“The goal in marriage is not to think alike, but to think together.” It’s almost as if Robert Dodds created this quote with Tim and Shannon Gillespie in mind because it describes their relationship to a tee. The two may not always think exactly alike, but as a team, they achieve great things and are most certainly better together. They share common interests, their strengths are each other’s weaknesses, and in our crazy industry, nothing says “meant to be” more than the common love for horses.
These days, not many know Tim and Shannon Gillespie as individuals. Instead, their names are synonymous with teamwork and the creation of some of the top horses in the APHA and AQHA industries. However, their diverse backgrounds have helped make them the people and trainers they are today and have helped them to be the strong married couple that proudly stands behind Gillespie Show Horses.
Shannon’s Early Years
Formerly Shannon Watters, daughter of Karen Watters, AQHA, APHA, PHBA, and NSBA judge and long time horsewoman, Shannon is a third generation horse enthusiast. Her grandpa has been involved with AQHA for years and is responsible for the rule proposal to add Ranch Riding and Ranch Horse Pleasure as AQHA events 20 years ago.
Having horses in her genetics meant that Shannon, raised in Waterloo, Iowa, was destined to be around horses. “Growing up, my mom had a full-time job but also trained horses part-time on the side. I was always with her at the barn, and I was cleaning stalls and feeding horses by the time I was in third grade.”
Shannon started out competing in all around events and, as she got older, became increasingly more interested in hunter under saddle horses. “In those days, we would get horses off the track and make them into hunt seat horses.”
During her youth career, Shannon amassed several noteworthy accomplishments including a Congress Championship in showmanship, several top ten placings in numerous events at the AQHYA World Show, IQHYA High Points, and served as IQHYA President and a national AQHYA delegate.
Once Shannon moved up into the amateur division, she continued to train and show her own horses as she completed her bachelors degree in business management at the University of Northern Iowa. “I always knew that my life would have horses in it but I valued my college education and decided I wanted to have another job outside of the horse world when I finished college.”
Her career in marketing and pharmaceutical sales kept her occupied after college but she always found time for a project horse that her family bred or purchased. She would train, show, and eventually sell each horse for her family. “I was a typical horse trainer’s child. I never got to keep my horses for very long. Once a horse was far enough along to be marketable, we would usually sell that horse and I would get a new project. In a way, I was being trained to be a horse trainer while being an amateur,” says Shannon.
Along with learning many lessons though experience, Shannon was fortunate to receive training and mentorship from Nancy Sue Ryan and Vicky Holt. “I was always looking up to the greatest in the industry and trying to learn as much as I could. To this day, I know that you can never stop learning and striving to be better.”
Tim’s Early Years
Tim Gillespie grew up just outside of Appleton, Wisconsin in a family of horsemen. His grandfather had been buying and selling horses for as long as he can remember. “He used to buy train loads of horses from out west. There would be 20 or so horses per load and he would buy dozens of loads and bring them back to our ranch.”
Tim has vivid memories of his mother sorting through the herds of horses to sort out which horses were saddle broke and could be ridden and which horses were not broke at all. “She would put the broke horses in one pen and the others in another pen. We could sell the broke horses for more money and it was her job to get the horses that were not broke ready to sell.” Tim was very impressed with his mother’s riding ability and took an immediate interest in riding. He cannot remember a time in his childhood where horses were not at the forefront of his life.
Tim grew up on a property that his parents, along with the help of Bart Starr, former quarterback for the Green Bay Packers, made into a facility for troubled teenagers. “It was a really innovative idea that Bart helped my parents to establish. It was an alternative to a correctional facility with the idea that putting these troubled boys in a ranch setting with horses for them to take care of, groom, learn to ride, and clean their stalls would be rehabilitative and therapeutic and help them to turn their lives around.”
This picturesque 700 plus acre ranch was Disneyland for a child who loved riding horses. He and his cousins would ride their ponies all over the ranch and once the ponies were tired, they would buck the boys off and run back to the barn, only to have the boys chase them on foot, get back on, and head back out on the trails again.
Tim started showing at open shows when he was five after being inspired by a camp counselor from the boy’s ranch who showed appaloosas. Once he started showing, he was immediately hooked. Tim showed at 4-H and local open shows until he acquired his first paint horse on a trade. “My first paint horse that I owned was a horse we had sold to a farm down the road and I wanted him back. Without my parents knowing, I went to the owners and traded my four wheeler to get him back and that’s how I got my first show horse.”
This trade may have been a foreshadow of many successful business endeavors in Tim’s future because Tim and his “four wheeler” horse ended up winning the Paint Horse Congress and many Wisconsin 4-H State Championships.
