Who would have thought, in a country barely the size of New Jersey and located in the Middle East, that there is a flourishing performance horse scene that even includes a cutting group which shows five times a year?
Sarig Brosh has been training horses for over 20 years. His student, Yafit Junker, has been riding horses for six years.
“I took my first riding lesson six years ago, and about a year later I was brought to Brosh to make him laugh….I find cutting as addictive and progressive. I started with a frequency of once a week and very soon it became my everyday routine,” Junker said.
Junker purchased a horse and very soon one horse turned into three and now Junker is a lifer in all things horses and a cutter to boot.
Her trainer Brosh spent two years in the United States learning about training horses. One year of that was spent breaking colts and roping, and another year learning to train cutting horses from Terry Harlen from Texas.
From Overbook, Oklahoma, James Payne has been operating his ranch and training for the public out of his own facility since 2008. After a long line of training reining horses for Dick Piper, he eventually fell in love with the cutting industry with the help of the Pipers and the spectacular horse Playgun!
Payne’s persistent attitude is what drives him to continue his hard work ethic in the pen. No-one would ride more horses every day than this gritty trainer. His primary training philosophy is to, “Be there everyday and grind, with a lot of repetition,”.
This is evident in his impressive results. James has been a multi NCHA Futurity Finalist, as well the 2012 NCHA Super Stakes Reserve Champion, the 2012 and 2014 NCHA Summer Spectacular Classic Champion, 2018 NCHA Summer Spectacular Open Classic CHAMPION riding PG Heavily Armed and the 2018 NCHA OPEN WORLD FINALS AGGREGATE CHAMPION on PG HEAVILY ARMED, to name some of many titles. Keep on Reading!
Eight-million-dollar trainer Matt Gaines is a big believer in coaching. It’s why he and other leading trainers go to each other’s ranches to work horses: to learn from each other and pick up on things they may not be seeing or feeling themselves.
In fact, our featured trainers make use of CHTO videos to keep abreast of what other trainers are doing, so they are not left behind and to help stay competitive. It’s also why he likes to give clinics. Simply put, coaching produces success!
It’s why all professional sports have coaches as Gaines has repeatedly pointed out, cutting is no different.
“I can look back over my career and there has been numerous times when I have felt out of sync or my own program doesn’t feel right. I will call people who I know share the same theory of cutting and same basis of the program,” Matt explained.He tells how his experience with contacting other trainers, such as Paul Hansma or John Mitchell, in times of need has helped him realize the small training habits that may need to be tweaked. In Gaines opinion, that one adjustment can be the catalyst for lots of improvements to come. Keep on Reading!
Being judged is always emotional, even when you choose to be judged in the name of competition. Subjective sports are often rife with controversy, because let’s face it, everyone has an opinion. Cutting is no exception.
Judging only works when there is a clearly understood system governed by rules, enacted by experts, and most importantly, is delivered consistently. You could say, this has been the overriding mission of Russell McCord for more than 30 years!
You thought you were involved in the horse industry? It seems the Federal Government may actually define you as a commercial truck driver.
According to the Commercial Drivers License law written in 1986, anyone driving a vehicle weighing 26,001 pounds and above is required to carry a CDL whether it’s for recreational or agricultural purposes. So you might have to go sit for your commercial license test just to haul your horses to a show!
Protect The Harvest Representative, Shawn Burtenshaw
Shawn Burtenshaw, a Representative for Protect the Harvest, explains how the CDL law requirements plus a 2012 Electronic Logging Device (ELD) Mandate could affect how you travel, but is here to educate and help you!
“The law that was implemented [in 2012], which would be referred to as the ‘ELD Mandate,’ is an electronic device put in your vehicle to monitor your drive times between point A and point B and throughout the day,” Burtenshaw said. “So if you’re in a pickup and horse trailer traveling, hauling horses to shows it’s your business… it puts you as a commercial driver to where you’d have to have an electronic logging device in your pickup to haul your horses to shows.”
SO not only would you be required to carry a commercial drivers license, but you would also be required to log your trips and abide by ELD rules. However, advancements in vehicles and the hauling industry have changed vastly since these were written, creating a few complicated issues.
