. I had a horse in training with him and he did an excellent job with a quirky, talented Horse. Not only did he do a good job with the dressage, he also jumped him beautifully both cross country and stadium.
Yes, clearly his family has the funds to give him a lot of opportunity. But they didn’t just go out and buy him a trained Grand Prix horse until he had already brought another horse along that I believe was third level, maybe fourth level when he got him. He’s also started tons and tons of colts. That is significant. That is not something that the other up-and-coming young riders have under their belt, and that provides a certain kind of feel that you don’t get any other way. Hopefully he will continue to get good education, enter the school of hard knocks and survive it, and keep developing.
We need more people his age who come into dressage, especially with his ranch skills and practicality and ability to ride babies.
I think it’s also very interesting that he has chosen to focus on breeding, and he seems to have a good head on his shoulders about that. That’s unusual for someone his age. All in all I think he’s a good combination of ranch kid, plus some family funds to help back him up. Given his age, I think he is on the right track, will experience some bumps along the way and hopefully learn from them. I’m wishing him well.
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