Q. How long have you been in the horse
industry?
A. I started when I was
twelve years old. A friend of mine’s Uncle used to get wild Mustangs and take
them to his ranch. The Uncle and his ranch hands would get a saddle on them and
then we would jump on. My parents did not know I was doing this, I was playing
Pop Warner at the time and they though the bruises were from playing football.
After working the horses we were given the keys to a four wheel drive truck and
could drive it anywhere on the ranch, he did not care what we did to the truck;
this was the perfect compensation for a twelve year old boy.
Q. Who has influenced you the most in your
career?
A. An old ranch horse
called Vern. He was the smartest horse I ever rode. You would have to trick him
at times to get him to work. Once he realized he was tricked, he threw a temper
tantrum. You always had to convince him that it was his idea in the first
place.
Q. How long have you been the coach of the
ASU Western team?
A. I actually started
the ASU Western Equitation team four years ago.
Q. What is your favorite thing about
coaching the team?
A. Watching riders
accomplish something they might not have had the opportunity to do if were not
for the ASU team.
Q. What is one of your favorite tricks to
help improve a riders skills?
A. You have to laugh, if
you think about how amazing a horse is, if they wanted, they could throw you
off in a second. But instead the horse tries to figure out what you are telling
them. The average horse has the intelligence of a three year old child. If you have fun while you are working with
horses you will be successful.
Q. Tell us one fun fact about yourself
A. I used to race
sailboats, everything from twelve to fifty one foot boats. I hold the record
for the most wins in San Francisco Bay Annual Pumpkin race.
