Lean On Me
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140 – November/December, 2024
By Barbara Aitken Jenkins
The horse show industry is built on friendships. Five trainers’ friendships with their peers have changed how their families operate at shows and positively influenced their children’s lives.
Charley Miller and Coach Arturo Maestas
Professional Horseman Keith Miller, owner and operator of Miller Quarter Horses of Reidsville, North Carolina, began his friendship with trainer Arturo Maestas when Miller was enlisted to ride one of Maestas’ horses at an NSBA World Championship Show a few years back.
When it came time for Miller and his wife, Sydney, to pursue placing their daughter, Charley, in a training program that they believed would be a good fit for her, Maestas was their first choice.
“We wanted to put Charley in a program that would do the All-Around events, and we wanted to place her in a culture with other children and ‘Small Fries’ too,” he says. Maestas’ program fit the bill.
Maestas owns and operates Maestas Show Horses alongside trainer Jesse Jones in Pilot Point, Texas.
Miller explains, “We wanted someone who would develop good human beings. Charley was a little shy. With Maestas’ encouragement, we believe she can come out of her shell. I know Arturo encourages her to talk, communicate her needs and wants, and support her. They ensure she is prepared to show and that everything is how it needs to be. I have the utmost faith in [Maestas and Jones].”
Miller knew he would choose “Dad” over “trainer” regarding his kids.
He says, “I knew I wasn’t going to push Charley, so it works out great for her to work with Maestas. He can push her when he needs to push, and he knows when to give her a break.”
Maestas views his opportunity to work with Charley as an honor. “It’s an honor to me that the people I work with, the people I look up to in this industry, trust me enough to coach their kids and take them to that next level. It is important to me that we can all help each other out. It’s not always easy, but as far as Charley goes, it’s been a blast. It’s a breath of fresh air to have a little one coming up who is a blank canvas and tries so hard. It’s still so fun for her. Coaching her and other little ones like her bring the fun into coaching for me.”
Alexis Potts and Coach Geno Spagnola
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140 – November/December, 2024
