Five Minutes With... Stacy Westfall

Jesse and Stacy enjoyed their visit to Sydney!

Stacy and Blaze during the Masterclass at Equitana

Stacy and Jesse with their boys Nathan, Caleb and Joshua

Stacy and Blaze following their bridleless Freestyle Demonstration at Equitana

The Westfall family soaking up the Queensland sun

Stacy, pictured during the Equitana Masterclass with a student, is a great teacher and loves it when horses and riders have 'lightbulb' moments

Whizards Baby Doll (Roxy) - the only horse to have been shown without a saddle or bridle - is one of Stacy's favourite horses (see video below)

Stacy says that Popcorn, who she won the 2006 Road to the Horse with, is a 'keeper'  read biographies of all the horses in Stacy's life

Caleb meeting a Koala for the first time...

... while Joshua managed to get up close and personal with this cute little wallaby...

...and Nathan picked a gorgeous hibiscus for mum!

Stacy presenting the trophy buckle to Equitana Way of the Horse winner, Greg Powell (photo: Sally Tsoutas)

By: Jo Johnson/Horsezone

Even as a young child growing up in Maine USA, Stacy Westfall loved horses and rode whenever she had the chance. She got her first pony, Misty, when she was six. Her mother Sherri was Stacy’s only instructor in riding and training until she went to college. As Sherri looked on she would ask questions that prodded Stacy to think deeply about the mindset of the animals. “Why do you think Misty just did that?” or “How do you think you could get Bay to want to cooperate? What is she thinking?” The habit of getting inside the horse’s head, of thinking like a horse, became second nature to Stacy.

Now that little girl from Maine has grown to become one of her country’s top clinicians and competitors. While Stacy continues to compete, start young horses and train, she truly loves to explain to people what her Mum encouraged her to learn — to discover the “why” behind what the horse does.

In 1994, while at the All American Quarter Horse Congress, Stacy met her future husband Jesse — himself a talented reining trainer. They married three years later and then established the Westfall Horsemanship training facility in Mt Gilead, Ohio. They have three young boys, Caleb, Joshua, and Nathan. Stacy often teased that she was pregnant three years straight.

Like any good trainer, Stacy’s aim has always been to have the most clear and precise communication with her horse as possible. Her goal in reining was to make the reins unnecessary! While others have approximated that goal, Stacy made it a reality. In 2003 she won the National Reining Horse Association Freestyle reining competition riding with no bridle — and with not so much as a neck rope. She was undefeated for two years straight in major freestyle reining competitions and in 2006 she won twice while riding bridle-less AND bareback.

When in 2006 she entered the prestigious Road to the Horse colt starting competition, Stacy heard from more than a few people that she couldn’t possibly win. After all, she was facing some legendary trainers. When the competition was over, Stacy was named the winner, after a convincing performance that clearly outshone her competitors.

With Jesse, her invaluable coach, Stacy tours the USA offering clinics and making educational appearances at expos and other equine events. She is building the Westfall Horsemanship approach to create a program that is efficient and effective — with resources to compliment the clinics such as DVDs, equipment and an information-rich website.

In November 2011 Stacy made her first trip south, way south, to Equitana Australia held in Sydney from 10 - 13 November.  Here Stacy realised that even though Australia was on the other side of the world, she had a huge number of fans ready to welcome the super talented, but wonderfully down to earth horsewoman, with open arms!

At Equitana Stacy shared her knowledge with eager Aussie horse people during her three hour Masterclass and several workshops conducted throughout the event.  We were also privileged to watch Stacy give a freestyle reining demonstration during the Open Reining Championships.

Read Horsezone's report on Stacy's Equitana Masterclass.

Following Equitana, Stacy and her family spent some weeks holidaying in Australia, where they all had a wonderful time, enjoying the break and discovering the joys of our country.

Jo Johnson caught up with Stacy on her return home, to find out her thoughts on Equitana, Australia and Australian horses!

