FORHORSEPEOPLE • ABOUTHORSEPEOPLE
SIDELINESMAY 2014 115
Tracyewith then student KelleyBuringawinning theColorado
Children’sMedal Final. Kelley is now one of the professionals
at Tracye’sMeridianRidingClub.
of learning how to teach beginners, and ride the less talented
horses,” Tracye said. “They reallyneed to figureout how to teach
and train, as opposed to just sort of sitting on the cream of the
crop horses, or being able to take the cream of the crop riders
to the ring. That’s a huge mistake I see — that kind of entitled
attitude.”
Entitlement is certainly not a word that would have been
associated with young up-and-coming Tracye Ferguson. She
was able to go professional with a job offer straight out of high
school, something made possible by hard work throughout her
junior years.
“By the time I was a teenager, I would braid all night and show
all day; that’s how I paid for my showing,” Tracye explained. “I
was always a working student my whole life, because that’s the
onlyway I could afford todo it.”
According to Tracye, some of today’s young professionals are
lacking inmore than justworkethic: theyarevoidof anyskill sans
riding.
“Youhave tounderstandall aspectsof thehorse,” Tracye said.
“As a trainer, I have to knowasmuchas the vet, andasmuchas
the farrier. I have to know how to clean a stall if the help doesn’t
showup, I have toknowhow tobraidahorse if thebraidermisses
it, and it’s all of those things that I don’t see kids learning.”
One avenue for aspiring professionals is to enroll in a college
that offers an equestrian studies degree. These programs often
include lessonsaddressinga lot of thedifferent skillsTracyesees
lacking in today’sprofessionals, but shewarns that thesedegrees
arealsomissing some key components.
“Realistically, to be a good trainer, you do at some point have
to give yourself themiles with a good stable, depending onwhat
your goals are,” Tracye explained. “Not everyone wants to be a
show trainer; they might just want to teach a school barn or just
ride horses. Everybody has different goals.”
For Tracye, her goals are the same: a great work ethic,
selfless dedication to your horse and a love for all things equine.
Regardlessofwhether her studentsendupsoaringaround1.60m
courses or just enjoy riding for fun, lessons learned from Tracye
Fergusonwill staywithhorseandhumanalike for years to come.
About the writer: Ann Glavan is an undergraduate student at the University of
Missouri, majoring in journalism and economics. Originally from Cedar Rapids,
Iowa, shegrewup ridingand competingon theA circuit in thehunter andequitation
rings, before combining her passion for writing and the equestrian industry to start
freelancing and interning as anequestrian journalist.
