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New Mexico-based dressage rider and trainer Sean Cunningham has an impressive riding history. It includes training with Olympian Lendon Gray and riding for some of the biggest farms in the country, including Iron Spring Farm and Horses Unlimited.

“When I was 12 years old, I decided I wanted to learn how to ride horses because I thought they were cool. I rode my bike to a farm about half a mile from my house to inquire about lessons and it just happened to be a dressage farm with a lesson program,” Sean said. “I’m one of only a few people who I know of that started in dressage and stuck with it. Most people convert from another discipline, but I fell in love with dressage from the beginning and it’s been my passion ever since.”

Sean, who lives and trains out of his STC Dressage in Albuquerque, originally moved to New Mexico to work for Horses Unlimited. When he branched out to open his own business he decided to stay there, even though NewMexico isn’t exactly the center of the dressage universe. But that hasn’t kept Sean and his students from succeeding, and while he doesn’t plan on staying in New Mexico forever, he said it has been an exciting place to start his own operation.

SC: New Mexico is still in the grassroots stage of dressage so there is a tremendous amount of growth and development taking place and it’s exciting to be a part of it. This area has also been a good place to start my own training operation, because I’m kind of a “big fsh in a small pond.” I’ve been able to build my business and reputation as an independent trainer very quickly, and my clients and I have enjoyed a lot of success in the process. It’s been fun!

SC: Yes, I call it my “big break” and it happened at Tempel Farms in Wadsworth, Illinois, home of the Tempel Lipizzaners. Prior to that, I had mostly just ridden at the typical kid-friendly boarding facilities where I certainly learned a lot and grew to appreciate the work involved in horses. The desire to learn all I could was growing though, and I knew if I wanted to be one of the best I needed to train with the best. In the spring of 1999 I started calling and e-mailing Tempel, trying to fnd any way possible to get my foot in the door. The person on the receiving end of my calls and e-mails was Roberta Williams, George Williams’ wife. Thankfully, rather than getting annoyed with my persistence, she was impressed by it. Even though they didn’t really have room to take on another working student, she thought I was worth taking a chance on and found a place for me anyway. Over the course of the next three years, I worked there during my breaks from Iowa State University where I was earning my Bachelors Degree in Animal Science. After graduation in 2002, and because my goals were more competition oriented, I moved to New York to take a position as a working student for Lendon Gray.

SC: Working for Lendon was incredible. It was incredibly diffcult, yet inspiring and educational and worth every second. I was exposed to world-class riders, horses and training during my time there and my education advanced very quickly. I only wish I realized then that I know now, which is that I really still don’t know a fraction of what there is to learn about horses. If I had, I might have found a way to keep working there longer, but for a variety of reasons, the most pressing being fnancial, after one and a half years I moved on to take a position at Iron Spring Farm.

SC: Working at Iron Spring allowed me to develop my appreciation for young horses. I really started looking more and more at bloodlines and the impact they can have on the future quality of the horses. Obviously there are never any guarantees, but certain dams and sires can defnitely be shown to produce, on average, good or bad conformation, easy or diffcult trainability, willing or easily soured minds, etc. It was a unique opportunity to work for one of the best sport horse producers in the country and again, it was an outstanding learning experience. Then, in the spring of 2007, I moved to New Mexico to work for Horses Unlimited. It was another chance to work with some really nice horses developed by a good breeding program.

SC: Without question, Lendon Gray. To this day, her voice speaks loudest in my mind when I’m trying to work through something with a horse or a student. Her desire to fnd the best in each horse and in each person and bring it out so that they can shine is amazing and inspiring. I am always trying to further my education, so I have just recently started traveling out to California to work with Hilda Gurney.