In this episode, the cowboys share their experiences as trainers, judges, teachers, monitors, venue producers, and more. They’ll tell us what spurred the idea behind this podcast and what you can expect from conversations and episodes moving forward.
Moderator Chelsea Sutton of the ConsultMent Agency asks questions so you can get to know the cowboys behind Cowboy Office. Topics range from Reining to Quarter Horses, novice riders to world champions and everything in between.
“We’re trying to do too much with the same people on the same day [at our horse shows].” – Brian Dygert.
The last 5 years of western horse showing has brought massive evolution. We’ve seen the creation of events like the Run for A Million and American Professional Horseman from Teton Ridge and expansion in the development of new shows. Additionally, the growth of established shows is evident through stalls and entries. In some ways we are growing. However, in many others we are not.
This episode explores questions like: Is horse show activity ready for modification? Do sports like reining, cutting, reined cow horse, and ranch riding need to develop a fan-based approach? Does subjective scoring hold our sports back? Is it time for our national organizations to collaborate again? Breed shows like the American Quarter Horse Association and American Paint Horse Association, discipline-specific shows like the NRHA Derby, NRHA Futurity, and emerging segments like ranch riding are all faced with these questions.
Brian and Jody will debate the issues and share statistics that shed light on ideas and possible solutions. They also discuss the differences between the working western horse show industry and other prominent sports like rodeo, golf, and basketball. Using comparisons of professional leagues like NFR, NFL, NBA, and PGA, they’ll discuss challenges that horse shows face.
Chelsea Sutton moderates this conversation.
Website: CowboyOffice.com
Facebook: @cowboyofficeshow
Instagram: @cowboyofficeshow
LinkedIn: cowboy-office
TikTok: @cowboyofficeshow
Email: Brian@CowboyOffice.com
American Horse Council: https://horsecouncil.org/
Production, marketing, and moderating by ConsultMent.Agency
Episode 37
The NRHA has 40 rule proposals on the table for 2026. We review and discuss each rule and explore the effects for the sport and association.
Episode 36 The Arabian Working Western Alliance. AWWA.
The newest challenge to the working western horse in a competitive arena. Amateurs are the highlight as well as the skills of a western horse put together in a challenging format that is more than Ranch Riding.
Episode 35 Jim Kiser from Kiser Arenas.
The Man in the Arena. He is riding forward as he shares how to measure, test and manage our performance ground to keep horses sound, performing higher and producing our events better. Join us for a great discussion.
2024 Open Reining Champion. Kaci O”Rourke and The Fireman make history as the 1st woman to win this prestigious event.
We review the event and provide data and analytics for the officiating performance relative to the professional talent displayed.
Episode 34 has an epic discussion around the common issues and scenarios in the industry. Race horses or high performance horses, change the names, venues and towns as the story may be very similar. From medications performance enhancing drugs, government regulations and the bond between horse and human along with what competition will do to human behavior. Join us for a great conversation.
Episode 33 has the #2 Open Rider from All Time in Reining, Shawn Flarida as he shares his insights, forward thinking and lessons learned from one of his Great Horses, Spooks Gotta Whiz and the dynamic event, The Run for the Million in Vegas.
Selecting a horse for the TRFM Finals, preparing your horse along with lessons learned from this ride as the sport continues to evolve. Shawn has qualified and been in every TRFM Finals to date. What event is the SuperBowl of Reining?
1 Rider: 1 Horse competition as opposed to 1 Rider: 3 Horses in open aged events; we discuss along with the open leveling for riders. Is there a difference between L3 & L4 ?
