CARDSTON, Alta. – When Bonnie Becker accepts students at her horse training school, they not only learn how to ride a horse, they learn how to clean up after it.
A serious rider since she was 12, Becker is one of the few women horse trainers in a world of men.
She sets aside her enthusiasm for reining horses and competitions to offer clinics, workshops and lengthier sessions of up to six months on how to train horses.
Becker has been giving riding lessons since she was 16 and started coaching riders at 18. After working in Saskatchewan and the United States she set up a school at the Cardston Agri-dome last June.
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Inquiries are already in from the three western pro-vinces, Montana and Wyoming for the next session starting in November and she has a waiting list of people who want their horses trained at the school.
Striding through the arena at Cardston and checking stalls, the 32-year-old explains that at this school a student’s day starts no later than 8 a.m. and it continues until the work is done.
She specializes in training show horses and teaching people how to get ready for shows. Part of the program is to ensure the horses have a long, productive life by receiving proper care and humane treatment.
“My training method is slow, steady and gentle. My horses last a long time,” she said.
Horses receive top quality feed three times a day and the students must realize their first priority is working with the animals. Within a short time most students are showing promise.
“I couldn’t believe how much my students improved in one month,” she said.
Becker offers individual instruction because every student’s level of achievement and experience varies.
Learn every aspect
People are there to learn to train horses and they must do everything a fully qualified trainer does. That includes mucking out stalls as well as intensive riding for at least four hours per day. Students learn stable management, care of the horse and how to deal with customers.
When an owner comes to pick up a horse or brings a prospective horse buyer, the student has to show what the horse can do and explain its level of training.
Becker said it takes years to learn to do this well. A six month course is just the beginning.
She learned through lessons, experience and self study.
Training for shows starts when horses are two years old. Some horses are talented and clever and some are not. The less intelligent ones require more training, patience and consistency from the trainer.
Most of her students are women, who accept instruction more readily than men, Becker said.
Students often bring their own horses, but get an opportunity to work with a variety of animals to see how they handle and learn what is needed to train every type of horse.
