I started riding when I was around 15 in beautiful Santa Maria, CA. The first horse I ever had was Arabian/Quarter named Buck, because he could. I had the opportunity to participate in roping and ranch work on a couple of ranches on the Central Coast of California which allowed me to benefit from many of the older cowboys there that use Vaquero style horsemanship. My dad was of course another huge influence, as he also used to train horses when he was younger.
I always dreamt of working with horses, but ended up in the medical field as a Respiratory Therapist. Once I had moved to Flagstaff, AZ in 2005 I pursued my passion for horses. I began training other people’s horses and giving some lessons and knew this was I wanted to do the rest of my life. While there I started training a horse named Hondo with serious behavioral problems and fear, he became my biggest challenge and thus my biggest teacher! As Buck Brannaman stated “Solutions to problems often come from knowing when to ask for help.” And with Hondo I knew I needed help.
My passion and desire to help this horse and others grew even more. I wanted more and more knowledge, I read and watched everything I could, as well as, going to as many seminars as I could from various horsemen. Helping Hondo led me to an incredible trainer named Ned Leigh, I spent time watching his every move, asking about everything I could, and studying his timing. Ned worked with me and helped guide me in my journey of becoming a horse trainer. Watching how he worked with horses and how we could help horses to overcome their fears by building their confidence and trust in us reinforced my passion!
In Aug 2014 I moved to the beautiful Roaring Fork Valley, in Carbondale, Colorado with my wonderful wife Susie and our son Colt. Their love of horses and support for me inspired me even more, and together we started Harris Horsemanship.
The style of training I have created is put together from watching, studying, and learning to understand the horse and what they are telling us, and most importantly having the patience to help them through.
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