Assistant trainers often endure long hours, hard physical labor and often have to do some jobs that most people would rather pass on. Five or ten years ago, an assistant trainer position was generally a stepping stone that one used to graduate into their own business.
Today, that may still be the case, but it has also evolved into a career of its own. In some cases, being an assistant trainer can be a dependable income in which a person can establish themselves without having to maintain their own business.
However, a good assistant trainer can be the essential key to having a successful program, especially when working in this weird October game of Survivor, called the America Quarter Horse Congress.
The Congress, being the oversized circus that it is, can be hectic and fast paced. Assistant trainers, Chris Holbin and Adam Mathis probably know this more than anyone.
Chris Holbin of Circle S Ranch
A resident of Scottsdale, Arizona, Chris Holbin has been working as an assistant trainer for Jim and Deanna Searles at Circle S Ranch for almost three years. Chris, at one time, had his own business training horses after years of being an assistant trainer to some of the top in the industry such as Rick Leek, Tommy Sheets and Gordie Wadds. However, he noticed how the industry was changing and decided he wanted more from his career. Therefore, he pursued his opportunity to work for the Searles.
Holbin started in horses as a very young child. He happily remembers, “My mom bought me a really raunchy pony. I got bucked off it every day.”
At ten years old, he began his first equine paying job by accident. Being a cute little kid at a horse sale, he was thrown on a horse to ride it around and increase the bid. Someone handed him $20 for doing so, and he was hooked, riding anywhere from seven to ten head a sale.
As a youth, Holbin showed halter with Rick Leek earning Top 10 placings at the Congress. “For years, nobody knew I could ride,” Holbin chuckles. After graduating high school, Chris went to work for Tommy Sheets and Gordie Wadds, learning the western pleasure and all around events. Several years later he opened Chris Holbin Show Horses specializing in Quarter Horses and Paints until 2013 when he accepted a position at Circle S Ranch.
Circle S Ranch and its employees work as a team and being at the Congress is not any different. “We all get up around 4:30 or 5:00am and try to get as many as we can into the Coliseum or wherever. There are enough of us that the work gets done efficiently,” describes Holbin. “After that, there is feeding, longing and of course the hot walker. Our routine rarely changes.”
On show day, Chris prepares thoroughly. “I watch the time and the weather. You have to know your horse and adjust to those two things to be ready on point. You want to prepare but not over prepare or under prepare. You want your horse tired but not overtired. You have to have done your homework before you even get here.”
On Tuesday, Holbin showed VS Game Changer owned by Katherine Tobin to a 12th place win in the Green Western Riding out of 67 shown.
Despite his extensive experience as a professional, Holbin admits he still gets a little nervous before entering the show pen; “I just want to succeed,” he states. He doesn’t have any rituals or routines but he does admit, “I pace. I pace before every class, every show. It drives everybody crazy. I treat every class, every show like it is the Congress and vice versa.”
Being an assistant trainer to Holbin means being part of a team. “Nowadays, people aren’t just hiring warm bodies. They are looking for capable horse trainers. It is not like it used to be. They want someone who is successful on their own and can be an asset to their program. It has to be the right fit and everybody has their role.”
As for aspiring assistant trainers, Holbin suggests that students have a goal to aspire to and begin building a resume of distinction. He comments, “Go to work. Start at the bottom. Talk to everyone. Be humble and don’t be too anxious to go out on your own too early.”
He also stresses the need to remember it is a customer service business and seems to be evolving more and more that way. With the rise in Select Amateur class numbers, it suggests that customers want to ride and show their own horses now, not just own one and watch a trainer compete.
Holbin notes, “Keep customers happy. They have to have a good time. This is their expendable income to enjoy. A wise man once told me, ‘it’s a people business and the horses are just a part of it’, I live by that.”
Adam Mathis with Gil Galyean Quarter Horses
Up-and-coming assistant trainer Adam Mathis, a native of South Carolina, works for Gil Galyean Quarter Horses in Purcell, Oklahoma. He has future goals of one day returning to his home state of South Carolina to open Adam Mathis Quarter Horses, on his family’s land. But for now, Mathis is soaking up as much knowledge as he can from one of the top programs in the country.
On Friday, October 21st, Adam was Reserve Congress Champion in the Limited Open Maturity Western Pleasure with Sleep Machine owned by William Cox (pictured below right).
Congress for the Galyean team means really early mornings and late nights. Mathis describes, “When we have to show, we pay careful attention to the riding schedule. Most nights, we are on horseback by 3:00 or 3:30am. We get the stock in the pen, come back, try to get an hour of sleep and back at it.”
Despite the crazy hours or grueling schedule, Adam always tries to not get too stressed out, “I put my heart into everything I do.”
But being so dedicated can come with a price when the pressure of showing at a big show like the Congress is added. Adam explains, “I try not to let my emotions get to me. I try to be as objective as possible. I try to do what needs to be done to get the job done.”
Growing up in Bishopville, South Carolina, Mathis started showing at seven years old and had begun riding before he could walk. When he was a young teen, he was under the guidance of mentor Jody Capps of Capps Performance Horses. Adam recalls, “He was like a second father to me. He taught me how to use my head. He taught me how to make a thought process in what I was doing and to trust my feel.”
Two days after his high school graduation, Adam went to work for Shane Pope Quarter Horses in Ocala, Florida. “Shane put me through boot camp,” Adam recollects fondly. “I interned for free for a year, and I was given a truck to drive, but I had to sleep on a wicker love seat with no pillows for three months. I guess I was doing good because one day he came in and said, ‘It’s time we buy you a bed’.” He laughs, “I went right out and bought pillows, and he got mad.”
Part of the fatherly torture that Adam had to endure was to ensure he was dedicated and not going to give up when things were hard. This grit Adam developed was likely one of the things that created the opportunity for him to obtain a position as assistant trainer with Gil Galyean. “Gil gives you freedom of thought. If you’re doing something with a colt that works, that’s great. If not, you have to figure it out. He allows you to develop your own style.”
Although still young himself, Mathis does have some advice to young assistants. “Be ready to bust your tail. Go the extra mile. So many people don’t want to do the dirty work. If you have to load bales, load bales; or clean stalls, just clean stalls. So few people are truly committed anymore. They just want to ride,” Mathis passionately expresses. “There is no task you are too good for. Don’t be scared to fail; you can learn from your mistakes.”
Watch this short interview with Adam Mathis at the Congress below.
