Anthony Montes – From Wilderness Trails to the Western Riding Pen

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260 – October, 2018

by Kristen Spinning

There is a tremendous difference between riding the wilderness trails with little more than a sleeping bag tied to your saddle and the precision of executing a perfect pattern at the World Show. Young trainer Anthony Montes has done both, and quite a lot in between. The breadth of his experience serves him well as he nurtures horses to their top potential at Vickery Performance Horses.

Anthony grew up in a small town nestled in the foothills of California’s Santa Ana Mountains along with four siblings and his mother, Michelle. “She was a single mom and raised five kids. You have to be a pretty strong woman to do that,” he marvels.

Trabuco Canyon is the kind of town where everyone knows everyone, and a good number of folks have horses. Anthony’s family didn’t have a lot of money, but they always had a few horses in the backyard. He has fond memories of a childhood filled with horse-related activities. Eventually, he fell in love with Jumping and took a keen interest in learning all he could. “There was a trainer down the road from me. I would clean all her stalls in exchange for Jumping lessons.” From there, he switched gears and started Ranch Sorting with his younger sister, Rikilyn. Soon, the pair added gymkhanas and Barrel Racing to their routine.

The seeds of his future were firmly planted when he was a volunteer with a therapeutic riding program. He spent weekends and his middle school vacation time cleaning stalls and helping out. AQHA amateur exhibitor Nancy Riggs was also a volunteer at the same program, and she gave Anthony his first glimpse of what horse showing was all about. Tragically, a wildfire swept through the town and destroyed the therapeutic riding center. The two lost touch for a while until Anthony was on the hunt for a new horse. He found one that he thought would work well, and it turned out to be one of Nancy’s horses. He recalls, “I tried out the horse and it was a good match. It was a show horse with a record.” Anthony was blown away by Nancy’s decision to just give him the horse. “She said she remembered all the time that I had volunteered at the center and to consider the horse as a gift for all my help and time I donated,” he says. It was an exceptional moment for an eighth grader. At the time, he didn’t know how to ride a show horse. Nancy helped with that, too. She would pick him up after school and give him lessons. She imparted all the knowledge she could and launched him into the arena at open shows. Anthony’s mom didn’t have the opportunity to be the typical show mom, hauling him to horse shows, but she whole heartedly supported his interest and appreciated the fact that Nancy could pick up that role. He flourished in the show environment. When he outgrew that first show horse, he got another.

Click here to read the complete article
260 – October, 2018