I was 18 when a friend arraigned a horse for me to ride at my very first barrel racing clinic. I was so excited I couldn't sleep the night before.  This was one step closer to my dream of becoming a NFR finalist running with my perfect horse through the clover leaf pattern.

That day became the most depressing day of my life. I took my turn around the barrels on a borrowed horse, finishing my run, and feeling for a moment that I was on my way. When the owner of the horse took hold of the reins and said, "get off!", I wasn't sure what went wrong or why. Another women came up to me and told me to go home and learn how to ride. I broke into tears crying and didn't stop for about three weeks.

I realized what I needed was the right type of help, someone to tell me if my saddle was in the right spot and if my stirrup was the right length.

I found a trainer who had a Christian emblem on his poster I thought surely he would be nice to me; a trainer who would make sure I was "never" laughed at again. I signed up for a clinic and set out to earn the $3,000 it took to spend a week with this trainer.

I took my rusty red pickup truck and my two tone puke green (rust included) horse trailer to Yakima, Washington with my fine ex-race horse, COCO, who of course wouldn't load in less than 2 hours after you spent a few hours working on catching her. She was a dream!

The man I went to learn from kept walking by me but never once brought up any problems with my saddle position or the length of my stirrups. He just kept teaching me silly stuff like "Giving to the bit", the "Calm down cue" and how to move the hips and shoulders with one rein.

This was all great, but I didn't want to be laughed at. The week went on and I noticed something about my horse, she was relaxed and actually working with me (like a partner).  Wow, this was cool!  When it was time to load up to go home, my horse loaded in less than 5 minuets.

We never worked on loading! She also side passed, backed, pivoted on her hind and wow, she just became a real "partner".

I honestly didn't know you could teach a horse to work with you with such trust and Gentle Persuasion. I was hooked on this method of training.

I have studied with John Lyons through clinic’s, videos, and tapes, for over 18 Years, working on colt starting and problem solving.

I spent the majority of my summer in 2006 working with Josh Lyons, who shared his colt starting and finishing training information with a group of us in his certification program.

I developed into a more finishing trainer with an emphasis on reining.

In 2008 I competed in the " Extreme Mustang Challenge" and placed 20th in Fort Worth. I am currently training in Kalispell, Montana  training both Horse and Rider.

This year I will be riding and training at Mooring RD Arena.  Mooring Rd Arena has an indoor heated 100x200 and an outdoor arena as well.

Hope to see you there!