Features

8 Best Shooting Horse Trainers

Western Shooting Horse did its best to identify the top trainers in the sport and boiled it down to a handful and a half.

 

If you think about all of the Western equine sports—barrel racing, roping, reining and cutting—these horses have very specific duties. They are very talented at what they do.

 

The mounted shooting horse is required to do all this and more, like running different patterns each and every run. Add to that the percussion and flash of gunfire and up to three days of competitions running as many as 10 or more stages, and today’s mounted shooting horse is the ultimate performance equine.

 

So Cowboy Mounted Shooting puts a premium on having a specially trained horse to do the job and do it right.

 

The first part of the process is finding an animal with the potential for greatness. There are just some horses that will never make a good prospect and there are some that are naturals right from the start. It takes a trained eye to evaluate good prospects and turn them into quality shooting horses.

 

Over the years, shooting horse trainers have emerged from all parts of the country, finding and producing these specialized competitors who must be consistent, immune to gunfire and extremely athletic. Western Shooting Horse did our best to identify the top trainers in the sport and boiled it down to a handful and a half. Here is our pick of the 8 Best Shooting Horse Trainers.

 

 

AJ Horses
Monticello, Minnesota

 

Andra Olson and Jim Hanson—the AJ of AJ Horses—have a simple philosophy when it comes to working with equines: “We don’t break them,” explains Andra.  “We don’t force them or manhandle them. We train the horse to work with us.”

 

It’s an approach that’s been very successful over the years.

 

And over that time, they’ve come up with a training process. They start with animals that are at least four years old.  And then, according to Jim, they look for traits that make a good mounted shooting horse: “We know about their training before. They’re athletic. They’ve got a strong mind. And there’s a look in their eye, and you can see their mannerisms when you or somebody else is handling them.”

 

When the horses arrive—nothing. “The first two weeks, the horse is just around.  We don’t ride them. We don’t train them. We don’t do anything,” says Andra. “So that horse gets to see us, smell us, watch us, and get comfortable with us.  And we observe them.”

 

Part of the AJ advantage—two trainers. Some horses respond better to Jim, others to Andra.

 

Then they’re given all-around training—trail riding, barrels, roping.  Only then do Andra and Jim fine-tune the animals for mounted shooting. Andra says, “We first get them used to the balloons. We get them used to cones and patterns. That’s even before we expose them to guns and gunfire.”

 

And when the training is done—a top mounted shooting horse.

 

www.ajhorses.com

 

 

Jimmie Allen
Spokane, Missouri

 

For Jimmie Allen, It all started in 1998. Dan Plaster called: “I’ve seen this mounted shooting. I need a horse that you can run patterns on and shoot balloons.” Allen told him he had one that was broke enough to do something like that. They worked on the animal and voila! They had a mounted shooting horse.

 

Since then, Jimmie has become an acknowledged leader in the field. So much so that folks bring him many prospects each year.
So what does he look for in a top shooting horse? “Number one, I like a horse with a good mind. A horse that will come to you out in the pasture.”

 

When it comes to training, Jimmie does a lot of work outside the arena—and a lot of things other than shooting. He says, “I rope on them a lot. I run barrels on them. I gather cattle, trail ride. If the horse has the same job every day, pretty soon he is not going to like his job.” At the end of training, Jimmie expects a nice, calm horse.

 

Then he matches them with riders. “I like for people to come to my house and ride them for a day or a week or a month,” he explains. “That way they can know the horse and more importantly the horse knows the rider.”

 

The bottom line for Jimmie Allen: If you will watch a horse and pay attention, he will let you know everything you need to know.
www.allenranchhorses.com

 

 

Dan Byrd
Cave Creek, Arizona

 

Dan Byrd’s background is a little different than the average mounted shooting trainer—polo.

 

But that hasn’t stopped him from becoming a leader in the field: “It doesn’t matter if you’re doing polo, reining, shooting, or roping. The foundation of your horse is basically the same. The training is aimed at making them supple and broke. They’re all the same at the beginning. Then you finish them for a particular sport.”

 

So Dan starts by working the horse from the ground up. “We work with them every day. It’s not so much working for long periods of time; sometimes less is more. Most of the time it’s quality over quantity, meaning, it’s appreciating the smaller things: a good stop, a nice turn. A baby-step toward the goal means a lot in day-to-day work. You realize this by a change in feel, attitude, and the general demeanor of the horse as they progress. It’s hard to describe to somebody. But it’s part of having the experience and knowing the horse.”

 

Byrd adds, “We work them in the arena, but they all get out and around. Sometimes we’ll go lope them around in the desert. A couple of days a week we’ll load them up and take them to a different arena. And when we finish them off, it isn’t just getting them used to gunfire. It’s the announcer. The banners. The other horses. People don’t realize just how much time it takes to get a horse ready for competition.”

 

www.danbyrdhorses.com

 

 

Roy Cox
Galena, Missouri

 

Missourian Roy Cox is probably the most prolific trainer in the history of Cowboy Mounted Shooting. He’s trained, sold and bought more than 140 horses for the sport; he’s got a reputation to match those numbers.

 

Roy admits to spending plenty of time and money hunting for prospects—and plenty of time training them, then selling them to riders new and old.

