Your horses are fit, you’re roping sharp, and you’re ready to spend every spare weekend or evening at a jackpot. We’ve done our research to bring you the ropings you need to hit this June to August to make it the best summer you’ve spent in the roping pen yet. Don’t miss ’em!

Powell Butte World Series Qualifier
Location: Brasada Ranch, Powell Butte, Ore.
2013 Dates: June 14-16
Contact: (406) 360-2225, wstroping.com
Format: Open, #15 and #13, #12, #11, #10, and #9 WS qualifiers, junior pick/draw
Fee: $250/run (Open pick/draw with 5-steer buy back in first round), $150/roper (#15, #13, #12, #11, #10, and #9), $100/roper (junior)
How Many Times Can You Enter? 2
Payout: $50,000 (Open alone), first year for WSTR qualifier
Prizes: Buckles, jackets
What Makes It Great? “Central Oregon in the summer is amazing. The location is actually an equestrian golf resort. They have a great pool. So the wives can come, and it’s like a little vacation spot. It’s like a getaway. And a lot of the top ropers in the world were here last year for the Open. We want to have a real top quality roping here. We’ve had a huge turnout for our Sunday afternoon ropings, and the World Series has been migrating up north a little bit, and we want to give the guys a chance to qualify for the World Series Finale here.” – Dean Tuftin

WestStar Summer Series
Location: WestStar Ranch, Ellensburg, Wash.
2013 Dates: June 1, 14 and 29, July 13 and 27, August 2 and 17
Contact: (509) 962-4144, weststarranch.com
Format: #5.5 handicap drawpot, #7.5 handicap drawpot, #7.5 handicap pick 1/draw 1 (ACTRA numbers)
Fee: 3 for $25 (5.5 and 7.5); 4 for $50 (7.5 pick/draw)
How Many Times Can You Enter? 5
Payout: $7,000 per roping
Prizes: Saddle pads and coats (nightly), engraved rifle, trophy crooked stirrups, pistol, cinch buckles, headstall, saddle pad, breast collar, wooden table, winter blanket, halter (series)
What Makes It Great? “People who come enjoy themselves, and a lot of times they bring friends with them. Beverages are free, and everyone just helps themselves. It’s more social, but that’s not to say they aren’t competitive. More people come and watch than other area ropings, and we’ve got great fresh cattle and great ground.” – Jo Repp

Big Loop Big Money Team Roping Tour Finals
Location: Brazos County Expo Complex Covered Arena, Bryan, Texas
2013 Dates: July 19-21
Contact: (713) 806-6012, philippranch.com
Format: Open, #15, #13, #12, #11, #10, #9, #8 (pick 1/draw 2 or draw 3), junior roping (one-end, ages 14 and under), Must have attended three of eight qualifiers to rope at the Finals
Fee: $150/roper (Open, #15, #13, #12, #11, #8), $100/man (#10), $50/roper (#9, junior roping)
How Many Times Can You Enter: 3 (Open, #15, #13, #12, #11), 5 (#9, junior roping), 2 (#8)
Payout: $230,000
Prizes: 14 Don Gonzales handmade trophy saddles, handmade boots, Yeti coolers, Sonny Silva trophy spurs, 80% payback
What Makes It Great? “The good thing about it is that you can go to three out of eight of our qualifiers throughout the year and get to go to a good finals locally. You can win $5,000 and prizes close to home, and all of our qualifiers give out buckles to average winners, too.” – John Philipp

Lone Star Cowboy Church Finals
Location: Lone Star Arena, Montgomery, Texas
2013 Dates: Aug. 30-Sept. 2
Contact: (936) 537-5739, lonestar.tv/arena
Format: #8 capped at a #4 pick/draw, #10 capped at a #6, #13 slide jackpot no cap
Fee: $125 (#8 and #10, pick 1 draw 4 or draw 5), $30/roper (#13 slide)
How Many Times Can You Enter? 2 (#8 and #10), 10 (#13)
Payout: $32,000
Prizes: Two-horse trailer, trophy saddles
What Makes It Great? “We want to get people through the door who haven’t maybe been to church in a while. We keep the fees low, and it’s just a great roping that feels like a social event. We have two warm-up arenas, and our arena is filled with volunteers who want to make it a great day. We’ve got professional-quality flaggers, secretaries, and ground, and always good cattle.” – Charlotte Casey

4th Annual Gunslinger Classic
Location: Middle Park Fairgrounds, Kremmling, Colo.
2013 Date: June 22
Contact: (970) 531-6876
Format: Open handicap draw, #12 straight-team
Fee: $30
How Many Times Can You Enter? 10 each side
Payout: $10,000
Prizes: Pistols
What Makes It Great? “Get out of the Colorado heat and come up to the mountains to rope. It’s on a Saturday during a window that you can hit some rodeos, too, when you come up.” ­– Shea Meeks

Mormon Lake World Series of Team Roping Qualifier
Location: Mormon Lake Lodge Arena, Mormon Lake, Ariz.
2013 Date: July 5-7
Contact: (928) 692-8465, fullerteamroping.com
Format: #14 and #10 Warm up, #13, #12, #11, #10, and #9 WS qualifiers, All-Girl, #8
Fee: $100/roper (#14 and #10 Warm up), $50 (All-Girl), $200 (#8)
How Many Times Can You Enter? 3 (#14 and #10 Warm up), 5 (All-Girl), 2 (WS Qualifiers)
Payout: $302,000
Prizes: Buckles
What Makes It Great? “Mormon Lake, AZ is an ideal place to rope in the summer because of it’s location. Mormon Lake is 30 minutes from Flagstaff, AZ in the cool pines, there is plenty of room for camping, there are cabins to rent, a great restaurant and bar, and it is a family friendly environment.” – Stacie Fuller

Fernley World Series of Team Roping Qualifier
Location: Fernley Fairgrounds, Fernley, Nevada
2013 Date: June 22
Contact: (408) 640-6026, wstroping.com
Format: #13, #12, #11, #10, #9 WS qualifiers
Format: #13, #12, #11, #10, #9 WS qualifiers
Fee: $150
How Many Times Can You Enter? 2
Payout: $153,768 (in 2012)
Prizes: Buckles and breast collars
What Makes It Great? “You get 80-percent payback on your money, and you get to qualify to rope for the big money in Las Vegas.” – David Brown

Longhorn Productions ProRodeo Hall of Fame Ropings
Location: ProRodeo Hall of Fame Arena, Colorado Springs, Colo.
2013 Dates: Kicks off May 19, June 2, 16 and 30, July 14 and 21, August 4 and 18, Finale Sept. 15
Contact: (480) 710-2103, lhpropings.com
Format: #13 handicap, #12 handicap, #10 with #8 incentive
Fee: $125/roper (#13), $30/roper (#12), $30/roper (#10)
How Many Times Can You Enter? 3 (#13), 5 (#12 and #10)
Payout: $17,000 per roping
Prizes: Saddles, buckles, spurs, Resistol Hats (year-end)
What Makes it Great? “The producers make the day a family event. They provide beverages to quench our thirst on hot sunny days. They always make sure there is something for the kids to do (stick horse race, egg toss, sack race, etc.) and every kid that participates gets a prize. They have a vendor on-site for food, drinks and ice cream. Ropers are happy with the cattle, and there is very little downtime in between ropings. It’s just a great atmosphere with tons of rodeo history with great people!” – Mary Adamczyk Hughett

