Scott Amos
Total Earnings: $979,937
Scott Amos got his start in the reining and cow horse world. He said his parents had horses and he rode and showed growing up. Tim Denton introduced Amos to cutting and gave him his first job during school summers.
Winston Hansma and John Mitchell offered a lot of help and advice along the way when Colorado based Amos was able to come to Texas. He would bring three or four horses down and ride with the two Hall of Famers.
Amos was originally going to go to school to be a prosthetist (a specialist in prosthetics). He had been interested in making artificial limbs after he lost his lower leg in a tractor accident. Amos had a passion for helping kids dealing with the loss of a limb. While he had a full scholarship to study, the lure of training horses was too great.
He has remained very active supporting his community. One such example is when a young lady lost a leg and wanted to ride flew out to Amos’s ranch in Colorado. His got his best friend, an excellent prosthetic doctor to design a riding leg for her.
Amos said he has to work five times harder than anyone else because of his missing leg. He can’t feel anything in his leg so he has to make sure he does everything he can to be right when it comes to adding pressure or taking pressure away from the horse. He said over time he has learned to adapt.
What kind of cows do you like to cut?
When it comes to choosing cows in the show pen, Amos said he tries to steer clear of cutting brindle cows up north. He said he just hasn’t had great luck with them. He likes to pick a cow that will really challenge his horse and he has a tendency to pick a more wild type of cow that’s going to stay away from him.
What advice do you have for up and coming trainers?
“Learn as much as you can. You can learn from anyone, everyone has something to teach you. You just need to be open to learn. They don’t have to have won millions to teach you. There are a lot of great horsemen out there. Just watch and learn and ask questions. You’ll learn from people that have done it, that you respect and admire.”
What is your training philosophy?
“Just consistency and hard work. Set goals and work hard at them everyday. They won’t train themselves in their stall.”
What is the most important quality you must have in a horse?
“His heart. He doesn’t have to be a great athlete, I think a horse with a lot of heart and integrity will get you a lot further in the show pen than a super athlete that doesn’t have the mind or the heart. A horse that is kind, has a lot of heart and tries, is what I look for.”
What advice do you have for someone just getting involved in the sport?
“Seek out someone that is professional, and someone you get along with and your personalities mesh. The key thing is to get a good teacher of a horse. You don’t want to get a green horse with a green rider. Make sure the trainer will help you learn.”
What have you been doing with your horses during the COVID-19 shutdown?
“We have been working 3 year olds a lot because I know everyone else is. And then we are going to go branding. Just brand for 2 weeks straight and tire them out.”
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