Warmblood By Julie Winkel A Perpetual Student
up. She smiled and said, "Well, that's good, but you will never know everything about horses." My confident reply was, “Oh, yes I will!” Now, more than fifty years later, having spent every
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waking moment trying to learn all I could about the equine persona, I have to admit she was absolutely right. The more I learn, the more I discover there is to learn. I was fortunate to be raised by
parents who are great horse people growing up on a ranch in a remote town in Nevada. I was involved with horses from the time I was born. In my early years the focus was always the Thoroughbreds we bred, raised, trained and competed. I did every event I could, which included west- ern pleasure, trail, reining, halter, barrel racing, pole bending, goat ty- ing, dressage, eventing, team roping and cutting—as well as hunters and jumpers. I learned countless lessons from trial and error. Our horses were my greatest teachers. The intelligence and sensitivity of the Thoroughbreds taught me so much about patience and finesse. Most of all, I learned to think like a horse. In my late teens and early twenties I continued my
education by going to clinics and rated shows where I could observe successful trainers and compete against excellent riders. I read a lot of books and magazines. I even organized and hosted horse shows so I could hire famous judges. I held clinics so I could hire famous trainers, there- by having the opportunity to meet them. Just as I began to think I knew everything about horses
and training, along came Warmbloods, who frankly de- molished all my theories! These horses were very different animals from those I had grown up with. I had to learn how this type of horse thought and reacted all over again. It took me a good ten years to get comfortable with and learn to understand the Warmblood character. Then, once again, just as I was confident that I knew almost everything about horses, something new came
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hen I was five years old, I announced to my mother that I was going to be a horse trainer when I grew
into my life: stallions. All of the sudden, and totally un- planned, I acquired two young Warmbloods stallions who would become Grand Prix jumpers. And back to square one I went. I knew nothing about handling or managing a stallion. Dealing with their egos and understanding how to get them to work with me instead of against me was a big learning experience. Then a few years ago I ventured into breeding and
young horse training, which in turn led to offering special programs at my farm to help others learn about handling youngsters. Although we had started lots of youngsters grow- ing up, teaching people about how horses learn, how they think and how they react, really opened my mind. I’ve improved my youngsters’ groundwork, for example, as a result. I continue to compete, teach
Julie and her mom, c. 1959
clinics, have an intern program at home and judge a bit. I love to teach because I love horses—
and I truly enjoy sharing my knowledge and experience with other horsemen, young and old. I am a student of the horse and I never want to stop
learning. I read as much as I can, observe others in the warm up arena, participate in as well as conduct clinics, watch videos and follow current events at the top of our sport. I learn new things every day! My favorite quote is from the late Jimmy Williams: "It's what you learn after you know it all that counts." Long ago I resigned myself to admitting my mom was
right—about this and many other things. I will never know everything there is to know about horses. A lifetime is not nearly long enough.
Julie Winkel is the owner of Maplewood Sta- bles in Reno, Nevada, and is an accomplished hunter/jumper competitor and USEF judge. Julie offers internships, as well as full training for horses and riders and sales horses. She also stands two jumper stallions. You can learn more about Julie and Maplewood Stables at
www.mwstables.com.
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