“I first met Gary in late 2016 at a Ranch Sorting at Cowboy Fellowship in Jourdanton. I stayed in contact with him and in early January 2017, when he found himself in need of a place to park his trailer and stall his horses. I offered my place and he accepted. He had 3 horses with him at the time, one of them. the Gray mare, I eventually bought from him. In the few weeks he was at my place, I recall him riding all 3 horses almost every day—most of the time with his phone in his ear. I had a black mare I was riding at the time, who really was not Sorting material, but she was all I had. I asked Gary to evaluate her for me.  He can be very blunt, ‘If you want to win, you have to be able to move your horse a couple of inches this way, then a couple of inches that way and this black mare will never get you there. It costs just as much to feed a good horse as it does a bad one’.

The San Antonio show was coming up soon and he offered to let me ride his Gray mare at the show. I’d seen her work and wasn’t sure I could stay with her, but eventually I took him up on the offer. I knew she was for sale, but didn’t see myself actually spending that kind of money on a horse. Still, it was nice to be able to start riding her and preparing for the show.

What a difference! She would move off my legs, she reacted quickly to cues, but I had a long way to go and a lot of learning ahead of me. I had to learn a complete different way of riding (still learning) than I had ridden all my life. I did feel very comfortable and she was patient. She taught me a lot. We didn’t blow things up at the San Antonio show, but I could see a lot of potential so I did buy the Gray mare at the show. Gary was quick to give me advise and tips and I heard ‘Git yer heels down!!’ and ‘Shorten yer reins!!’ over and over again. I was trying, but didn’t have the muscle memory down yet.

Over the rest of that year, I entered as many shows as I could and started winning checks—what a great feeling. And Gary continued to encourage me and offer advise, which I appreciated. There are a lot of good trainers in the RSNC association, and each has their way of doing things. Gary’s method, of how the horse should be set up for Sorting, differs somewhat from other trainers. He absolutely believes in this method and it has served him, and his clients, very well over time. I consider him to be a great horseman, totally dedicated to getting a horse right, and I consider him a great friend as well. I’m looking forward to continuing to work with him in the future.”