Tailwind Horsemanship, LLC

12/10/2024

Well, we’re way past due for an update!

I’m still living in the Nashville area training dogs full time. It’s definitely been hard living 12 hours away from family, but Tennessee is full of opportunity.

I’ve been working with a decoy consistently and Banshee is on track to trial for his PDC (Protection Dog Certificate) in 2025! He has needed a lot confidence building in bitework, so this is a huge accomplishment!

Oliver earned his 2nd leg of his Novice obedience title. Taking 1st place at his last trial!

Unfortunately Bruno is still at home in Iowa. I’ve been missing him a lot lately. Ultimately, I will probably stay in Tennessee for another year, hopefully obtain Banshee’s PDC, then re-evaluate where I want to be. I’m still trying to find/create the perfect scenario where I have my dogs, horse, and family all close by. It might take awhile, but I have faith that it will come ❤️.

18/03/2024

Hey there… it’s been awhile!

So life update, I moved to Tennessee nearly a month ago! I got a full time job training dogs and it’s been going great. Unfortunately Bruno is still in Iowa, but I plan to bring him down sooner rather than later.

I no longer offer clinics, lessons or train horses for the public. While I still love the art of horsemanship, it is not something I want to be involved in professionally at this time. The horse industry is hard, and I’ve been very open about my burnout. Dog training came very naturally to me, and it’s been a much better fit for me as a career.

I’ll keep you guys updated, but until then if anyone in the Nashville area needs dog training, feel free to reach out!

31/12/2023

Annual yearly recap:

In 2023 I…

- Moved to Missouri for dog training school 🏫
- Brought Banshee home 🐾❤️
- Turned 22 🥳
- Did a whole lot of retrieve training 🐕‍🦺😅
- Learned under the best instructors 📚
- Prepped for graduation 📈
- Graduated 🎓
- Nearly lost Oliver to bloat 🏥
- Started training dogs full time 🐶
- Went to my first trial, and placed 2nd 🥈
- Took Bruno to his first show 🐴
- Went to the Conroe tour 🤠
- Spent Christmas with my family 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦❤️

06/12/2023

Blessed to have a horse that will let me hop on ba****ck and ride in an open field when he hasn’t been rode in over a month 💕

13/11/2023

Bruno looks so sweet and derpy in this photo… that’s because he is so sweet and derpy 😂

29/10/2023

Not the best pictures, but me and Bruno went to our second cow work clinic today! Bruno is more than ready to start working the flag and cattle. The day was smooth and frustration free due to his rock solid foundation. I think it’s time I invest in a CowTrac 😉

15/10/2023

Ranch Conformation:

Ranch Conformation is a halter class, specifically for horses that show in the ranch division. Unlike traditional Halter, Ranch horses can be shown in rope halters, or plain leather halters for this class.

Depending on the show, horses may be ridden into the ring and then unsaddled and judged. Other shows it is ran like a normal halter class.

For clipping, it is acceptable for Ranch horses to only have a bridle path and whiskers clipped. Horses should be well groomed, clean, and presentable for this class. Hoof black and bands are not allowed.

In this picture, Bruno is modeling the limited edition Hunter Green halter and lead rope!

11/10/2023

Get it, Bruno!

In this picture, Bruno is showing his extended trot. In Ranch Pleasure, judges may call for a walk, extended walk, trot, extended trot, lope, and extended lope. There should be a noticeable difference between the collected, and extended version of each gait. Extended does necessarily not mean faster, it means stretch out.

In the Ranch classes, riders are allowed to post to the extended trot, or grab the horn and stand in their stirrups. I prefer to stand in my stirrups, as I feel like it helps make a faster and more noticeable transition into the extended trot; But either method is acceptable.

What’s your favorite gait to show to your judges?

08/10/2023

Me and Bruno had a great weekend of showing this weekend! It marked the end of a 4-year hiatus from showing for me, and it was Bruno’s first show.

Friday evening we placed 4th in Ranch Conformation, 4th in Walk/Trot Ranch Rail, and 6th in Walk/Trot Ranch Riding. Not too shabby for temperatures in the low 50s, and no time for any groundwork before hopping on.

Saturday we placed 3rd in Ranch Conformation and 2nd in our Walk/Trot Ranch Rail class that was 17 horses deep! Anyone who shows in the Ranch division knows how competitive these classes are, and to be placing at our very first show, with large class sizes, is amazing.

I’m so proud of Bruno, it’s good to see all the (literal) blood, sweat, and tears I’ve put into this horse is paying off. We just need to get our lead change cleaned up more and then we are ready for the regular, walk/trot/lope division next year!

26/09/2023

Bruno has some big feelings about Mondays 😅

He’s doing well! Maturing well, me and him are becoming a better team each day 💪

24/09/2023

Fall update- me and Oliver competed in our first Obedience Trial this past weekend! It went great, we placed 2nd in our Novice A class, with a score of 191/200.

Oliver did great, all the lost points came from handler errors. The first leg of our CD title is in the books, onto the next!

14/09/2023

05/09/2023

I might just be a bad photographer, or the new bridle might not be flattering on Bruno 🥲

04/09/2023

New Rig Tour: Part One!

I’m super excited about this little trailer! I know some people will see it as a major downgrade from my old trailer, but this thing is just so practical and fits my needs perfectly!

27/08/2023

SOLD

1999 Ford F-250 Lariat
V10 motor- 113,000 miles. Runs good and is mechanically sound, but is rusty. Tires are like new. Located in West Bend, Iowa. Priced at $5,000 OBO.

25/08/2023

What Lead Me to Burnout? Part One:

A few months ago I publicly admitted that I had gotten burnt out of training horses professionally. But I never truly said what lead me to that point.

Clinton has a story of talking to a man on airplane. He asked him what the secret to success was and the man responded, “you work, and push, and you don’t stop until you reach the end of the cliff.” The cliff being divorce, you don’t have a relationship with your kids, etc.

When I went to the Academy I was so passionate about the industry that it blinded me. I had tunnel vision. All I thought about were my next steps, how to make money, how to ride and train amazing horses. When I got the saddling job at the ranch, I was even more obsessed. I had just gotten a dream job, I wanted to prove to Clinton that I had the work ethic to go far.

Meanwhile back at home I had a very sick uncle with cancer, and my grandpa’s health was fading fast. I was able to run back home and visit them both for a long weekend while Clinton was gone showing, and then I was back at the job. The Ranch Open House was coming up, and things were getting busy.

About a week later, I got the call that my uncle had passed, peacefully with family all around him. While I wanted to be home for the funeral, my mom warned me that grandpa wasn’t doing well either. She’d call when it was time for me to come home.

That call came the night of the Ranch Open House. Exactly a week after my uncle passed. Things had been bad for a few days, and I needed to get home. I packed a suitcase and was on the road at 2:00 AM and started the eight-hour drive, only stopping for gas. I didn’t make it in time.

Not being able to say goodbye to my grandpa is the biggest regret in my life. I still curse myself over it to this day. It’s important to work hard in life, but when you start missing your last opportunity to see loved ones, you know you’ve fallen off the cliff…

22/08/2023

We’ve got some spicy visitors in the horse barn 🌶️🐈