National All Amateurs' Cowboy Christmas
Location: Rapid City, South Dakota
2013 Date: July 4-6
Contact: 520.251.1495; www.naateamroping.com
Format: Pick 1, Draw 2 or Draw 3 for $150
How Many Times Can You Enter? Two to three times
Payout: $160,000 in cash and prizes
Prizes: Saddles, buckles, Ford dually truck
What Makes It Great? “National All Amateurs already caters exclusively to 5 Elite-and-under ropers by providing great cattle, short scorelines and, most importantly, huge payoffs. The roping's called Cowboy Christmas because so much loot is up for grabs over three days. Think about it–Trevor Brazile has won more money during the PRCA’s Cowboy Christmas than any human–$39,993 in 2011. At the NAA Cowboy Christmas in Rapid City last year, 18-year-old Amelia McGuire earned $60,000 including a new truck. Merry Christmas, indeed!” – Ty Yost

Barn names: Handsome and Sshamey.

What grabs us: This stallion only gets better with age--competing (and winning) against younger horses at 18 and having a Breyer figurine modeled after him at 21.

Owned by: Lisa Shover and Jerry Kackley, Scottsdale, Arizona.

Trained by: Chris Culbreth, Scottsdale.

Find out how to win a Breyer model of Sshameless++!

H&R: What's his personality like?

Lisa: He’s probably the most amazing horse I’ve ever been around, and not just because he’s mine. I met him five years ago, and he’s just got this amazing, expressive dark eye that just pulls people to him.

He’s just got this soulfulness about him. He can be very gentle and quiet, which he is 99 percent of the time. And then he can fire up when you show him in halter and be the epitome of what an Arabian stallion is.

I just showed him last May. Literally people from all over the show grounds heard him going in to the arena. He was digging through the dirt, throwing it over his back. He went in that ring like I’ve never seen him, and he beat the 4-year-olds. He was 20 at the time.

He just came off the Scottsdale show where his Breyer model was introduced, and in five days, he met 700 children one on one. He’s just got this incredible love of people. He has an affinity for those who’ve been troubled. I’ve seen it happen with adults and children. There’s just something about him that draws these folks to him. They walk away with a sense of peace.

I’ve been working with animals my whole life, and I’ve never seen a temperament like this. That’s what drew me to him. We weren’t looking for a stallion, let alone a horse. I just fell in love with him. He was next to one of my mares at the show barn. That’s how we met. I would just share carrots and apples with him. Then I started going in his stall and grooming him. My trainer, Chris, said you’re just going to be broken hearted—his owners are taking him home to sell him. My husband surprised me with him. He’s a magnet.

H&R: Does he do any events other than halter?

Lisa: We are the only team for the Arabians to ever win a performance national title (for Western pleasure) and a halter national title (stallion halter, amateur owner) at the same U.S. National competition.

He went polar opposites. He had to be really quiet and calm for Western and then he had to be bouncing off the walls for halter. He was competing against horses between three and 12 years old, he was then 18.

It’s interesting. The gentleman who was his handler for the U.S. Nationals as a 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old--when he got his first titles--was at the last Scottsdale show when I presented the American flag with him for the opening ceremonies, and he said, “That horse looks better than he ever looked in his life; I’d never believe he’s 21.”

H&R: What do you think makes him special?

Lisa: He had some bad history before us, and he loves having his family. He lives at home with us, which is very unique for a stallion that’s still breeding. When I first took him for his collection, I thought it was our true test: If he’d be able to deal with coming home. He’s just truly a gentleman.

It’s almost like a person who’s been through tough times and appreciates all the good around them. It’s a true appreciation for what he has. He loves being home. There’s an appreciation about him.

When people ask how I treat him, I say it’s with a level of respect. He responds to that. That’s what we do with all of our animals. My kids are four-legged, not two-legged. It’s just a blessing to have him in our lives. He returns that, too. It’s an appreciation about him and an affinity for or understanding about what isn’t so good. I think that’s what he recognizes about people who are troubled, because in some ways, he’s been there.

H&R: What is he like under saddle?

Lisa: Amazing! You can’t tell if you’re on the wrong lead--not that he takes it. He is so smooth. He’s a big horse for an Arabian stallion------he’s 16 hands, but he moves so softly. There’s just such a dignity about what he’s like under saddle.

When we carried the flag a the Scottsdale show, it was probably one of the biggest honors and most memorable moments of our year. He literally takes people’s breath away; you can hear them gasp. When he breaks through the gate, they stand. Someone said, “I don’t know if they’re standing for the flag or if they’re standing for Sshame.” It’s just a vision, and he’s so respectful.

Nancy Shulins and Eli

Photo Courtesy Nancy Shulins

As an infertile woman consigned to the suburbs, I developed a dread of kid-centric holidays that began with Halloween and reached a painful crescendo on Mother’s Day.

I learned to stay indoors on the second Sunday in May rather than risk running into the neighborhood moms. How I envied them their sticky breakfast trays and garishly crayoned cards. I envied them their stretch marks and sleep deprivation, too, having had plenty of time to romanticize motherhood while being shot full of hormones and injected with dyes.

Unlike the perpetually pregnant women on my cul de sac, all I managed to have were miscarriages. After my fourth, having run out of money and time, my husband and I gave up on babies. The Mother’s Day that followed was especially brutal.

Then hope arrived in the form of a scrawny, spooky, accident-prone chestnut Thoroughbred with one white sock and a star on his forehead. I had only just begun riding again after a 20-year hiatus when this unruly 6-year-old bounced into my life. I was 42 and no one’s idea of an athlete. I bought him anyway, to fill the gaping hole in my life where the kids should have been.

In retrospect, we belonged in the Odd Couple Hall of Fame. And yet, from the very beginning, I was sure we were meant to be. I named him Eli, and taught him how to give kisses. He taught me how to give everything, and in so doing, I finally got a glorious glimpse of what motherhood is truly about.

Because a love like ours deserved to be shared, I wrote a memoir about my 1,254-pound bundle of joy called Falling For Eli: How I Lost Heart, Then Gained Hope Through the Love of a Singular Horse.

That word, singular, sounded awkward but felt right. I used it because I was sure there had never been another horse like him, certainly none capable of inspiring a depressed, infertile, middle-aged non-athlete to reinvent herself as an aspiring dressage queen.

Or so I’d thought.

“Hi there,” a woman named Jennifer wrote, within hours of the book hitting the shelves. “I have an Eli, too. There are so many of us.”

I wondered if that could be true. I didn’t have long to wait. Women whose children were horses began contacting me in droves.

“I, too, believe that I can fulfill the emptiness that I feel almost every day through a horse,” wrote Kelly, who’s 50 and childless.

“Loved your book and identified so closely!” wrote Donna. “I was able back in the Sixties to adopt two wonderful children, but when the empty nest started, I learned to jump and bought my lifesaver.”

I then heard from Terri: “I always love to talk to others that love their four-legged kids so much. And your story about not being able to give birth is something I really understand, having gone through my own medical issues to later adopt our daughter when she was 13.”

