By Laura Scaletti
Portraits by Kelly Mudd
Guy and Tiffany Cambria have a “take it as it comes” outlook on life. No matter what comes their way, whether it be with horses, their business or their kids, the Cambrias roll with the punches and can adapt to any situation.
When it came to naming their hunter-jumper business, Guy and Tiffany had the perfect name to match their vibe: Code Four Show Stables. “Code Four means everything is good. No backup required,” Tiffany said.
“Oftentimes horse shows can be a stressful time. We do our best to give a positive energy that everything will be OK, everyone will show and at the end of the day, everything is Code Four,” Guy said.
Today, Guy and Tiffany run Code Four Show Stables in Upperville, Virginia, where they enjoy teaching all levels of riders, training green and experienced horses and competing themselves. They are also passing their love for horses on to their two children: Colson, age 9, and Clara, age 4.
Parallel Paths
Both Guy and Tiffany were introduced to horses by discovering them near their family’s houses. For Guy it was his grandfather’s next-door neighbor who had ponies.
“He had a pony ride business; you could call him and he’d bring ponies to your house for birthday parties. My brothers and I used to go over and pay $2 to ride ponies around this guy’s front yard. My mom, being a rider herself, had us start taking lessons after a few of the $2 rides,” Guy said. “She thought, I’d better get them some lessons so they’re not just jumping on these ponies bareback riding in somebody’s front yard.”
Tiffany’s dad introduced her to ponies via bike rides near their house. “We would bike to the barn, and we’d pet the horses once we got there. It didn’t take long for me to ask for lessons, and the rest is history,” she said.
Those lessons slowly developed into Tiffany getting a horse of her own. “I started at local shows with my lesson barn. Then I was given the opportunity to compete at ‘A’ shows and did the winter circuit in Indio, now Thermal,” Tiffany said.
Once she was a teenager, Tiffany knew her heart was in the horse industry and she wanted to stick with it. “I would work and be around horses as much as I could and try to get extra rides,” she said. “I did a little bit of everything growing up—eventing, dressage, hunters—but what I really took to was show jumping.”
Like Tiffany, Guy has also tried his hand at a variety of disciplines since he first saddled up—hunters, jumpers, equitation, cutting horses, Western. Whatever Guy could ride, he was game to try.
Guy’s introduction to competing happened in New Jersey in the Pony Hunter division. When his family moved to California, he got more involved in showing. “I rode on my high school riding team and competed at regional and ‘A’ shows in California,” he said.
Those early years at the horse shows sparked the desire for Guy and Tiffany to each turn their passion into their profession. Being around horses was all either of them ever wanted to do. “I loved everything about it and wanted to make being in the business my long-term goal. From getting to the horse shows early in the mornings to smelling the tractors, just everything about it called to me,” Guy said.
Perfect Pair
Although Guy and Tiffany traveled the same California show circuit as Juniors, with a few years age difference, it wasn’t until they were in their early 20s that they met. “We met at a mutual friend’s house the night before Tiffany’s 22nd birthday. At midnight we went out to celebrate, and we’ve been together ever since,” Guy said.
After they started dating, Guy moved to Virginia for a professional riding job. “I came out to visit him, fell in love with the area and thought, I need to figure out how to get out here. Virginia is just this beautiful horse country, with lush, green, big turnouts for horses. I really like that horses could be horses,” Tiffany said.
Tiffany eventually joined Guy and they both had a number of freelance opportunities. “We were both doing different odds-and-ends horse jobs until Scott Brouse, Johnny and Kitty Barker’s farrier, introduced us to them,” Guy said.
Working for the Barkers at Eight Oaks Farm in Middleburg, Virginia, was a turning point in both Guy’s and Tiffany’s careers. “They hired both of us at the same time and really gave us great opportunities riding and teaching. They taught us so much about how the horse business works and how to be good horse people,” Guy said. “Johnny and Kitty really helped strengthen our passion and drive, and gave us the confidence to go out on our own as well-rounded horse professionals.”
“They took a chance on both of us and really gave us a leg up in our careers. It was through them that we were introduced to the Wellington winter circuit and many East Coast horse shows,” Tiffany said.
Guy and Tiffany consider themselves lucky to have such a big support system in the horse community. “We’ve had so many people help steer us and give us chances as we’ve developed as professionals. When we’ve doubted ourselves, other professionals in the community have encouraged us to keep going,” Guy said.
Those encouraging words led the duo to make the leap and start their own business in 2012. “We got married in 2011, knew we wanted to have a family, so we decided it was now or never to go out on our own,” Tiffany said.
Code Four
A full-service training barn today, Code Four Show Stables’ goal from the outset was to be a place where Guy and Tiffany could spend their days around horses training and riding. What started as a small operation with three stalls has evolved into a successful business with 25 to 30 horses at any given time.
Over the years, Guy and Tiffany have learned that quality attracts quality. Through providing the best experience to their customers through quality care and training, their customers send quality horses to be part of the Code Four program. “We want to provide the best experience to our clients’ horses, so they can enjoy their time with their horses both at home and in the show ring,” Tiffany said.
