Adam got his start in the equine industry after he graduated high school. He’d always been interested in horses, but he’d only ever ridden friends’ horses a handful of times. When he saw an opportunity to work at a performance horse ranch in Oklahoma, he took it. The farm, located just east of Oklahoma City, specializes in reining and cow horses, and Adam knew he’d have to earn the right to work with the horses.

“Once I started at the ranch, I never looked back,” Adam says. “The first few years, I just cleaned stalls and ran equipment. Basically, I did everything but touch a horse.”

The barn utilizes the Downunder Horsemanship Method for putting a foundation on their horses. Adam’s boss recognized Adam’s passion and encouraged him to watch Clinton’s training videos. “He handed me a pile of his old DVDs and told me to learn them by heart. That’s exactly what I did,” Adam says.

He worked with Smokey, a stud colt that had been born at the ranch, to learn the Method and build his horsemanship skills. Smokey was a good-minded colt and the perfect first horse for Adam to work with. “He made it easy for me to learn. I liked how simple the Method was. I didn’t have any horse experience prior to that, but I got results with Smokey. In the training videos, Clinton made it easy to understand and explained why he was doing what he was doing,” Adam says.

Adam taught Smokey the groundwork exercises and eventually put the first ride on him. All the while, he kept studying the Method and honing his skills. His boss noticed and soon he asked Adam to work with more of the ranch’s horses. Before long, Adam was promoted to assistant trainer.

Always eager to better his skill set, Adam enrolled in the Academy and excelled throughout the course. “I’m excited to join an elite group made of individuals who are the best at what they do,” Adam says. “I look forward to helping people get the right start with horses, especially young horsemen. When you have the right knowledge, you can go far.”