Maria, who took up riding two years ago at age 54, sent me this email: “I can relate to you in so many ways. A love of horses, married with no children, riding as an adult, being a Virgo and over-thinking things.”

Melanie weighed in next. “I am compelled to write to you as I also have an off-the-track chestnut Thoroughbred gelding, 16.2 hands, named Eli.... I am also childless and have a deep connection with this amazing horse.”

Meanwhile, over on Amazon.com, Catherine posted this customer review: “I felt as if the author was telling my own story and after reading it...I have given the book to my family to read to help them understand my feelings as a childless person who feels like her horses ARE her children.”

A reviewer wrote in the New York Journal of Books: “Men and women who have shared the infertility experience will find words that speak for them and to them in this book.”

After it appeared, I gave an interview to Pamela Tsigdinos, an infertility blogger and author of Silent Sorority: A Barren Woman Gets Busy, Angry, Lost and Found. She asked: “Knowing what you know now, what would you tell your younger self, the one surrounded by baby carriages in suburban Connecticut?”

I replied that I’d tell myself to stop hiding in my house and seek common ground with the neighborhood moms I was trying so hard to avoid.

I felt proud when a woman in Los Angeles wrote: “I’m glad I read this after becoming a mother; I’m not sure I could have appreciated how similar the emotions are, whether your baby is twelve pounds or 1,200. It certainly made me more sensitive to those who want but do not have kids and how incredibly generous they have been to celebrate the birth of my daughter with me.”

And so it went. I heard it again and again and again, from women who came to my book-signings, shared their horses’ pictures on Eli’s Facebook page, and wrote letters, emails and reviews.

It pleases me to see Eli becoming a vehicle, literally and figuratively, inspiring discussions that have cut a wide swath through the barnyards and nurseries of middle-aged motherhood.

A wise woman in Belgium put it this way: “Sometimes our children don’t look at all like us...sometimes our children have paws or hooves, fur or manes, wagging tails or large pointed ears. Sometimes our babies weigh 1,200 pounds. We love them in spite of--or perhaps because of--these things.”

Jennifer was right. We are a tribe and a sisterhood, and there are so many of us. We have cobbled together our families from hooves and hearts, feathers and fur, and our hearts are as full as any mother’s heart.
I once thought there should be a day set aside for those of us whose babies weigh 1,200 pounds, whose children don’t look at all like us.

But then I realized: There already is.

Happy Mother’s Day.

Falling for Eli by Nancy Shulins is an oversized paperback, 253 pages long, published in 2012 by Lifelong Books. It is available from HorseBooksEtc.com for $15.99 plus shipping and handling.

Day 1: Get into town Saturday, June 22 just in time for the Double Dollar Horse Sale, and find yourself a top prospect or a ProRodeo-caliber horse. Check into your room at the Silver Legacy Hotel and Casino, then head up the mountains for a day at North Lake Tahoe. “We always play golf then hang out at Lake Tahoe and camp,” says World Champion Nick Sartain, who has the second-fastest time on one steer in the history of the BFI. At Lake Tahoe you’ll find golf, biking, hiking, water sports, beaches and fishing opportunities. You’re only limited by time. After a late lunch at Jason’s Landing and Beachside Grille in King’s Beach hop in the car and head back to Reno through Carson City. “Drive down through Washoe Valley and Carson Valley for beautiful old pristine ranching valleys,” Tallman says. “But be careful, if the speed limit is 55 and you’re going 56 you’re getting a ticket.” Do a little downtown sightseeing, and then head over to the rodeo grounds for the carnival and wiener dog races. The Reno Rodeo began in 1919 and in 1997 won the PRCA’s Award for Large Outdoor Rodeo of the Year. “Reno Rodeo is one of the most progressive rodeos on the planet. It just keeps getting bigger and bigger,” announcer Bob Tallman says. “If you buy a ticket, you’re going to watch a very impressive grand entry, there are 52 girls that ride in every performance, then you’ll see a great rodeo, every world champion will be there at one point or another.” Grab some carnival food before heading to the arena. After the performance, head over to the Silver Legacy Hotel and Casino for a chance to rub shoulders with the cowboys, pull the one-armed bandit or roll some dice if that’s your game. Of course, be sure to check local listings for headliner acts in and around town that might catch your fancy. Country music star Scotty McCreery will perform at 8 p.m. in the Silver Legacy’s Grande Exposition Hall, so catch the tail end of the concert after the rodeo performance.

Day 2: The next morning, grab some grub at Pegs Glorified Ham n Eggs. Then make your way to the rodeo grounds for the Kid’s Dummy Roping, a big hit with ProRodeo cowboys and their fans alike. You’ll catch Derrick Begay there signing autographs, and the competition is free for the kids. Winners receive trophy saddles sponsored by the BFI and Heel-O-Matic Training Systems. Then stick around town and take the kids to ride go-karts or play putt-putt golf. “I’ve got two kids, and our little girl is 4. We played a lot of putt-putt before the BFI last year,” says Jake Long, who holds the record for the fastest run in BFI history with header Coleman Proctor. “And we always go to the BFI Cowboy Auction and Dinner at the Silver Legacy. It’s got a great atmosphere with all of the ropers there and it’s fun to watch, too.” The doors for the free event in the Silver Legacy’s ballroom open at 5 p.m. with the auction starting at 6. Then, don’t miss the rodeo that night, and catch the Businessman Steer Decorating. Teams of two find a business to sponsor them, then one person holds the steer with a rope and the other ties a ribbon around the steer’s tail. It can get a bit wild! “Obviously my favorite thing is the prestige of just the whole week in Reno,” says Patrick Smith, who won the BFI in 2005 with Clay Tryan. “With the BFI and the Reno Rodeo, it’s just an awesome week to team rope for a living.”

Day 3: It’s BFI day in Reno. You’ve got a long day of great roping ahead of you, so you’ll need food. Hit Café Central in the Silvery Legacy to enjoy a chili cheese omelet bright and early. The restaurant is open 24 hours a day, which is key because you’ll want to get to the Reno Livestock Center Arena around 7 a.m. to get your seats. The Grand Entry starts at 7:45 so you can see all the ropers before the event gets underway. The action starts at 8 a.m., so spend your day watching the best ropers in the country compete for thousands and thousands of dollars in prize money and awards. If you need a break from the arena-action, take a stroll around the Double R Marketplace to see what some 150 vendors have to offer for everyone in the family. While you’re shopping, make your way to D Bar M Western Store, where all the ropers and their families like to shop for the latest and greatest. But don’t spend too much time out of the arena. “It’s just the most prestigious jackpot, and I’ve watched it since I was a kid,” says Riley Minor, who was second in the average in 2012. “I like the set up, because it’s not a 4-second roping. You’ve got to let the steer out a ways, and even if you draw one that really runs you’re still in it because it’s a six-header. If you’re horse can run, it’s a great jackpot.” After you watch the winners get their thousands in prize money and awards, head back to the Silver Legacy and enjoy steak and seafood at Sterling’s Seafood Steakhouse.

Have you ever wondered how your horse sometimes seems to know what you’re feeling?

Dr. Allan Hamilton, a Harvard-trained neurosurgeon and a horse trainer, has written a book that connects the science and spirituality of horses like two halves of a whole as he explains how horsemen have much to learn in the presence of horses.