Stacy, we were all so excited to have you at Equitana 2011! When you arrived in Australia was it what you expected?

It was warmer and more tropical than I expected, a pleasant surprise. We had more of the impression of desert, dry rather than tropical. And the birds were amazing. When we got to the event, Equitana, we were impressed with how professional and well run it was. The staging of the booths with the names and booth numbers pre-printed was very well done.

You rode a lovely Quarter Horse, Tell Me a Story (Blaze, to his mates) during the Masterclass and in the Freestyle Reining Demonstration - how much time did you have to work with Blaze before you rode him in the Master Class?

I rode him twice the day before and then in the Masterclass.

The master class was fantastic! Was it different to be working with Australian horses and riders?

I was worried before I arrived about people being able to understand me! But it went well and we all understood each other just fine. It was fun to see that there are more similarities than differences. I did enjoy meeting and working with the Australian Stock Horse as well as watching them in other demos (campdrafting). They seem to be very intelligent and athletic horses that would be enjoyable to work with. 


We also really enjoyed your Freestyle Demonstration on Blaze during the Reining competition - how did you prepare for that?

I had the chance to ride Blaze twice the day before the expo started. Then I rode him during the Master Class... and then that night was the freestyle (watch video below). Blaze is a well trained horse but I really wish we had recorded the first days ride! It was so funny because Blaze kept trying to 'take care of me'. After we warmed up and I had felt his training, I started to ask him to step up. For example I asked him to counter canter. He would move his hip and pick up the outside lead and then, two strides later he would 'fix' it... almost as if he were saying "Poor woman doesn't even know what lead to be on." By the second ride he was starting to consider that I might know what I was doing. I found it very funny and wish we had recorded it!

There was always a long line of fans at your stand wanting to meet you - were you surprised to be so popular here?

I was a little surprised. We knew that we mail a lot (of DVDs etc) to Australia but we were not sure what to expect. We were pleasantly surprised and hope to come back again.

Watching you chatting to all the people at your stand and during workshops, you seem to genuinely love sharing knowledge with other horse people - what do you find most rewarding with conducting clinics/lessons?

I love the moments when the 'lightbulb' turns on in a horse's or a human's mind. You can see their whole face light up. At events like Equitana even the spectators get to have those moments. Look at some of feedback I received:

Hi Stacy, My husband and I saw your clinic at Equitana and I just wanted to thank you for coming all this way to share your knowledge and expertise with us here in Australia. I come from a dressage background (non-competitive)and my husband has always ridden Australian stock style and competed in polocrosse, but we are both extremely impressed with the discipline and practicality of reining training and are now predominantly using these principles in our horse training. I also saw your workshop on lead changes and found it very useful and informative. I hope you had time to have a bit of a look around Australia while you were here and we hope to see you back again in the near future!  

Just wanted to drop you a line to say thank you for coming to Australia. I attended all your clinics at Equitana in Sydney and was totally inspired and finally got an answer to my problem of 5 years, how to stop my horse running away with me in the canter. I am teaching her the 300% stop that I saw you demonstrate at a clinic and we are making great progress. Thank you once again Cheers Jan

Great feedback - the Aussies do love you! What did you enjoy most about Equitana?

The organizers helped us so much and that made our trip enjoyable. They helped getting us there and even helped in organising our vacation after the event. At the event itself I thought the arenas were well run and the schedules flowed well. It had lots of things going on but wasn't too spread out. I really liked how they held the finals, or major events, from several sports in the evenings.

Did you have any time to watch any of the uniquely Australian events?

Yes, we watched the campdrafting and were impressed. I can see why it is so popular and that you would need a fast horse that handles well. It looks like a sport that would be exciting to try.

Are Australian horse people and their horses much different to those in the USA?

They seemed pretty similar. I wish I had spent more time and was able to work with more people and horses to answer that question. 

What was the highlight of judging The Way of the Horse?

