A solid foundation is necessary to have a successful barrel horse. Leslie is our trainer at Valentine Farm and she will ensure your horse is thoroughly trained on the basics before it starts working the pattern if it does not yet have the fundamentals required for the job. She wants to have full control of the horse's body before they ever see a barrel. This means she has all the forward gears, whoa, reverse, lateral moves and control of the shoulders and hips. This foundation is important to have throughout the initial patterning and throughout the horse's entire career to fall back upon when tune-ups or adjustments are made. Horses trained by Leslie are started correct so they can go on and have a long and successful barrel career.

If it becomes apparent that a horse is not a good candidate for the barrels then the foundation that has been put on them will still allow them to excel in whatever discipline best suits the horse--Leslie does not blow up her horses by putting too much pressure on them. It is very important to her that her trainees love what they do to ensure a long and lasting partnership with their owners. If you are just wanting a horse with a great handle and no barrel training she is happy to provide that also. A well trained horse is a pleasure to ride.

We welcome visits from our owners at any time while your horse is in our care--our horses in for training are treated the same as our own which means lots of good care and riding 5-6 days a week. We have a wonderful arena and roundpen with excellent footing and fields and trails to keep your horse's brain happy and fresh.

Examples of our training

Trained by Valentine Farm