Hamilton works in two worlds: One world is the clinical, scientific world of medicine; the other is the intuitive, sensing world of horses. His book, Zen Mind, Zen Horse, bridges both worlds and explains how horses, as prey animals, evolved in a way that made them consummate, non-verbal readers of humans. That uncanny ability for horses to perceive human emotion is a hefty strand in the horse/human bond.

With glimpses at Hamilton’s book and suggestions he offers, we’ll take a look at what we can learn from horses, why they’re able to read even our imperceptible cues, and what we can do to understand and bond with our horses in meaningful ways.

Serendipity
It started with an injury. Hamilton, who served as a surgeon during Desert Storm in 1990, returned home with a back injury that forced him to give up riding for a full year. A lifelong horseman, he wasn’t happy to comply with that directive. In frustration, he turned to groundwork with his horses, and that perspective opened up a whole new world of understanding. He began to communicate with his horses—and to see how they perceived him—in new ways.

“I began to see that what was happening with horses was sort of a metaphor for other things. You can see all of life through horsemanship,” Hamilton says. And groundwork, he adds, is “one of the best ways for humans to enhance their awareness of non-verbal communication.” Not just communication with horses, but communication in all aspects of life. He contends that you can improve your communication and interpersonal skills by interacting with horses.

“Some days they match your mood, and there are other times where they mirror you, and say ‘this is what you look like.’ It’s one of their gifts—they read your body energy and give you a chance to see what you’re putting out. It’s another level of awareness that they bring,” he says.

Carefully considering non-verbal communication, Hamilton developed a new philosophy with his horses, one that was grounded in science and practiced with spirituality. And he found ways to combine his work as a healer with his deeper understanding of horses. Hamilton offers seminars that range from teaching executives how to negotiate (which, he says, is what working with horses is all about) to helping doctors develop sensitive bedside manners. He offers seminars for veterans, cancer patients, women who’ve left abusive relationships, kids in the juvenile justice system, and people dealing with substance abuse. All of them, he says, benefit from the lessons horses teach.

For example, his retreat for doctors learning about bedside manners came about when he was at a hospital, doing rounds with a group of young doctors. “We’d blow into a patient’s room, and he or she would look startled.” It was, he realized, something he’d never have done when walking into a horse’s stall. Learning to approach people with calm, respectful body language is a lesson horses teach.

“Horses,” he says, “are quiet, loving, peaceful sages that are always offering up one more lesson about your self.”

A Matter of Chi
The lessons horses teach us have their basis in science, Hamilton says. Horses are able to pick up on a person’s emotions, mood, and energy because they’re prey animals that have evolved to read even the subtlest body language.

Yet, behind that science of self-preservation is spirituality. Hamilton looks at the spiritual beliefs of many cultures, and describes using the Asian concept of Chi.

“Chi conveys a notion of flow...it relates to the vitality of breathing and implies a concept of fundamental vigor,” he says. “At the same time, it carries undertones of personal willpower and determination.”

He describes Chi at work with horses as their “primary language,” and explains that over millions of years, equids fine-tuned and developed their non-verbal vocabulary. Their survival as prey animals depended upon it.

So what does that mean for your relationship with your horse? It’s a basis for understanding. When you approach your horse from the ground, you’re transmitting information to your horse, even if you aren’t aware of doing so.

In a herd of horses, one horse’s movement—the twitch of an ear or the slightest shift of hips—is “enough to send ripples of energy through all members of the herd,” he says. That Chi helps keep a herd safe and aware, sometimes over great distances.

“Your horse can feel your energy. Just thinking about one thing or another changes the energy you’re putting out,” he explains.

Hamilton uses round-pen work as a case in point.

“If I direct my vision to the area slightly behind where the girth would be, the horse drives forward. All I’m doing is making my eyes move, but the horse senses that.” And, he says, if your attention drifts away from the horse, he perceives that change and responds accordingly.

“Horses,” he says, “are virtuosos at reading the energy given off by another horse—or a person. Horsemanship is based on the energetic interaction between horse and trainer. So to become adept with horses we must change our sensitivity to Chi.”

April 26, 2013 -- Allie Knowles was the highest-placed American after the second day of the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, finishing fourth on Last Call.

Wait a minute--Allie who? C'mon, confess: Did you ever hear of her?

Well now you have, and in a big way. She put in an astounding test for a Rolex first-timer with her charming 13-year-old Mecklenberg mare, who she has owned for seven years. Okay, her mark of 43.3 put her 10 penalty points behind the leader, William Fox-Pitt of Great Britain on Chilli Morning, but I was impressed.

Andrew Nicholson, second on Quimbo

© 2013 by Nancy Jaffer

Andrew Nicholson of New Zealand, 2012's number one-ranked eventer, was second on Quimbo (38) displacing himself into third on yesterday's leader, Calico Joe (40.8).

At the post-competition press conference, media chief Marty Bauman made a point of seating Allie between Andrew and William, the defending Rolex champ. My first thought was that he wanted to keep the men apart; Andrew got involved years ago with William's wife, Wiggy, with whom he now has two children. But that apparently is pretty much history. William is married to racing presenter Alice Plunkett, and the couple has three children.

It turns out, though, that Marty just wanted Allie to be able to say she was sitting between two of the greatest eventers, the world number one and a former number one. Of course, she was loving it. Who wouldn't want such handsome bookends?

So would you like to meet the 26-year-old, who trains with Buck Davidson and runs a farm in Paris (not France), about a half-hour from the Kentucky Horse Park?

Listen to our conversation from this afternoon.

Listen: Allie Knowles

Rolex is always exciting enough in a normal year, but a face-off between William and Andrew takes on extra importance because both are shooting for the $350,000 Rolex grand slam. And now you know the back story too, which has to heighten the tension.

Because Badminton was canceled last year due to rain, William can win the award if he takes Badminton 2013. And Andrew, who won Burghley last September, has a shot if he wins here and then goes on to try for victory at Badminton. It is, to say the least, an unusual situation.

And this seems like the right place to insert the big news today, word that show jumpers are getting their own Rolex Grand Slam. This one is for a prize of $1 million Euros. It involves three shows: Spruce Meadows in Canada; Geneva, Switzerland and Aachen. I've heard, however, that it might expand to include five shows, maybe one of which could be in the U.S. Rolex has been generous to the sport, and they have shown time and again they're always open to further innovation.

Great Britain’s William Fox-Pitt is in the lead at Rolex Kentucky, winning the dressage phase on Chilli Morning

© 2013 by Nancy Jaffer

So, back to dressage. Chilli Morning is a chestnut stallion whose red coat and white stockings make him a real "look at me" standout even before you begin to assess his talent.

"He's got a great presence, and therefore, when you're riding him, you feel you're capturing the ground jury's attention," said William, who also praised his temperament.

"He's a very well-schooled horse and holds himself well. He's very uphill and very light; he paints a good picture throughout the test."

Quimbo, a black gelding who is another eye-catcher, was very much engaged, both with his rider and in his frame.

"I think he pretty much gave 100 percent," concluded Andrew.

Following his triumphant dressage test, William Fox-Pitt was surrounded by young fans, one of whom got to try on his top hat

© 2013 by Nancy Jaffer

"I mucked up my last (flying) change at the end, which is my fault, I was trying to press for more marks," he said, noting he was looking at the large scoreboard looming over the arena as he rode.