“The problem is this law was written in 1986, when a one-ton pickup was 8600 pounds,” Burtenshaw said. “It was never intended to umbrella over pickups and trailers but today when this is enforced through, the ELD really brought attention to these weights because the law is still at 26,001 pounds; which in 1986 was a Class 7 truck, today it’s a pickup. Gross vehicle weight ratings since 1986 to 2018 have increased 60% but the law stayed the same so that’s where people get caught in it with a pickup and horse truck.”
Adding to the complexity are states that have different regulations and classifications of a CDL, where in some states it’s a simple process, while in others it is extremely difficult.
“We’d like to see that not happen because these people are not commercial drivers, they’re horse trainers, they’re rodeo cowboys, they’re ranchers, they’re farmers, they’re not a commercial driver,” Burtenshaw said. “So why should they need to go get a CDL and be monitored the same as a over-the-road truck driver when they’re just driving their horse to a horse show?”
Another issue that will place an onerous burden on drivers is the tracking and monitoring that o
Electronic Logging Devices (above) required for commercial drivers to log all stops and track drive times, and requires breaks after certain amounts of driving.
ccurs with the electronic logging device.
“It is extreme inconvenience,” Burtenshaw said. “It becomes a personal issue of privacy to tell you the truth, I don’t want to be monitored how fast I’m going, where I’ve stopped, how long I’ve stopped. I don’t want to be told when I need to stop and use the restroom, I don’t need to be told when I need to stop and eat, I don’t need to be told when I stop and sleep. The hours of service that you have to comply by when you have an electronic logging device in your pickup and you have live animals on your trailer, you can’t stop for ten hours consecutively, you have to keep going.”
From December of 2017, there is a 12-month exemption to the rule for agriculture when live animals are being transported.
“So that means that hopefully within the coming year that maybe different hours of service can be written,” Burtenshaw said. “These laws need review because it’s not 1986 anymore. The biggest thing I’m trying to do right now at Protect The Harvest are get people engaged and get them educated to where they’re going to fall in this mandate or these CDL requirements, what classifies them as a commercial motor vehicle.”
On the Protect The Harvest website it also states that a “Not For Hire” sign on your rig will not protect you if it is determined that your truck and trailer fit into the commercial category or are being used for commercial purposes. Nor will it protect you if you are driving a vehicle and trailer that requires a commercial license. The law also affects young drivers and will put the brakes on anyone under 18 hauling a horse or anyone under 21 crossing state lines to go a rodeo or show.
“To be intrastate (within your state) you have to be 18 years-old to get a commercial drivers license and to go interstate (to cross state lines) you have to be 21 years old. 87% of the college rodeo kids are under the age of 21 and every college rodeo around the United States kids have to cross across state lines,” he said.
If the mandate alarms you, Burtneshaw said go to protecttheharvest.com and read the highlighted version of the 200 page mandate, which has been narrowed down to the key points. Another suggestion is to spread the word and lobby your local representatives.
“Call your congressman, get a hold of your senator, get everybody in government whose connected to you, because those government officials work for you,” Burtenshaw said. “Let them know where you stand on these issues, let them know that these need review. The more people who write their letters, call their representatives, make some noise about it to get this changed.”
“It’s laws like this that keep restricting our industry. Usually it happens and nobody knew about this..well we’re gonna tell you right now it’s happening,” Burtenshaw said. “Please take action, get involved, become engaged, voice your opinion, and help us move forward with getting this rewritten.”
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From Overbook, Oklahoma, James Payne has been operating his ranch and training for the public out of his own facility since 2008. After a long line of training reining horses for Dick Piper, he eventually fell in love with the cutting industry with the help of the Pipers and the spectacular horse Playgun!
Eight-million-dollar trainer Matt Gaines is a big believer in coaching. It’s why he and other leading trainers go to each other’s ranches to work horses: to learn from each other and pick up on things they may not be seeing or feeling themselves.
Being judged is always emotional, even when you choose to be judged in the name of competition. Subjective sports are often rife with controversy, because let’s face it, everyone has an opinion. Cutting is no exception.
