Tom:

Tom graduated from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls with a bachelor’s degree in Animal Science in 1978.  While attending college, he interned for Jack Brainard in Rochester, MN and showed his first reining horse, Spanish Lace I.  This mare was responsible for Tom's lifelong interest in reining horses. 

He owned and operated Pierson Performance Horses from 1981 to 1995, and helped teach the colt training class for ten years at UWRF as the horse herdsman.

In 1995, he moved to Michigan and began training at Cold Spring Farm in Maple City with the chance to start a number of reining-bred two year olds. Tom has started eight NRHA futurity finalists, showing two of them.

In 2008, Tom moved his business to Windy Ridge Farm in South Boardman with plans to expand.  He hired Rachel as assistant trainer and they began giving more clinics and lessons. 

Wintering in Arizona has been a huge asset to the business, offering an extended show season and a chance to train outside year-round. 

 

Rachel:

From 2000-2006, Rachel worked for the Birchwood Farm Equestrian Center in Harbor Springs, MI.  She learned about the training, showing and management of a diverse group of horses.

Rachel graduated from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls with a bachelor's degree in Animal Science in 2008 and immediately went to work for Tom.  She planned to help him expand his business and had ideas for growth.

In 2009, Tom and Rachel began filming training DVDs with the help of Imageworks, Ltd.  The opportunity to film a TV show for HRTV came about, and the first season aired in the summer of 2010. 

In 2010, Rachel qualified Solar Electric for the AQHA World Championship Show in Scottsdale, AZ and made the finals in Oklahoma City, placing 11th.

 

 

The goal of their training program is to simply bring out the best in any horse.  With an emphasis on a good foundation, they start a variety of horses, and enjoy the process of taking reining horses all the way to the show pen.  In 2009, Rachel won the MRHA reining futurity on Jac It Up A Step, and in 2010, Tom won it on I'm A Yankee Chic.  Both horses were a testament to the effectiveness of their training program.