"I was going to have to squeeze the maximum out of him to catch William and I got carried away by the end of it," admitted Andrew, who rode next-to-last.

Allie, too, had trouble with her final change, which made her mare a bit tense. She handled it though, and strikes me as someone who is a cool customer.

Mary King, the Rolex winner two years ago, was aboard Fernhill Urco, the runner-up to her Kings Temptress in 2011. She is equal fifth with 43.7 penalties. As always, she gave her fans a big wave and a huge smile as she left the ring. She's one of the sport's great personalities. Tied with her is Marilyn Little on the extremely fit-looking RF Demeter. Marilyn had a separated shoulder, but do you think that would stop her from riding? Never.

Jennie Brannigan's ride Cambalda, who got scraped up yesterday after falling when he ran off while he was being longed, got a day's reprieve and permission to start today. But the horse wasn't right and Jennie bowed out. She has such big setbacks; Jennie lost her good horse a few years ago, and in 2012, she was hobbling around on crutches after hurting her knee. Let's hope her luck changes from now on. But it just goes to show that getting to the Kentucky Horse Park for Rolex doesn't mean you're home free.

Jimmy Wofford was recalling how a number of years ago, Jil Walton's horse stepped on a rock between the warm-up and dressage ring, and that was it for her shot at the event that year.

Rolex competitors always have lots of supporters. It's great to see the number of folks who crowd in at the "kiss and cry" stand beside the ring to watch "their" participant. These are not always relatives, trainers and grooms. Sometimes the connection between those who come to Rolex to root involves the horse.

I spoke with Dr. Tom Meagher, a veterinarian from Ireland, who owns the stallion Ricardo Z. He is the sire of Ballylaffin Bracken, the ride of Kristin Schmolze, who stands equal 17th on 53.7 penalties. It is the first Rolex both for the gelding, known as Rox, and Dr. Tom. We chatted about his involvement with Rox and his thoughts about Rolex on his first visit here.

Listen: Dr. Tom Meagher

Tomorrow is the day we've been waiting for, when we see 45 horses tested against Derek di Grazia's big cross-country course. Unfortunately, it looks like we're going to have some rain, which complicates an already challenging situation.

I'll be back tomorrow night with another postcard to tell you all about it. And don't forget to check facebook.com/practicalhorseman and facebook.com/equisearch for more photos and videos.

Until then,

The Gene Mische American Invitational, however, is completely different. Being in an NFL facility, Raymond James Stadium, (which has hosted the Super Bowl) IS A  key element contributing to a special experience for riders and fans alike.

Horse show judge Jimmy Lee, who has been to many Invitationals and attended the 41st last night, explained it this way to me:

"Just to walk into such an awesome place in the evening and the way they do the presentation, it's a great course and a lot of people from the community come to watch -- they really make it an event," he pointed out.

"Sometimes we just have a wonderful horse show, but it's just like the wonderful horse show the previous week, and the one we're going to have next week. With these long circuits, it's fun to say to someone, `What show were you champion at?'

`I was champion the fifth week.'

`But what was the name of the show?'"

Odds are, you won't get an answer to that one.

There's no such confusion with the Invitational; even riding in it without getting a ribbon is memorable. As Jimmy  said, "It's a production."

You just get one shot; there's no schooling, no warm-up class. It becomes a real test of horsemanship.

McLain Ward at the X-factor jump on the way to winning the Gene Mische American Invitational with Rothchild.

© 2013 by Nancy Jaffer

This edition definitely was tough; only McLain Ward, on the hard-fighting Rothchild, and 18-year-old Reed Kessler, his 2012 Olympic teammate on Mika, made it from the starting field of 30 into the tie-breaker.

Steve Stephens, who has designed the Invitational since 1985 (with the exception of one year) put his usual amount of thought into the route he laid out. There were several new fences, including the American Invitational pedestal, raised up on a red X (Steve was inspired by The X-Factor TV show), as well as a vertical/liverpool/vertical triple combination near the end of the course that took a lot of prisoners.

Why is an arrangement like that so difficult here?

Listen: Steve Stephens

So now you understand the circumstances, and why, for McLain, winning his third Invitational since 1998 has special meaning.

"This class is an institution for this country, this sport. I really hope people in the industry rally behind this and keep it going," he said. "It almost died a few years ago. I'm so glad to see (organizer) Michael Morrissey and his group of people and sponsors who have really made great effort to revive it, because it's very, very important to us as athletes.

"This is something unique and special and when I grew up, this was the most important class to win, this is what we coveted. I think that's important for future young riders; my children, one day, I hope."

The show also is a great experience for spectators, who come out in droves to walk the course,

measuring the height of the fences against the top of their heads, spreading their arms in the middle of the oxers to see how wide they are.

The crowd of 8,500 was better than last year and comparable to the number who came to Wellington on Florida's east coast last weekend for the $500,000 grand prix that ended the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival. They do look a bit lost in the cavernous facility, though as McLain pointed out, "In anything other than a 65,000-seat stadium, it would look packed. But I think the stadium also makes the atmosphere a bit."

He sees the Invitational's potential for becoming a "destination event," such as Devon or the World Cup Finals in Las Vegas.

"That's what this event should be aimed to be," he commented.

"WEF is so great, but it gets so monotonous by the end, when you use the same jumps every single week. It's beautiful here," said Reed.

"They really put in that extra work to make it special, and it feels special from the moment you get here."

"There are so many things they do so, so well," McLain pointed out, noting that there are always different fences each year, and the organizers and Steve don't simply rest on their laurels.

His most memorable Invitational win, achieved during a 2008 night of rain, was on Sapphire. There will never be another like the mare, who retired last year at Devon in an emotional ceremony.

"For me, every horse is in the shadow of Sapphire. I miss her very much," said McLain, but Rothchild has found a way into his heart.

"It was a little bit of a lucky chance that I got him," McLain said, recalling he had gone to Europe seeking a horse for a student, and tried Rothchild.

"Francois Mathy, who we buy all our horses from, said, `I think it's a very careful horse.'"

McLain had a different opinion.

"I didn't like anything about him. All the way to the airport, I said, `No, no, no.'"

It apparently fell on deaf ears.

"I called my father to say I was home and he said, `By the way, we bought the chestnut horse. Francois says you don't know what you're talking about."

Well, look at how it's turned out. Rothchild is as competitive as his rider, and as he pins his ears back while he's clearing a fence, you can tell he's going for it.

"He's an every day competitor. He can go in a speed class, he can jump the American Invitational, he can jump a Global Tour grand prix, he can jump Nations' Cups," said McLain.

"He's very quietly amassed quite a record. In the end, he's become a very good friend of mine. He gives me everything he has to give me."

Rothchild, who is owned by the Dolan family's Sagamore Farm, also is "an unbelievable character. He's the sweetest horse in the world to deal with," said McLain.

That's when you're in the barn.

At the same time, "he's totally opinionated and it's going to be his way. He does not like other horses. He makes up for lack of classic style with determination. He can kind of do everything, which is a rarity in today's sport. You know, everything's a specialist. This horse is really the blue collar worker, but the blue collar worker won one for the team today."

McLain Ward hoists the Invitational trophy as second-place Reed Kessler and third-place Sharn Wordley look on.

