Jack Brainard – Master of the Flying Lead Change

From his website:
“Trainer, Breeder, Judge, Leader, Teacher, Author, Mentor and Friend are all accurate labels of Jack Brainard of Tioga, Texas, long known for his contributions to the equine industry and his lifelong commitment to horses and the people who enjoy them.

“Jack Brainard has bred and trained horses for over 53 years and judged for a variety of national horse associations for over 40 years. These Associations include Paint Horse, Quarter Horse, Appaloosa, Palomino, NCHA Cutting and NRHA reining shows, both in the U. S. and abroad.

“In 1966 Jack Brainard helped organize the National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) and served as one of its original directors. In 1998 Jack organized the “Stock Horse Of Texas” (SHOT) program. Jack is interested in promoting and emphasizing the flexibility of the Western Stock horse. SHOT is dedicated to enhancing the pleasure of owning and riding horses though creating better horses and horsemen. The SHOT Association’s goal is simple: Help people ride a better horse. This program outline has since been picked up and implemented in both AQHA’s Versatility Ranch Horse Show classes and now APHA’s Ranch Horse Versatility class.

“Jack’s life has been full of “firsts,” including taking the first registered Quarter Horse to Iowa in 1946 and also having the first Quarter Horse in Wisconsin. He made the first AQHA Champion in the upper Midwest, was one of four people who organized the Iowa Quarter Horse Association, and he also helped organize the Midwest Quarter Horse Association. He even owned a horse that won the title of “Best Bronc” at the National Finals Rodeo four different times.

“He has bred or trained horses that have won world titles in a variety of disciplines, including reining, cutting, roping and pleasure riding. During the Nixon administration, Jack Brainard was one of 15 appointed members of the U.S. Horse Industry Advisory Committee who met with the Secretary of Agriculture.

“In 2003 Jack Brainard was named “Man Of The Year in Texas Agriculture.” He currently is a board member of the Equine Program at Texas A & M University at Commerce, Texas, and has received the Industry Leader Recognition Award at the Texas Equine Industry Conference at Texas A & M University in College Station.

“Jack Brainard, at 85, still trains his own two-year-olds. Most days he can be found schooling numerous horses, teaching students, or traveling the roads to conduct one of his many clinics. His students marvel at his “easy to understand” presentation of the prerequisites and elements of the “flying lead change,” his positive and motivating approach to both horse and rider, and his never-ending enthusiasm for doing what he truly loves. He is as graceful on a Country & Western dance floor as he is in the saddle. The excitement and positive energy that continually flows from Jack to both his horses and students is rare in men half his age. He says that he hopes to be teaching and riding when he is 100!!!

Jack was inducted into the Iowa Quarterhorse Hall of Fame in January 2010 and into the National Reining Horse Association Hall of Fame on June 24, 2010.

You can get more information at his website by clicking HERE.