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Student Stories – April 2024 Certification Class

We are so excited for the upcoming John & Josh Lyons Certification class at Boon Ranch starting April 29, 2024! Our group is full and it is a very diverse class.  Take a minute to meet our new crop of students, learn about their history, favorite horses and future goals. We are proud to welcome this group to the Lyons Legacy Family!

Teresa Speer

 
I am currently a part time horse trainer and want to be able to launch my horse training career into full time. I currently race with the BBR and was going to go to the World Finals, however I was afforded the wonderful opportunity of coming to the Certification class! I currently have my degree in Equine Science in Training, however, I chose Lyons Legacy to further my career in training for several reasons. The school I attended did not teach us how to start a colt and even though I have been successful, I want to learn how to be more efficient. I believe foundation and horsemanship are the fundamentals of creating a great horse. My friend Alisha Anderson went to the Accreditation class and told me how fantastic the school was. Trusting my friend having first hand experience, I wanted to experience it for myself. And last but not least who is my favorite horse? Well that is a difficult question. I have several that I love: Bee, my finished barrel horse, is one in a million. She is blind in one eye, but yet she gets the job done with ease. You can throw a kid or inexperienced person on her and she goes down to their level, it’s an amazing sight to witness. Then there is Athena, who is my up and coming barrel horse. This horse is flat outright amazing when it comes to athleticism. I started her in December on the barrel and pole pattern and she has already won $1000 with limited races. She has surpassed Bee in speed and she is still just on cruise control! Then there is Moonshine, who I am bringing to the program. This horse is 3 and acts as if she is 15; after 30 days of training I was able to shoot a gun off her back! So with that being said that is a loaded question on who is my favorite horse, because quite frankly I love most horses!
 

Alisha Anderson

 
Hey! My future plans are to sell horses that I’ve trained through my program that are consistent, reliable, and enjoyable rope horses. I chose Lyons Legacy again because the Accreditation program was amazing! In the last 6 months, I’ve been able to use the methods I learned with Josh to better riders of all backgrounds. His methods are efficient and they work. I have been providing private lessons and plan to continue offering private lessons and clinics in the future.
My favorite horse is by far SoCo. Yes, she’s named after Southern Comfort! I got her as a halter broke 2 yr old and she’s been through so much with me while I’ve learned along the way. She’s my travel companion and my test dummy for every crazy idea of mine. I’m excited to attend Certification this year and I can’t wait to meet you all!

Chance Sexton

Hello! I have a western background, but I work with a couple of horses of different disciplines at my current job and really enjoy it. I plan to eventually be able to sell reliable and trustworthy trail and pleasure horses. I chose Lyons legacy to learn more methods that can be applied to many disciplines and have enjoyable trail horses regardless of background. Pic of my favorite, my boss’s Tennessee walking horse Scooter and I.

Justyn La Manna

My future plans for my horse career are to be able to support myself through horsemanship, while helping “problem horses” and getting young horses started out on the right foot. I chose Lyons Legacy because I have always felt behind in my horsemanship journey and felt as though having time to focus solely on horses with a talented mentor is just what I need. Lastly my favorite horse is a gelding named Duncan that I have lessoned on for a couple of years and have been taking care of at my current job helping to manage a lesson facility.

Liam Burnside

I chose Lyons Legacy for my training because I previously studied under one of John Lyon’s students from back in the day and he spoke very highly of John and Josh. I hope that this program equips me with the tools to create my own successful business.
I work part time as a horse trainer now and volunteer often with a non-profit for veterans doing equine therapy (among other things). My plan for my future is to be able to support myself full time with horse training and eventually to start my own non-profit to support veterans through horsemanship. My favorite horse right now that I’m working with is a nervous nelly named Noah. He’s my friend’s horse and a big ball of nerves, but he’s such a smart and emotive horse once you can get his head.