© 2013 by Nancy Jaffer

Despite the fact that only McLain and Reed were in the jump-off, this was no easy victory, and there were a few others who came close to making the tie breaker. Sharn Wordley, a U.S.-based New Zealander, nearly did qualify but scored a time fault with Eric Lamaze's Olympic mount, Derly Chin de Muze, to wind up third.

And how did he get the ride on this horse?

Simple: "I got engaged to the owner (Ashley Fleischhacker)," he admitted, getting a laugh, as the beautiful blonde held the flowers he got during the awards ceremony.

Sharn had a mishap that put him over the 89-second time allowed.

"My horse drifted quite hard to the right at fence four and I rubbed my foot against the standards and I was kind of discombobulated and I kind of took a bit of time on that corner to get myself organized," said Sharn.

"I knew from then on it was going to be touch-and-go...I tried to catch up as best I could without jeopardizing having a rail. It was my first time doing the Invitational and I love it. It's going to be a focus for me next year. It's just so different...with so much atmosphere...it really is quite challenging."

McLain has gone from being one of the young guns to being the establishment, and they're all coming after him.

(Listen: McLain Ward

Invitational runner-up Reed Kessler on Mika

© 2013 by Nancy Jaffer

Reed is having a great time as an 18-year-old; becoming the youngest equestrian to compete in the Games last summer, and now nearly winning the Invitational in only her second attempt.

She had the disadvantage of going first in the jump-off, and was faced with the always difficult task of splitting the difference between having a fast time and making sure the fences stayed up.

"McLain is so, so fast; Rothchild, especially," she said.

"So I tried to lay down a really competitive round...to go in my comfort zone with Mika to make sure I put in a clear round. I tried to put enough pressure on without making a mistake."

She accomplished that, but by leaving out one stride and making a smoother approach than Reed did to one fence, McLain was able to better her mark of 43.37 by more than a second by crossing the finish in 42.10.

"It's so huge, it's such a prestigious class. I love walking the course and listening to people like Katie (Prudent, her coach) and Leslie (Howard) talk about the different horses they've won it on and the years where they had this (jump) in the course," said Reed.

"It's just such a historic class and has so many great stories behind it. It's great to say I've been second in the Invitational once," she continued, then smiled.

"I hope I can add a win."

The top three all liked the course, and praised Steve.

"He had some very young and green riders in the class, as well as Olympic horses and riders, he had to find a balance and I thought it was a good balance test," said McLain. Two or three, but under five (in the jump-off) is the right number for this competition."

The first Invitational I attended was in 1984, the year of the Los Angeles Olympics. Leslie Howard won on Albany and I thought it was neat that as I walked toward the stadium entrance yesterday, she was the first person I saw. We reminisced a bit about that experience.

Listen: Leslie Howard

There's always something different and intriguing at the Invitational, aside from the jumping. One area of the grounds is devoted to kids, with a petting zoo, horseless horse show and face painting. A Percheron was pulling what I call a Cinderella carriage (round and enclosed by artistic white metal strips).

Katherine Bateson Chandler did a freestyle demonstration with Alcazar.

© 2013 by Nancy Jaffer

During a break in the class, 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games U.S. dressage team member Katherine Bateson-Chandler performed a freestyle on Jane Clark's  Alcazar, not easy to do with jumps in the way and workmen pounding down divots all around her. But it was good practice for the horse, who will have to compete in a comparable setting (minus the jumps and workmen) if Katherine makes the squad for next summer's WEG in France.

Before everyone left the post-show party, always a relaxed affair and a good way to wind down from an exciting evening, I checked in with Michael Morrissey, head of Stadium Jumping Inc., which runs the show presented by G&C Farm.

Michael was Gene Mische's nephew, and devoted to him. Still is; he is keeping the Invitational going (and believe me, many people wondered if it could continue) in memory of Gene, the impresario who founded the Florida circuit.

Listen: Michael Morrissey

Don't forget to check out facebook.com/equisearch and facebook.com/practicalhorseman for more photos of the Invitational.
This was my last trip to Florida for the year. Like nearly everyone else, I'm heading north for the start of the regular season. I'll be sending postcards daily from the Rolex Kentucky 4-star at the end of the month, so be sure to look for them.

Until then,

My favorite competition is Spruce Meadows. I have never shown there but it is my dream to one day. I have gone to watch the "Masters" twice now and it is always amazing to be there. The atmosphere at Spruce is fun, friendly and competitive. For the "Masters" riders from all over the world go and it is always fantastic to see them compete in the "BMO Nations Cup" and "CN International." For those showing, the grounds are amazing and for those just watching, there is always stuff to so such as shopping in the "Equiplex." Spruce Meadows cannot be beat!
Kelly Donaldson, North Vancouver

Every year I find myself looking forward to the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association's (IHSA) National Competition. As a college student, riding as a freshman at IHSA Nationals for Delaware Valley College was the most thrilling, intimidating, challenging, exciting, and now the most memorable horse show experience of my life. I attended all four Nationals that occurred while I was in college at venues such as the Coliseum at Middle Tennessee State University, The Big E Complex in Massachusetts, and the Harrisburg Show Grounds either as a rider or volunteer. Since then I have only missed one National Competition and have continued to attend with colleges I have coached for. I love every moment of it. Spending quality time with my teammates and now riders on my team are some of the best memories I carry with me, and many of the stories we continue to tell year after year become legendary. Seeing all of the wonderful horses that colleges are able to loan to the competition, reuniting with friends (old and new), and watching the students ride hard for their teams is the highlight of my year. Riding in the IHSA brought so much to my life as a student and seeing other riders and teams that seem to feel the same way is thrilling to me. We are looking forward to bringing the nation to our backyard again this year; see you at Harrisburg in May!
Emily C Miller, Pennsylvania

In the nearly 50 years that I have been riding I have participated in many different types of competition, from lead-line equitation and gymkhanas to Pony Club rallies and USEA recognized horse trials. My favorite to prepare for and compete in was the Versatile Horse and Rider Competition at the Equine Affaire in Springfield, MA in November, 2011. I decided to send an entry video in on a whim, and didn't start to do any serious preparation until early September when I got the acceptance letter. I went onto YouTube to look at videos of previous competitions and get an idea of what we might be faced with. I have had Gabriel, my 10-year-old Belgian/ Thoroughbred cross, since he was a baby and we do a lot together: eventing at Novice level, fox hunting, trail riding and pleasure driving, but never anything like this. With props from the Halloween supplies at Walmart, round pen panels and other stuff I had around the barn I built an obstacle course behind the barn and practiced every chance I had. I even had friends come over with their kids to yell and cheer to prepare Gabe for the audience. Preparing for this brought our partnership to a whole new level. Gabe was great at the competition; we tied for 11th place out of 30 entries, just missing being in the top 10 for the final round. I definitely want to try it again. (My favorite competition to attend is Rolex Kentucky. I've been twice and loved it!)
Rebecca Hunter, via email

