MAY 2010 THE RIDER /9 Josh Lyons leaving a Legacy By Mallory Hendry.


It may come as a shock, but Josh Lyons didn’t always want to work with horses. He says it was impossible to grow up around his father, well known trainer John Lyons, on their Colorado ranch and not be riding and learn- ing about the animals. But young Lyons had dif- ferent dreams. He was very athletic, and wanted to get a sports scholarship to college. He vividly remembers the night he changed his mind. He was thirteen and travelling with his father through Nevada. They stopped at a diner in the middle of the night, and someone asked for John’s autograph.


“We were in the middle of nowhere and somebody recognized him,” Lyons says. “I thought to myself: I want that.”


The weekend after he graduated high school, he put on a clinic and never stopped. At 16 he was teaching classes in the Lyons name for his father. All you need to do is go to his website - www.joshlyons.com - to get an idea of his many achievements. He has hosted expositions around the world, including Canada, the United States, Australia and Europe, but Lyons recently made his home base Memphis, Tennessee. The grand opening of his new facility is scheduled for this summer and will include both John and Josh hosting a clinic and symposium.


Lyons may have made a name for himself the horse world over, but he hasn’t let any of his success get to his head. When asked what makes his approach to training effective, he passes on the chance to make his way seem like the only way.


tor to coincide with what the horse is willing to work for. There’s always a number that will make a horse work for you, the question is whether it’s worth it in every case. The second part of the Lyons equation is spot. The rider needs to pick one spot on their mount to work on at a time. Don’t allow your attention to be taken away by other things, Lyons warns. He teaches his students to divide their attention specifically


future the family name. There are already changes in the works to keep up with the family’s growing popularity. There are three types of training offered by Josh: certification, accredita- tion and master. Some important changes have been made lately. For example, certification has been changed from 19 students per class to between three to five, and from twelve weeks long to four. While Lyons admits it’s a more intense experience, he says the results are far bet- ter. The Lyons Master program is by invitation only, and family friends help teach the two week course. It’s on business not on training, with a focus on things like marketing, sponsorship and websites. Lyons says they only want a handful of these master trainers, spread out across the Unit- ed States and Canada. These select few are allowed to teach certification and accreditation programs in the Lyons name.


“Up to now, it’s Josh or John; now it’s Lyons Legacy,” Lyons explains. “It’s a market- ing strategy.”


“You have to compare trainers to trainers,” he says. “The only fair way is to watch different approaches and form a personal opinion.” Lyons does, however, have an idea or two about why his technique has caught on so well – consistency and simplicity.


“Anybody can do it,” Lyons says. “They can apply it to any horse and make it work for them.” The method is motivator, spot, direction, reward. The key to finding what motivates your horse is to figure out what it will work for – its “price.” Some horses will work for a dollar, some require 100 dollars. You have to raise the motiva-


and rank concerns in order of importance. As for direction, a horse can move in six of them, and therefore can make up to five mistakes since one direction will be the one you want. Finally there’s the reward phase, which has to do with pressure. There’s pressure with and without con- tact. For example, Lyons says when he’s walking towards a horse they feel pressure, just not a physical type. You give the horse a chance to react to that pressure before moving on to the physical kind. *


With 287 trainers in 48 states and nine coun- tries, they felt it was time for around 10 master trainers that can be spread out and allowed to teach – as long as they stick to the Lyons philosophy and method. Beyond that “we’re not interested in cookie cutter train- ers” Lyons says.


Lyons is resigned to the fact that the Lyons Legacy may carry on in the younger generation, even without his encouragement. His 19 – year – old brother Mike Lyons is training out of the Tennessee facility, and the older of his three sons, Austin and Johnny, are already making their intentions clear.


To ensure its survival, Josh and John are working together to make their name a brand so it will transcend their own careers and become something tangible they can pass on in the fami- ly. “Lyons Legacy” – complete with a new mas- ter logo as seen on Lyons’ belt buckle – is the


Another new development for Lyons is a first for trainers everywhere. He’s been working for the past year and a half on a TV show that has been picked up by a network and will air in the fall. Although he can’t go into details until everything is finalized, you can be sure it will showcase what Lyons does best – train horses, and their people. It’s not just the Lyons men that are in on the franchise. Lyons’ wife runs the whole office, and by his own admis- sion, keeps him in line.


“It’s tough – a lot tougher than people think,” Lyons says.


“It takes a lot of work, a lot of commitment. It’s hard on a marriage and if you aren’t both enjoy- ing it, it’s a mess. If I didn’t have a good wife I’d be in trouble. I got lucky with that.”


Even without the strains on personal rela- tionships because of the travelling, training hors- es is a tough gig. 34 – year – old Lyons has bro- ken a total of 34 bones. Despite many good and exciting memories, he says what sticks out most for him is what he’s learned not to do. He’s bro- ken every finger multiple times, six ribs in the front and three in the back, two vertebrae and all his teeth. One might wonder what it is about training horses – and their riders – that makes all those painful memories worth it. For Lyons it’s more than a fair trade off, and like so many other aspects of his business life, he breaks his reason down to its simplest form.


“I love riding and training,” he explains. “I love more dealing with people, when I’m teach- ing and they get it, when it clicks. Seeing them smile and get excited - that’s the best part. If I slide twenty feet, that’s good. If they slide twenty feet and they’re happy, that’s the best.”


Josh Lyons, Gayle Haynes and Mike Lyons. Photo by The Rider


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