Ava Scovel

I know I want to do something with horses, and I think I might like to be a trainer and a clinician because I like teaching people and horses. I’m hoping this course will help me decide what I’m going to do in the horse industry. I had a great experience riding in a Josh Lyons clinic last summer, and Josh’s methods were really effective on my horse. He really helped me understand why we were using the techniques he was teaching. Josh made training a horse seem like a piece of cake! Chloe is my favorite horse! She is a 21 year old buckskin Foundation Quarter Horse. I can count on Chloe to take care of me in the arena, in the show pen, or on the trails. She’s patient with me while I learn new things, but she constantly challenges me to be a better rider.

Katie Oakland

 
Hi everyone! I am lucky enough to be involved with horses in various aspects of my life ❤️. I grew up showing horses, however we have switched over to the rodeo world following our kiddos and their dreams. My family (husband & 3 kiddos) and I house a therapeutic riding and Equine Assisted Services center on our farm. I am a certified therapeutic riding instructor for TR 4 Heart and Soul. I also teach Equine Studies courses at the Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College. My future plans are to help build solid performance horses with my family, and encourage the highest level of horsemanship possible for our Equine Assisted Services participants and our Equine Studies students. After riding with Josh at a clinic, it was clear that the Lyons program encompasses the highest level of values and horsemanship, and it will benefit our programs to become a mentor and incorporate the principles of Lyons Legacy into our programming. My favorite horse… such a tough question… I would have to say Eva.

James Stephens

https://southerncrossrvpark.com/

I grew up on a cattle ranch in which we used horses as a tool on the ranch. I had an opportunity to join the military which changed my path for a 31 year career but all circles return to where I started. My wife and I own Southern Cross Ranch and have a small herd of horses we breed and train. Our family have always had horses and now I have the means and time to develop the knowledge I feel that true horsemanship requires.  Josh Lyons  and Lyons Legacy are renowned in this area so I hoped to be able to develop this knowledge through participation in their program. My favorite horse is the horse in my picture – a buckskin named Vaquero.

Lori Nelson

www.nhsc.edu/equine 
NHSC Equine Studies and Ag-tivities

I currently teach equine courses (Equine Nutrition, Equine Care & Management) at Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College, a tribal college in North Dakota. Our coursework also includes Equine Assisted Services, in which we integrate trauma-informed principles along with culture and relational horsemanship. I have shown horses in my younger days but now focus on barrel racing at rodeos and ranching with my husband. I would like to improve my horsemanship and training skills to improve my own training/performance program and to better prepare students for the real-world and integrate higher level horsemanship into our program. I have chosen Lyons Legacy because Josh is an amazing teacher and we value him for his strong faith and ethical principles. Not only is he talented at teaching advanced skills, he is able to break down things down and explain in simple steps. He does a fantastic job at balancing communication and relationship with horses with practical coaching/teaching lessons to our horses with high level results. My favorite horse is my current horse that I compete on, Fame. 

Paul Wilcock

Hazel Croft Farm

My future plans for my horse career are to train my own horses, maybe I will rescue and train a mustang or two. I want to be a resource for my local equine community. I think it all depends on how much I enjoy training horses! Possibly offer some training of other’s horses as well. I chose Lyons Legacy because honestly, it was the first one I saw that accepted the GI Bill. Then I asked around to some of my horse mentor people and they all said John Lyons has been recognized as a great horse trainer for many years. Although only a few people knew of Josh, they all said it was a great opportunity for some great experience. So I watched a bunch of YouTube videos of Josh, called the school and got enrolled! My favorite horse…. he recently had to be put down. His name was Two-Bit, he was a 12 yo grade horse that didn’t love people but was a stellar horse. He and I had an amazing bond. So, now, I would say Hunter, my coming 4 yo AQHA gelding. He has a great mind and wants to learn which makes him pretty easy to train.  

Earn Your Lyons Legacy Certificate

2024 classes at our Colorado campus are still available and accepting registration! The John & Josh Lyons Certification Program dates are August 5th – September 13th – this program focuses on starting horses under saddle. The Josh Lyons Accreditation Program dates are August 19th – September 27th – this program focuses on finishing work and higher level performance concepts. Register Now and start living your dream!