My favorite competition to ride in is one that helps to build the confidence of the horse I work with. "George' is an 18.2 hand Thoroughbred gelding whose naturally spooky nature has been tested by a stable accident that resulted in him losing an eye. His owners and I have chosen local shows where smaller class sizes are less likely to over stress him with a ring full of strange horses. It challenges him to be in a different place and still focus on me and what I am asking of him. George gets very proud of himself when he knows he has done well. It doesn't always mean a blue ribbon; just the fact that he did his best in a class is a win for me. He has learned to trust me and if I don't get overwhelmed by an unfamiliar or scary situation, he is more at easy with whatever is going on around him. As a horse person all my life, I am always amazed at the ability of horses to read our moods and emotions. It helps me to focus as well by knowing that how I react effects him and his ability to handle things like another horse cantering on his blind side. George and I have come a long way together and we were awarded champion of our division at our last show.
Lynn Motschmann, New York

The Whidbey Island Pony Club Horse Trials on Whidbey Island, Washington. Been watching it since ‘88, groomed at, and rode in it just a couple of times…fingers crossed I ride this year.
Chris Cole, Washington

The Breeder’s Cup World Championship Horse Races! Where else could you go to see horses of all ages and specialties from all over the world compete in one place over a two-day period? Its fun, affordable and filled with stars of the sport!
Jonie Fanning Reeves, via email

Rolex Kentucky 3-Day Event! It’s an amazing atmosphere and world-class facility. I love how they have a spectator’s course walk directed by one of the competitors. It really shows how down to earth the rider’s are, despite their fame and success in the horse world. Being from California it’s the only vacation I can afford for the year but it’s well worth it!
Sarah O’Dea, California

The Metamora Foxhunt’s Hunter Trials at the end of September or the beginning of October. There are varying levels for all riders as well as tailgating for spectators. The hunt has been holding the trials for longer then I have been alive, and I have missed precisely two since I was 6 (mind you that’s 20-odd years) it is the best show around, and all proceeds go to feeding the hounds, I take my greenies before they compete in the hunter ring. (After all, if they can navigate around a hilly trial course, a ring ride is a breeze!)
Kira Wolf, via email

Read more answers to this question in the April 2013 issue of Practical Horseman magazine.

But...do they actually work? Do they enable horse people to find real love-with a soulmate who shares their enthusiasm for country living and all things equine?

To find out, we decided to talk to the folks at EquestrianSingles.com, the most recognized dating service for horse people worldwide. Founded in 2001, the Texas-based Web site boasts over 10,000 marriages and success stories around the globe, according to founder Marcia Zwilling. She helped us locate five couples willing to tell us how they went about finding their horsey sig-o through cyber dating.

Here are their stories.

Connie and Han courted and wed on horseback; they and son Wyatt, now 2 years old, live on their Colorado guest ranch, the Rusty Spurr.

Photo courtesy of Connie Smith

Connie and Han: Best First Date Ever
Connie Schuh of Fort Collins, Colorado, had just lost her childhood horse to old age when she decided to try online dating. She joined EquestrianSingles.com in January of 2004—but with some trepidation.

“I was nervous about putting myself out there for strangers to see,” she explains. “I wasn’t sure how I was going to get to know someone well enough via e-mails to feel comfortable meeting him in person.”

A month later, she connected with A. J. “Han” Smith, owner and general manager of the Rusty Spurr guest ranch in Kremming, Colorado. The two corresponded by e-mail for three weeks before speaking on the phone.

“Han didn’t brag or boast about his achievements,” she recalls, noting that e-mail turned out to be a good way to get acquainted, after all. “Instead he’d write about how amazing it was to watch the moon rise over his cabin, or the wonderful smell of sage when he galloped his horse through it. All that evoked a feeling and image that can’t be portrayed in a regular conversation.”

When they did finally connect by phone, they talked for hours, “as if we’d been friends for a long time,” says Connie. They also planned a day to meet in person a week later.

“I’m cautious, so for our first meeting I had my sister in tow, and we all went skiing. A short time later, we had our first real date—he took me horseback riding through the snow all around his ranch.

“It was a gorgeous, sunny Colorado day in February, and the horses were perfect,” she continues. “Han packed us a saddlebag lunch and even remembered what I liked to drink. We never ran out of things to talk about. I believe it was the best first date ever because we’d had a chance to get to know each other so well through all those prior e-mails.”

Connie says she knew things were serious several months later, on another ride.

“He took me out along a beautiful stretch of the Blue River. We stopped for a break and got off the horses, and he held me in his arms. The look in his eyes when he told me he was falling in love with me was when I knew he was ‘the one.’”

They were married in 2008 on horseback, at the ranch. “We gave each guest the option of a trail ride through the ranch with one of our wranglers at some point over the weekend. People still talk about that!”

Today, the couple manages the guest ranch together, providing cattle drives and trail rides through the Rocky Mountains with a string of mostly Quarter Horses, which are treated “like family.”

And speaking of family, the couple’s son, Wyatt, is now 2 years old. (You can visit the Smiths’ ranch online at rustyspurr.com.)

Christy and David went to see her horse and would up driving to the coast; a year later, they wed.

Photo of Christy Hartman DeCourcey

Christy and David: Skip the Horse, Take the Girl
A client prodded real estate broker Christy Hartman of Gresham, Oregon, to join EquestrianSingles.com in 2005. She’d earlier tried Match.com without much success, but over the next few years, she met many interesting people on the equestrian site, some whom she dated and some who were just friends.

Then, in 2010, the need to sell her Quarter Horse gelding Commando (because of the economy) prompted her to put out the word through the Web site. This eventually led to contact with David DeCourcey, a real estate title examiner from Bend, Oregon, who was also a member of the site. Christy sent him photos of her horse, and the two began corresponding by e-mail and phone.

“On the phone he was warm, witty, and smart,” Christy recalls. “He was comfortable talking about anything from politics to raising kids.” Eventually David said he wanted to come see Commando—and his owner—in person.

“I told him I prefer a cowboy, not some city-slicker type,” Christy recalls with a laugh. “The day he came, he showed up at my door early, and my hair was still in curlers. I told him I wasn’t ready, so he went out for breakfast. When he returned, he was adorable—all dressed up in Western clothes and a cowboy hat and with two-dozen red roses in his hand. The chemistry was there, and it really was love at first sight.”

They went to see the horse, and wound up driving to the Oregon Coast, “singing crazy songs we both knew by heart, eating great food—the day seemed to last forever and it was wonderful,” she says.

The pair wed a year later. They now live on a 40-acre farm outside of Bend, with five horses they use for trail riding, sorting, and cowboy mounted shooting. One of the horses, by the way, is Commando—Christy wound up keeping him.

“Friends tease David that he should’ve just bought the horse—and saved himself a lot of money,” says Christy. “He always laughs and says he’s very happy with how it all turned out.”

Buck Brannaman and Noah Cornish.

Photo courtesy Tina Cornish

“There, feel that?” calls her coach  from the top rail where he’s seated, Western boots pressed, heel first, back against the slats. “He wasn’t as soft as I know you want him, but he was softer than the time before, wasn’t he?”

To most, this “coach” is now recognizable in an instant. The iconic hat. The serious eyes. The neat-pressed collared shirt. Buck Brannaman has long been a revered horseman, making his living through clinics where he passes on the knowledge he’s gained and hewn over years spent studying two men who some consider the original “horse whisperers”: Ray Hunt and Tom Dorrance.

