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, and she didn’t retire until age 28 from
teaching lessons!)
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 and sell horses, and am still involved in
producing some training videos :). I am blessed with the most wonderful family and
friends and have the two coolest kids, Chelsie and Casey, and the most awesome boyfriend
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.HorseTrainingJournal.com