Tim is quick to acknowledge his incredibly supportive parents who recognized early on that his love for horse showing was more than just a phase. “They bought a motor home and they would take me to shows wherever I wanted to go. I took lessons with local trainers, but eventually, I ended up training with Doug Horton and that is when I started showing on the national level.”
His first banner titles came with a horse named Super Skip Bar, with whom he claimed the number one 14-18 national title and was High Point Amateur at the APHA World Show before selling him to head off to college.
While working on a bachelor’s degree in Social work at the University of Wisconsin, Osh Kosh and working part-time at the boy’s ranch for his parents, Tim was approached in the mall and asked to model for a local modeling agency. “It was very unexpected and, at first, my mom had to push me to do it because she insisted it was worth trying for the money I could potentially make.”
Being discovered in the mall led Tim to a ten-year career in modeling during which he traveled all over Europe, Australia, Africa, and Japan. “During my modeling career, I had young horses in training but I was not getting to ride consistently at all and even though I had a great career, it just felt like something was missing.”
After his modeling hiatus, Tim hurried back onto the horse scene as quickly as he could and focused on buying, training, and selling young western pleasure horses. During his extensive amateur career, Tim amassed countless APHA World Championships, Honor Roll Championships, and NSBA Championships under the guidance of great trainers such as Larry and Rhonda Spratto, Kenny and Ashley Lakins, Julie Burchett and Chad Lindamen, and Rusty Green. Additionally, he credits the Reisingers for setting him up to be a trainer by helping him to learn the business side of the industry.
Coming Together
Tim and Shannon met through a mutual friend while Tim was training with Rusty Green. “Shannon came to the APHA Tulsa March Mania show to see some friends and we met there for the first time,” recalls Tim. At that time, Tim was unaware of how talented of a rider Shannon was and they dated for four months before he ever saw her on the back of a horse. “I guess you could say that seeing how talented she was with the horses sealed the deal.”
Shortly thereafter, the couple was married and the resulting union created a power couple. Along with marriage came project horses, of course. “The first horse I rode that we owned and trained together was a horse named Zippo T Tiger and I won a Reserve World Championship on him in hunter under saddle before we sold him,” says Shannon.
After that, Tim and Shannon started buying, training, and selling horses as a team on a regular basis. Another standout horse that the dynamic duo acquired was “Ultimate Bonanza,” who eventually went on to be one of the most accomplished hunter under saddle horses in APHA history. “When we found him, he was in a pasture, was very overweight, and did not look like the champion he turned out to be,” says Tim. Together, they trained him and Shannon showed him in the all-around events and won a unanimous World Championship in Hunter Under Saddle before they sold him.
Becoming Trainers
Things were going very well for Tim and Shannon showing together as amateurs and buying and selling horses. “We were planning to continue and then the economy crashed and horses weren’t selling as easily as they were before,” says Tim.
Another factor that played into turning in their amateur cards was the fact that they wanted to continue to train the horses that they were selling to people. “We sold horses to people and we always wished that we could help them with our horses,” says Shannon. Eventually, Tim and Shannon decided they would take their partnership to the next level and established Gillespie Show Horses in 2007.
Together, they have established a program that combines their strengths to give customers and their horses a comprehensive training program. “With our diverse backgrounds, we are able to cover a wide range of events and accommodate many different kinds of horses and riders,” says Shannon.
They are both extremely driven and committed to the common goal of turning out great-legged western pleasure, hunt seat, and all around horses with extreme attention to detail and exceptional customer service. “We always want to keep the customers and the horses happy. We were amateurs for many years and we know what we wanted as clients from our trainers and I think that has helped us to be more attentive to our client’s needs as trainers,” says Tim.
Even though Tim and Shannon are together 24/7, they would not have it any other way since they are doing what they love with the person they love. “I think that our business has made us closer. Since we are opposite in many ways, we are able to nurture each other’s strengths and pick up the slack with each other’s weaknesses,” says Shannon. Tim and Shannon admittedly have different riding and teaching styles, however, because of this, they are able to accommodate a wide range of rider’s learning styles and also train a lot of different types of horses. “We have really learned how to work together to accomplish tasks and we are definitely better together,” says Tim.
The Horses that Made Them
Tim and Shannon’s featured horse list reads like a wall in a sports hall of fame. Their first major title winner was Prettie Vegas. An AQHA/APHA mare and multiple winner of Congress Championships and APHA World Championships in hunter under saddle. Prettie Vegas success was such a huge affirmation for us during our first year as trainers. She really helped us to feel confident that we had made the right decision and validated our program,” says Shannon.
When asked to pick a few of the most influential horses in his career, Tim chose, Zips Heaven Sent, Zipped From the Heart, and Too Sleepy for Candy (Pictured right). APHA stallion, Zips Heaven Sent was the stallion that propelled the Gillespie’s early career. “Almost all of the horses we trained and rode when we were first establishing our business were by Zips Heaven Sent. He produced multiple World Champions in many different events as well as being a top show horse in his own right,” says Tim.