In 2011, the documentary BUCK was released. Coming out of nowhere from a first-time director, BUCK struck the Americana chord. It swept the film festivals, won the audience award at Sundance, and shared with millions the story of how Buck Brannaman came to wear the boots he wears, each and every day, in many different places, alongside many different types of horses…and people.

Californian Tina Cornish, and her daughter Ali and son Noah, appear in both the hit film BUCK and the new instructional DVD series “7 Clinics with Buck Brannaman,” which was created from the documentary’s unused footage and released last September. Tina has been a Buck clinic sponsor in California since 2007, but it was many years earlier that she first learned of his methods.

“I met Buck when I was in my early twenties and somebody suggested that I take a Thoroughbred filly that I had and start her with him,” recalls Tina. “I had been riding a lot of racehorses, and for the first time I felt like I had some tools to keep me safe—Buck gave me those tools.”

Tina started riding English at the age of seven on a Shetland Pony named Thelwell. Later in life, it seemed only natural to put her daughter Ali on horseback when she was upset or crying. It soothed her. Son Noah, too, was soon drawn in, especially when Tina began hosting Buck Brannaman clinics at the Saddle Creek Ranch in Butte Valley.

“I remember wanting to ride like him,” says 16-year-old Noah. “Through my mom, I’ve known Buck’s philosophy since I was just a little guy, but I remember when I rode with him for the first time, I was on my pony Pablo, and I was thinking how cool it was to just watch him ride.”

This year, the first weekend in February, Noah got to do a whole lot more than just watch Buck ride. He and his sister Ali, who is now 18, along with Madison Wedderspoon who rides with Denise Finch at Huntersedge Farm in Las Vegas, were the riders for the English demonstration taught by gold-medal-winning Olympic equestrian Melanie Smith Taylor at the 2013 Legacy of Legends at the Southpoint Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Melanie Smith Taylor, along with Buck and a number of other well

known names in the equestrian industry, was a featured clinician at Legacy of Legends. The event showcased those who exemplify the spirit and ability to communicate a level of horsemanship introduced and taught by Buck’s mentors: Ray Hunt and Tom Dorrance. Clinics held over the weekend were intended to “promote harmony between horse and rider, as well as preserve the dignity and well-being of the horse while encouraging the rider to achieve a higher level of horsemanship.”

“At Legacy of Legends, Ali rode her young jumper Freddy, who was a stopper before she got him,” explains Tina. “Noah started his young horse Gus over fences. Maddy was riding an equitation horse, and all three were using methods they have learned from those who study and work with Buck. We wanted people to see that you can apply these principles of horsemanship to whatever you do with horses, regardless of discipline, and Melanie was wonderful at demonstrating that.

“I would really like more people from the hunter/jumper world to participate in events like Legacy of Legends—there is such a wealth of knowledge available from these clinicians.”

For some, seeing Buck work with English riders in the documentary BUCK, and hearing Tina and Ali tell the story of how Buck’s methods made it possible for them to restart Ali’s champion equitation horse Van Gogh (“Theo”) in the instructional DVD series “7 Clinics with Buck Brannaman,” might be the first time they even consider the possible application of such “cowboy wisdom” to typically English disciplines such as dressage and jumping.

But if it is proof you need, the Cornish family’s success with Theo is certainly convincing.

“When we got Theo he was resistant and cranky,” remembers Tina. “He would rear at the gate as you tried to enter the ring. He would kick out at your leg. I had called Buck when we were looking at the horse, so I felt pretty sure we had made the right choice in buying him, but I still second-guessed myself for the first six months we had him. Ali wanted to restart him herself and she had only just turned 13. He was already a big horse—he grew to be 17.2 hands and weighed about 1,450 pounds—and Ali is 5’3” and 95 pounds!

“When we took Theo home, we turned him out a couple of weeks, then Ali started working with him in a Western saddle, outside of the arena. I remember watching her try to get him to cross a small stream up in the field while I was giving a lesson in the ring—she must have been there an hour with him! So patient. No one had ever given this horse time, so although it took a while, he finally went. It was good for both of them. Ali would wait for him to figure things out instead of getting impatient and trying to solve problems for him. She did a lot of softening laterally and rebalancing, as he had been formerly ridden in a very tight standing martingale. Everything she did was based on something she learned from Buck.”

“The most challenging thing for me was that I was involved in a discipline where there is a time crunch when you are a junior rider,” says Ali. “I was young, and it was hard for me to sometimes understand why it was taking so long with Theo while other kids my age were jumping bigger and having more success in the show ring. It became apparent to me later, though, why we took our time. Ultimately, in Theo I had a mentally and physically sound horse. We knew each other so well; it was a true partnership. It really showed last year at Maclay regionals when I flew in from college, and having not shown him since June, we still were reserve in the class. We don’t longe, ear plug, or medicate him, and Theo performs and behaves consistently wherever we go and is super sound.”

Tina, Ali, and Noah’s goal to use good horsemanship stands out. Ali took Theo to an “A” rated show the day after working with him at a Buck clinic, and the pair won every class they were in because they were so in tune with each other.

“I think the thing about Buck’s techniques that make them a little hard for industry people to embrace is that he invites the problems a horse has to the surface,” says Tina. “He does this so he can work through them; most people do their best to avoid them and hope they never appear.”

When you watch BUCK the film and “7 Clinics with Buck Brannaman,” there is no doubt that Buck Brannaman’s intent is for those who attend his clinics to gain the tools they need to become better horsemen and do a better job with their horses—not just in the “here and now,” but down the road and in the future. His focus is always good, basic horsemanship that, when done well, with the right timing, can yield great things in a partnership with a horse.

“I know trainers who, since discovering Buck and his methods, use the techniques with the horses they have,” says Tina, “but most people just want a horse with a behavior or training problem fixed for them and then returned when it’s been solved. It is a big commitment, a lot of time, to retrain yourself, your grooms, and your clients to handle horses differently. Change is uncomfortable for people and the pressure and expense of this sport can seem overwhelming to some. In my ideal world, people would embrace the idea of learning to train and ride better so their horses wouldn’t have to be robots. I also think trainers are often under and incredible amount of pressure from clients to produce; clients need to take ownership of their expectations so everyone can slow down.

“Today horses are bred so job-specific that it is easy for trainers and riders to push their mounts too fast,” she continues. “Often, the foundation is incomplete and we don’t realize it until there is a problem. We need to slow down and give the horse time to be part of what we are doing with him—he’s not just some vehicle to get over a fence and win a ribbon. We need to be more considerate of his mental state.”

“If you want to be in this business as a rider or trainer, you have to have compassion and understanding for the horse,” agrees Ali. “Someday, I want to ride at an international level representing the United States in show jumping while applying the style of horsemanship I’ve learned from Buck to every horse I ride.”

If Buck has an eye for a true horseman, then Ali surely has a chance. We all bear witness to her lesson with Buck in “7 Clinics with Buck Brannaman” and as Ali reaches down to stroke her horse’s neck, nodding as she listens to her coach’s advice, Buck gives her just the encouragement she needs to continue to honor the path she has, so far, chosen to tread.

“I think you’re right on track,” Buck says. “I know he’ll be a lot softer the next time I see him. No doubt about that.

“It all looks pretty good to me.”

Rebecca M. Didier is coauthor of Dressage with Mind, Body & Soul with Linda Tellington-Jones.