From Bulls to Breeches!
Click here to read the complete article
Andrey Ferreir’s Journey from PRCA to AQHA
by Kristen Spinning
If you don’t mind being flung through the air by 1,800 pounds of snorting bovine brawn, then riding a 16 hand Quarter Horse must be a stroll in the park. Even though bull riding and hunt seat riding are different, trainer Andrey Ferreir approaches both the same. “Riding a bull is 90% mental, and showing a horse is 90% mental,” Andrey says. “If you can stay cool and focused, you’ll do alright.” His crossover approach is certainly working for him, as his success in the AQHA show arena attests.
When you first meet Andrey, it doesn’t take long to come up with two words to describe him: humble and diverse. When he first learned The Equine Chronicle wanted to do a story on him, you could hear the shrug in his response, “Why?”
“That’s typical Andrey,” says his wife, Debby. “He doesn’t have a big ego. He’s happy with the satisfaction of achieving something. For him, it’s not the notoriety, glitz, or glory.” Like it or not, Andrey is receiving that notoriety from his frequent top placings in a variety of classes from Reining to Hunter Under Saddle.
The 34-year-old grew up riding and ranching in Kentucky and later moved to Florida. He started and trained colts as a kid. He rode bulls in high school rodeo then went on to the professional rodeo and bull riding circuits. When he wasn’t on the road, Andrey was back at home riding horses. “He had no fear; he still doesn’t for that matter,” Debby says. “He would ride these rank horses that no one else could get on. He’d fix their problems and send them on their way.” With a straightforward yet easy-going personality, he became known as Florida’s resident horse whisperer. He met Debby through one of those troubled horses. He not only turned the horse around, he won Debby’s heart. The couple married in 2006.
Life on the road is tough in many ways and can be especially difficult when planning for a family and future. The physical strains of competition were beginning to take their toll on Andrey. Over the years, he had a rod put in his femur while in high school, had his windpipe crushed by a bull, and endured multiple knee injuries. “The ACL replacement pretty much ended his bull riding career,” Debby says. “He kept getting re-injured. Then, one day when he got off this bull, it gave out while he was running for his life to the fence.” Andrey quit bull riding 10 years ago and embarked on the next chapter of his life. He still had his reputation as a horse trainer, and he apprenticed with Mark Stevens at Springwater Farm. It didn’t take long for the Ferreirs to start their own training barn in Florida.
Ferreir’s Circle F Performance Horses doesn’t turn anybody away. Andrey’s trained Holsteiners, Hanoverians, and Andalusians, along with Quarter Horses, Appaloosas, and Paints. There is really no breed Andrey won’t train. He keeps about 16 horses in training and usually has a waiting list. Andrey rides them all without the help of an assistant. He’s dedicated to a “wet saddle” type of training, giving each horse the personal, individualized attention it needs. He strives to get inside the horse’s head to figure out what’s causing the problem. Then, he finds a way around the issue that makes sense to that particular horse.
Though he has a solid roster of show horses these days, he continues to receive horses with problems. Even other trainers bring him horses they can’t figure out. He fixes them and sends them back to be finished. He’s taken on horses that everyone else has turned their back on – effectively giving them a second chance. “A bad horse to me isn’t the same as a bad horse to someone else,” he says. In truth, the bigger the challenge, the better he likes it. His history of fixing problems behind-the-scenes kept Andrey out of the spotlight for years, even though many horses he worked with went on to big careers. He didn’t mind though. His reward was in achieving his own goals. Now, he is being recognized for the horses he has brought along from start to finish.
Andrey’s diversity has kept him in high demand throughout the years. “I have friends who are probably better horse trainers than me that aren’t training anymore because they didn’t expand their operation,” he says. “You have to be willing to change with the times in this business. Bend a little.” Andrey shows in Western Pleasure, Trail, Ranch Horse Pleasure, Extreme Trail, Hunter Under Saddle, NRHA, and NSBA classes. We’d bet not many of his fellow Ranch Horse or Reining trainers would be willing to put on a pair of breeches let alone find themselves on the top of the judge’s card.
Andrey enjoys the variety of disciplines rather than just going around in circles. He’s taken an Andalusian to the National Championships in Reining and has ridden his own mustang in the Extreme Trail Championship. “To me, it’s just riding a horse. It doesn’t matter if it’s got an English saddle on or skid boots. The horse doesn’t know that it’s English or Western or that he’s worth $50 or $100,000. He’s just a horse, with his own horse personality.”
Andrey’s amateurs are placing nicely these days as well, both regionally and on the national scene. The Ferreir barn enjoyed a super Quarter Horse Congress where a number of accolades were scooped up. Sue Stroud and Peppy San Looper showed well in Ranch Horse Pleasure and Reining. This particular horse was found in a backyard and was given a second chance at greatness by Andrey. Also, he started Taxable Assets as a 2-year-old for John and Dee Mills, and they took home a Top 10 award in Green Hunter Under Saddle. Switching over to his chaps, Andrey rode Tivitos Wiz Kid to 11th place in Senior Reining. Debby’s horse, A Glowing Blaze, won a Top 20 placing in Novice Amateur Trail, and Andrey showed him in Green Trail, too.
Looking forward to the rest of 2015, Andrey and his crew will be heading to the NRHA Affiliate Finals, going back to Congress, and attending the AQHA Novice World Championship in Lexington, Virginia. Amateur rider Amanda McHollan has already qualified for the Select World Show with Suddensgotnosneakers.
With that busy of a schedule, one might think that Andrey is focused solely on showing Quarter Horses. However, he still insists on maintaining a variety of mounts, saying it benefits both him and the horses. “I don’t need to only have high performance horses in my barn. It’s good for the horses that we have so many disciplines and breeds. That way, we’re not taking every horse out every weekend. It gives them a mental and physical break.” He admits to needing that break, too. “[Working with broke horses] gives me some time to relax rather than being constantly focused on working a performance pattern or trying to school a problem.” Balance also comes in the form of family time. Debby and Andrey’s son, Trent, is eight years old and spends a lot of time with horses as well. Trent loves going to horse shows and was just two when he entered his first class. Yet, probably the best part of horse shows for Trent is hanging out with the other kids in his extended show family. Like father, like son.
One aspect of showing horses that reminds Andrey of his old bull riding days is the camaraderie. He is quick to acknowledge the help and support he gets from his friends across the different arenas. “Mike Flarida has been a big influence on my reining,” he says. “He’s spent a lot of time with me at shows and comes down to our place whenever he can.” In both bull riding and horse showing, he says, “Everyone pulls for each other. You’re not competing against each other. You’re there to get your best ride.”
Andrey certainly likes getting the best ride. However, while he is achieving that regularly these days, he remains humble. “I have had the same work ethic and goals since I started,” he says. And he has some pretty lofty goals on that list – the same holy grails of horse showing that all top riders are shooting for: making the NRHA Derby Finals, getting a Quarter Horse Congress win and an AQHA World Show trophy. Those goals are much more reachable now after his string of successes. Staying cool and focused, he’ll undoubtedly get there. Like he said, horse showing is 90% mental. Andrey Ferreir has proven he can control that mental game.
