About Me...
I have always been a horse crazy kid.
All my life I dreamed of horses and
becoming a horse trainer.
I found one of my diaries from when I was a little girl
and all I wrote about was my grandfather’s horses and when he would let me ride.
My grandpa rode and trained horses in the Calvary and was basically pretty hard on
us. But that didn't stop my sister and I. Every summer or spring break we went to
my grandparent's farm and did whatever it took to get to ride. I did that until I
was 16 years old and we were able to go to shows on our own. The first summer, we
borrowed our Grandmother’s car and Grandpa got us a little 2 horse bumper pull and
off we would go. I know I drove my mother crazy.
I studied every article on horse
training I could find. Grandpa introduced me to the "All American Quarter Horse Congress"
where we would go every year and watch western pleasure for hours and hours and big
dreams were planted in my heart.
I trained my own mare, Wat Cha Say Babe, as a 3 year old to qualify for the youth
team for the Congress and the Youth World. I had a lot to learn but we got there
anyway! (By the way, I still have Babe, she helped me get started teaching lessons
and she didn’t retire until age 28)
When I "grew up" (if I ever grew up!) I got into
video production in the hopes of making lots of
money to support my horse habits.
Ha! Instead of money I got an education
Every time we got together, my sister and
brother-
We had no connections with
the major players in the pleasure horse industry and the 1st Edition we had to beg
people to be on the video for free! For the 2nd Edition, Ann Myers, the owner of
the phenomenal, World and Congress Champion, and All-
Producing The Hottest Pleasure Stallion Series enabled me to study on
video most of the major sires that have made of our pleasure horses what they are
today. I studied and studied horses in slow motion, backwards and forwards. Great
horses, such as Potential Investment, Vested Pine, A Sudden Impulse, Chips Hot Chocolate,
Invested Dimensions and Invitation Only to name a few taught me invaluable lessons
in what to look for in a great mover.
In 2001, life threw me some curves (or maybe
I did the throwing) and the road God used to bring me back, led back to my dream
I had as a kid… to train horses. I've taken the lessons I learn daily from my horses,
from my grandfather and the wonderful people who allowed me to learn about their
programs through video production and put together a program to help other "horse
crazy kids" both young and old reach their horse dreams.
I believe the lessons we
learn from our horses and riding, can, when we put thought to it, be lessons learned
to form successful lives. I am currently striving to use these principles in my own
life and working to develop the Spur On Horsemanship program with the goal of sharing
what I have learned from the school of hard knocks to help others.
I currently teach
lessons, train horses, and am still involved in producing some training videos :).
I get to work with some of the best trainers in the world on a project I am partnered
at TheHorseTrainingChannel.com I am blessed with the most wonderful family and friends
and have the two coolest kids, Chelsie and Casey, and the most awesome fiance’ and
his family (who all have to put up with me and my horsey ways) a barn full of special
horses and other horse crazy kids.
Hope to meet you soon, until then, spur on & follow
your heart.
Jen Rohlen
Spur On Farm
www.TheHorseTrainingChannel.com
With my first horse Babe
Me and& my friend “the camera”