Well, having participated in the Road to the Horse I have to say that I think I was the only judge that had sweaty hands just watching! I know what it is like to be out there doing everything you can in such a short time. Judging gave me another perspective to look at the colt starting events from. I enjoyed reading the horses the first day (trying to predict how they would respond) and then watching the event unfold.

What is your impression of Australian Stock Horses?

They seem to be intelligent and very athletic. I had seen Guy McLean's horses in the US and was impressed with how athletic they were. They seem to be horses that you could use all day and still have a horse asking 'what's next?'. They reminded me of my horse Popcorn...and he is a keeper.

Did you and the other judges, Edward Gal and Bobby Ingersoll, get much of a chance to chat?

We did get to talk some during the set up or changing of the pens, etc. We talked about teaching, horses and judging the event. It was interesting to hear about how having a willing horse, good minded and trainable, is important everywhere. 

Is there a horse sport you'd love to try?

I have always wanted to ride a racehorse... (we might be able to arrange that for you, Stacy!)

Do you have a favourite horse?

I look at it like friends. Your best friend in second grade is often different than your best friend in 8th grade, or high school, or college. I have 'favourites' from each phase of my life. My my first pony, Misty. My first horse, Bay, and some more famous like Can Can Lena and Whizards Baby Doll. 

There have been many wonderful achievements in your horse life - does one stand out?

Finishing the first bridleless class I won (2003 NRHA Freestyle - see video below). I was so focused on what I was doing that I didn't know that I was receiving a standing ovation. I had no idea that the ride had impacted people the way it did until I walked out and the people at the gate were crying... I had been riding to prove something to myself and accidentally made a huge impact on others. If you hadn't specified 'in your horse life' I would have listed being a wife and mother...although balancing that with the horses is a major achievement. 

After watching your masterclass and workshops at Equitana, many people are keen to buy your training DVDs - which one is the best to start with?

It depends on what you are looking for. Many people start with the 'Bridleless Riding' DVD because it has two freestyle rides on it and explains how I train them to ride bridleless. Others start with the groundwork, which is the foundation for everything. Still others start with the Basic Body Control or Whoa... that wasn't much help was it? (or you could just go ahead and buy all of them in this fantastic pack of all Stacy's DVDs + 2 extras that we found on her website!)

After Equitana you were able to enjoy an Australian holiday - which parts of the country did you visit and what were the highlights?

We went to the Sydney Zoo and several other sites around Sydney. Then we flew to Port Douglas. From there we went snorkeling at the outer reef and the low isles. We also went into the rain forest and swam under a waterfall! The lorikeets in Port Douglas were an experience and the food EVERYWHERE was great.

If an Aussie horse person is lucky enough to travel to the USA - where do they need to visit?

A visit to the Kentucky horse park is a great trip. Norco, California where there are more horses than people and there are hitching posts at the stores and the sidewalks are horse paths. Any of the horse towns in Northern Texas and southern Oklahoma, where a lot of people breed and train Quarter Horses. 

What was your favourite thing about Australia?

Before coming to Australia I loved drinking Chi Tea Lattes from Starbucks. Australia ruined that for me! Your Lattes, any of them - even from 'McDonalds' (Mackers, right?) - are better than ours! I have been mourning the loss of the Latte after returning home. Why can't we get the foam as thick and creamy?

Shout out to people you worked with in Australia?

Marketa and Colleen from Equitana. Shelly and Greg Peters and Blaze. Rob and Lisa Lawson (will you please come cook me a steak?). 

Will you be coming back to visit us in future?

We are planning on it!

What are your plans for 2012 on the horse front?

Teaching and showing. I would like to show in the mounted shooting this year as much as possible and see how far I can advance.

Thank you so much for your time Stacy, best of luck with everything in 2012 and we're all looking forward to your next Australian visit!

Quick Link

• Visit the Westfall Horsemanship website to find out more about Stacy; read practical answers to training questions and other FAQs; plus buy DVDs and various training merchandise.