I am a lifelong hunter rider but have long toyed with the idea of switching disciplines. Are there any reining trainers near Augusta GA that someone could point me to?
Maybe try NRHA:
https://nrha.com/findapro?k=&location_state=309
You could go to some shows, AQHA or NRHA ones and ask around.
You could ask veterinarians, if any of their clients are reiners and ask them, or are reining trainers.
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I have lived in the CSRA for the past 40 years.
My suggestion is to contact Charles Wilhelm. He is a California trainer who semi-retired and moved to Aiken a few years back. Very nice and knowledgeable man, and I am sure he could give you a lead or two. He is not a reining trainer himself but has many contacts.
Google his name and check out his web site for his number.
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I looked at his web site and didn’t find where he has been showing horses and what he won in reining over the years?
All is there is his books and being a clinician, not a reining competition trainer.
If someone wants to learn reining, or cutting, or whatever, they really should go to someone that has a program starting and showing horses and helping teach amateurs the ropes of the today very specialized disciplines as reining is.
Now, the OP may like to learn what this trainer is teaching, but I would say a current reining trainer and competitor or has students currently competing is what you need to learn reining properly.
Read my post more carefully, please.
All I suggested was that she call him to see if he had any leads on a reining trainer in our area. He knows a lot of folks in the Western riding world in this area.
The OP, Charles, and I all live within about 20 miles of each other.
I am trying to be helpful, and I think you are just looking to be critical, not helpful at all.
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I understand you were just recommending a good general trainer, is all his web site is about, not reining?
The OP was asking for a reining trainer, why I mentioned what that would need to be, if reining is what the OP wants to learn.
I am not sure the OP may know the difference yet, if she is completely new to reining, which is very specialized today.
You are right, he may know of a good reining trainer he may recommend.
OP, go to, on this same western forum, just scroll down the titles, a thread named :New to Western riding, tips?
There you may find TheHunterKid90 poster.
You could ask her directly, she may know a reining trainer near you.
She posted some on learning to rein in that thread, post #12:
Welcome to the dark side!
I took my first reining lesson almost exactly 7.5 years ago and was immediately hooked.
I started working for a training and breeding facility after that. Flash forward 7.5 years and I’ve won nearly 80k in NRHA competition and am so very blessed to get to do what I love every day.
I am so glad you enjoyed your first experience and hoping there’s many more for you!
Look up Marbry Performance Horses. He is about an hour and a half, give or take, from Aiken. He is very nice and professional. They have started doing NRHA shows in Camden too. Reining is a fun sport.
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LCDR, your post was clear. I would just let it go 
Yes, that is a reining trainer, here is his fb page:
OP, you will find that reining is really fun to learn and maybe even compete if you like it.
Most reining barns are a group of people having fun and supporting each other, which helps so much, especially as a beginner.
If you go watch a show, you will find trainers tend to have groups of clients helping each other get ready and go support them when they run.
Everyone, as you watch them, is having a great time by that as much as competing, more than you can see that in other disciplines, where competitors tend to be more on the serious side.
They are happy when you do well, worry with you if your horse is not quite ok and learn from each other and other trainers and their groups.
You can find that every place, in every discipline, but in reining is the norm.
Hope you find a suitable trainer, find reining interesting and come back to tell us about it.
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Thank you! It’s nice to have a name even just to get another recommendation. It’s so hard to start from scratch.
Steven Marbry is great.
Francis Mercier is in Georgia and so is Jamie Bissel although I’m not sure if Jamie does lessons.
I would reach out to Steven. Looks to be closest to you and I think the best fit.
Good luck I’m your journey and have a blast!!!
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