 

He parallels how horses work to a professional athlete with a particular skill. “If the horse plays one lead really well, his rider should ride him that way and not try to change him up too much,” he says. “People need to quit trying to train their horses at the big matches. A trained horse is better off, and works better, if you just leave him alone.”

 

His training includes a lot of hard work and sweat.  He does not have any yard ornaments. “They need to know that when you step up on their backs that you [the rider] is in control…that it is time to go to work,” he adds.

 

\“This shooting deal has been good for the horse industry,” Roy claims. “These horses are the ultimate performance horse. They have to have speed. They have to be agile and athletic.”

 

www.coxperformancehorses.com

 

 

Kenda Lenseigne
Ellensburg, Washington

 

World Champion Cowgirl Kenda Lenseigne has been training horses for most of her life. She got her start as an apprentice in the cutting horse business, and now trains mounted shooting horses full time.

 

The biggest lesson she’s learned, the one that she applies to her work—patience. That’s especially true when she gets a horse that has not been started properly or has been pushed too far too fast. “It can take months, or even years, to reprogram. You just have to be patient.”

 

Kenda, who trains about 50 outside horses per year (and a few of her own colts), has developed some very definite ideas: “The big part of training is establishing trust between the horse and the rider. Sure, you can intimidate a horse to perform, but you will get a lot further if the horse wants to work for you.”

 

Kenda looks for horses with athletic ability, a trainable mind, and physical soundness. She first evaluates what they know and what the owner wants, and tailors a training program accordingly.

 

Then the program begins—training the horse to use itself balanced and properly in a pattern, to respond to commands, and be confident in different environments. Once this foundation has been placed, the horse is ready for gunfire.

 

And when she sells one of her own horses? “I first analyze the rider, their ability and time commitment, goals, and their future potential. Its also important to know that the personalities match between the horse and rider.”

 

www.kendalenseigne.com

 

 

Little Performance Horses
St. Cloud, Minnesota

 

Chad Little, the 2009 CMSA National Overall Champion, prepares his horses to win—for himself and others.

 

The Minnesota Cowboy looks for an athletic horse, not necessarily a speed demon (contrary to what you might think, based on the world records he’s set). Chad wants one with “a quiet eye and a little more levelheaded.” And he prefers them to be broke: “I want a horse that when you ask it to turn, it turns.”

 

If it’s good and broke, he’ll expose the horse to gunfire to see its reaction. If it responds well, then he’ll do some shooting off of it—mostly on a lope.

 

And if does well there, he’ll run patterns. Not the CMSA patterns, mind you. “I just set stuff up and add a bit of everything to it,” Chad says. “I want some turns in there, and I’ll add some barrels in there. Gates. Tight deals where I have to rein ‘em back. It’s just random stuff so I can run a bit of everything.”

 

Little may do some shooting on those patterns, but usually not much and only to prepare the horse for competition. Only those animals with the potential to win get to go to shoots.

 

Right now, the Little Ranch is running about 40 head; maybe half of them will end up as good shooting horses.

 

www.littlesperformancehorses.com

 

 

Tammy Sronce
Westhoff, Texas

 

World Champion Cowgirl Tammy Sronce (and her World Champion husband Matt) has a training philosophy that comes down to one word: patience.

 

“The two biggest mistakes people make are trying to shoot a .45 off them straight away with no preparation, or running them fast through patterns, to see how fast they are,” she says. “We make a point to avoid both of those mistakes.”

 

For her purposes, it’s easier to be patient with a more mature animal, so she prefers horses that are age seven or older (and somewhat smaller, too).

 

After that, Tammy explains, “We ride our new horses to see what ‘handle’ they have on them, and if needed spend time educating them and getting their handling to a sufficient level to start out shooting training. We also observe our new horses and see how they react to being around other shooting horses.”

 

“Every horse we start is started in the round pen,” she notes.  “Then after some desensitizing groundwork, we start dry firing with our pistols, and gradually increase our sounds and speed.”

 

So how long does it take to finish a good mounted shooting horse, using the Sronce program? “Each horse is different and we make a point not to rush the horses through their training,” says Tammy. “Having a long term, calm shooting horse requires a careful and methodical foundation.”

 

www.texasshootinghorses.com

 

 

Larry Townsend
Darby, Montana

 

Training horses is in Larry Townsend’s DNA. He’s the fourth generation in his family to work horses; he broke his first horse when he was just six years old.

 

And he trains all sorts of equines at his Darby, Montana ranch. About 100 horses are on the 180-acre spread at any one time, going through the Townsend program. Larry trains the animals for all around performance. Only later does he determine whether a horse is best at mounted shooting or cutting or whatever.

 

For Larry, it all starts with breeding: “It’s their mommas, their daddies, it’s their granddad. They come down from a bloodline that damn sure wants to win.”

 

He won’t start training a horse until it’s about three years old.  Then he brings them along slowly to avoid pushing them too hard and causing problems.

 

Larry (and daughter Tammy Townsend, for that matter) ride the horses throughout the ranch, taking advantage of the rough terrain to condition the animals.

 

So how does he decide which discipline best suits the horse?  Larry says they listen to the horse to decide what to do.

 

Then comes the match game—putting the horse and its new owner together. It’s not just a simple cash transaction. Larry says, “If I don’t think the person and the horse I am trying to put together will make a good match, I don’t sell ‘em.”

 

www.townsendranch.com

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