At Code Four, the training philosophy comes down to two words—happy horses. “It’s not just a mantra; there’s a plan developed for each horse under our training and care. We know that happy and healthy horses have greater longevity, which benefits everyone, as developing and competing horses is an investment,” Guy said.
In 2016, when Tiffany was pregnant with their son, Colson, the duo decided it was time to make an investment of their own and purchased their farm in Upperville. “It took almost a year before we could have even one horse on the property, because we needed to redo the barn, fencing and grading to make sure the property was safe for horses,” Guy said. “It was a lot of work, but it’s so rewarding to sit in our house and be able to see the horses in our program surrounding us.”
After working together for 19 years, Guy and Tiffany have developed a true partnership where they always have each other’s back regardless of the situation. “We’ve been together for so long now that we don’t even need to talk about everything. We both teach the same and complement each other well,” Guy said. “It doesn’t matter the task, we’re both capable and willing to do it. You could come to the farm and see me fixing a fence board and Tiffany riding, and then 20 minutes later you might see Tiffany on the mower and me riding.”
One of Guy and Tiffany’s favorite parts of being partners in life and business is that they get to spend so much time together. “I know it sounds cliché, but just being together is the biggest benefit of running the business together. It’s great to have your confidante with you all the time,” Guy said. “Honestly, it’s a challenge when we aren’t together because we’ve been so used to doing everything together for so long.”
“As a married couple, at least for us, we communicate quite well and we’re able to bounce ideas off each other. Knowing you get along with the other person means you don’t really get offended by constructive criticism because you know it’s for the benefit of both of you,” Tiffany said. “We also can easily tell if the other is having an off day and know not to press an issue.”
Family Focused
With two kids, a barn full of horses and staff to manage, running a smooth operation amongst all aspects of their lives requires a lot of organization from both Guy and Tiffany. “Through horses, I’ve gotten relatively good at staying organized, creating schedules and sticking to them. That scheduling has carried over into how we manage having a business and kids. As long as you know what’s going on, it can run somewhat seamlessly,” Tiffany said. “Of course, when you’re dealing with kids and horses, something can always happen—a horse can’t go to a horse show or a kid gets sick—but as long as you’re organized, it’s very doable to do it all.”
With the house just steps away, the kids are frequent visitors to the barn. It’s not uncommon to see Clara walk through the barn in her princess dress and heels looking for Guy to head to the house and make her a snack. “It’s a blast to have the kids with us at the barn and see that they enjoy being around the horses,” Tiffany said. “Both Colson and Clara have the same energy around them that Guy and I do. Nowadays, Colson is more into baseball and motorbikes, but at the end of the day he still likes to walk through the barn with us at night check and give the horses carrots. It’s really nice to know they’re animal lovers as well.”
Being around horses has taught the kids some important life lessons at an early age, such as patience, work ethic and how to communicate with others. “From coming to the shows with us, they’ve definitely learned that you have to be patient as it may take a while for us to finish the day. After watching us work around the farm from his earliest memories, Colson is now at an age where he will get home from school and come to the barn and tell us he wants to help with whatever project we’re working on,” Tiffany said.
“Another great skill they’ve both learned is communication. There are always people at the barn. As a result of meeting so many different people, they’re really good at expressing themselves and having conversations with adults,” Guy said.
One of Clara’s proudest things to talk to others about is that she’s a three-time consecutive winner in leadline at the Upperville Colt and Horse Show. “There is definitely a balance to make sure we aren’t pushing horses on the kids; we want them to choose to do horses. Clara is definitely heading that way,” Tiffany said.
In fact, Clara had hoped to do walk-trot at Upperville this past year, but neither she nor Guy was quite ready for that move up in classes. “I wasn’t so sure about sending my little 4-year-old into the Parker Ring to trot around with all those other ponies, so we settled on another leadline year. She absolutely loves it. She loves to tell all her friends about her leadline success. It’s her highlight,” Guy said.
Whether it’s celebrating family success in the show ring or on the baseball field, the most important thing for Guy and Tiffany is making the most of their time as a family. “The way our business is structured, we’re able to spend time together. The two of us try to never be away from the kids for longer than two weeks at a time. Oftentimes, after a week, one of us will come back home to be with the kids,” Guy said. “The best thing about doing this as a family is that we’re truly able to be a family.”
After a long day at the barn, it’s not uncommon to find everyone together playing baseball, with Guy pitching to Colson and the girls chasing balls throughout the field. “For us, it doesn’t matter what we do as long as we do it as a family,” Tiffany said.
While success in the show ring is always a goal for the Cambrias and Code Four Show Stables, at the end of the day true success comes down to happy horses, happy clients and a happy family. “We want to build on what we have right now, for the business and family, while always keeping a focus on happiness,” Guy said.
Follow @code_four_show_stables on Instagram
Photos by Kelly Mudd, kmuddphotography.com
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