Zipped From the Heart was a stellar pleasure horse that won many major APHA and NSBA Western Pleasure titles including multiple World Championships before becoming one of the highest scoring western riders in APHA history.
Too Sleepy for Candy was a multiple APHA World Champion in pleasure and also produced some of the top young horses the Gillespie’s are campaigning today.
Shannon had an equally difficult time narrowing down her list of influential horses. One of her top choices is Seems Like Heaven, a ten-year-old APHA gelding by Zips Heaven Sent who has been in their program since he was a yearling. Despite his multiple World and High Point titles, his quirky personality and immense amount of talent stands out among the rest. “He is a once-in-a-lifetime horse and he has taught me just as much as I have taught him,” says Shannon.
A Good Intention (pictured left), a multiple APHA World Champion in western pleasure is another horse that stands out among the many great horses they have been lucky enough to have in their program. “We got him in our barn as a two-year-old and even though he could be difficult at times, he turned into one of the best pleasure horses I have ever been lucky enough to ride. At the beginning, he wasn’t always predictable but he ended up being so much fun to show and he always gave the best rides when it mattered the most.”
Finally, BMQ The Jig is Up, an AQHA/APHA gelding with Congress and APHA World Championships in hunter under saddle has not only been a force to be reckoned with in the hunter under saddle, Shannon has also been able to make this 17.2 hand giant into an incredible all around horse who seems to get better every year.
The Stallions and Future Winners
Currently, the Gillespie’s are campaigning three stallions and not only are they all successful show horses, they are elated to have their offspring be the future of their program. On the western side, APHA World Champion, Lazy Luvah (pictured right), a 2011 bay roan overo (Lazy Loper x Luv Me Good) is being shown by Shannon in western riding and in his first two foal crops, he is a hundred percent color and roan producer.
On the hunt seat side, the newest addition to the program is Ultimately Fabulous, a seven-year-old AQHA stallion (Fabuluke x Ultimate Invitation). He was unshown due to an injury he sustained as a young horse, but in the past year he has started his show career and has proven to be a stellar performer. “He is very quiet and takes it all in stride,” says Shannon. He will be shown at the Congress in the green, senior, and maturity hunter under saddle events with Shannon in the irons.
Last year’s standout APHA Hunter Under Saddle stallion, “The Wow Factor,” a four-year-old 18 hand bay overo (All Time Fancy x MemoForEmma TB) was Reserve at the Congress last year in the Limited Open Three-Year-Old Hunter Under Saddle as well as unanimous APHA World Champion in every hunter under saddle class entered at least year’s World Show. This year, he will show at the APHA World Show in Amateur and Junior Hunter Under Saddle and Pleasure Driving.
Preparing for the Congress and World Show
For many, showing horses at two major events back-to-back with two sets of horses would seem like an insurmountable task. However, the Gillespie’s prepare and train for these major events all year. “We have eight horses showing at the Congress and 16 showing at the APHA World Show with one day in between the two shows,” explains Shannon.
Although the to-do list is long and can seem daunting, keeping a consistent program throughout the year to make sure they have a plan for each horse and rider team is a quintessential part of their success. Along with assistant trainer, Morgan Ilic, and associate, Dustin Eickenhorst (pictured left), they make a game plan, communicate with one another, and are sure to stay hyper-organized. “Communication is key and each member of the team makes sure to keep everyone in the know so we can make sure everything gets done both individually and as a team,” says Shannon.
In addition to a stellar line-up of accomplished youth and amateur competitors slated to show at both the Congress and APHA World Show, perhaps the most noteworthy night during the next few weeks will be the night of the Masters Western Pleasure and Hunter Under Saddle classes in which 
Shannon will show Line Up for Candy (VS Flatline x Too Sleepy for Candy) in the western pleasure portion of the class and Fancy N My Stilettos (a full sibling to The Wow Factor-pictured right) in the hunter under saddle portion of the class.
With the culmination of hours spent in the barn and dedication to every customer and horse, Gillespie Show Horses is ready to take on the biggest events of the year. “To say we are proud of our horses, youth, and amateur competitors is an understatement. Every year, our customers and horses surpass our goals and expectations,” says Shannon.
Win, lose, or draw, The Gillespie’s are grateful and humbled by all of the success that they have achieved both individually and as a team and look forward to each and every day doing what they love and chasing dreams together.
CLICK HERE to view their ads in the Congress issue of GoMag and view some of the horses they are showing at the Congress and APHA World Show.
Photos courtesy of Gillespie’s, Karen Watters, KC Montgomery, Shane Rux, Terri Cage
