Sponsored Riders & Clinicians
Smart Tie Sponsored Riders and Clinicians are true ambassadors for our products, representing a rainbow of backgrounds and disciplines. One thing they all have in common, aside from their love of the equestrian lifestyle, is their knowledge of the importance of safety when it comes to training horses. We are proud and honored to call these riders our friends and partners, and we hope that you show them your support in all of their riding, training, and competition adventures!
Dominic Schramm - Clinician
Coming soon!
Location
Services:
Bio:
John Baird – Clinician
Location: Chaparral, New Mexico
Services: Clinics/Seminars/Demos, Horse Training, Private Lessons, and Equine Massage
Philosophy: “Teach horses to be a willing partner by teaching them to respond to a request instead of reacting to it.”
Bio: John Baird started his life in horses at the early age of 5 years old. His first ride consisted of a Shetland pony, a long line and halter, and a bunch of horsemen at a party. After an eternity of hanging onto that pony for dear life, John’s love of horses never ceased. Living on a farm in East Tennessee and having horseman Doyle Goodson as a stepfather afforded him a unique opportunity to begin learning horsemanship skills before he could write his name in cursive!
John is always seeking knowledge and new ways to care for and train horses. In 2013, he attended and graduated from
John and Josh Lyons’ trainer certification program in Cross Plains, TN. With the mentorship of great horsemen such as Doyle Goodson, RA Bright, Don Everett, Lane Looper, Roy Dean Wood, and John Joyner combined with John and Josh Lyons’ techniques, John now trains horses, gives private lessons, sponsors a local Boy Scout troop with a camping area on the ranch and assists them in earning their equine merit badges, performs demonstrations and clinics and is sought after by many clinicians and trainers for his advice. He is also a certified equine sports massage therapist. For more info on John Baird and his training program, visit www.rockingbranch.org or call (575)824-5000.
Evan Bonner – Clinician
Location: Port Orchard, Washington
Disciplines: Western Dressage, Colt Starting, Classical Horsemanship
Philosophy: “It’s not about training the horse… it’s about working on yourself.”
Bio: For the last 10 years, Evan Bonner has been helping people with their horses. Evan has learned from many master horsemen including Dennis Reis, Peter Campbell, Buck Brannaman, Craig Cameron, and Pat Parelli. Evan’s main goal is to raise the level of horsemanship across our local community for the benefit of horses and the people who love them.
Evan specializes in ground manners, colt starting, problem solving, classical horsemanship, and Western Dressage. He offers many services including demonstrations, private lessons, group clinics, and monthly horse training. The cornerstones of Evan’s training program are awareness to the lifelong development of horsemanship and constant self-improvement. He encourages his students to develop creative problem solving skills and to THINK, while taking the non-verbal feedback and expression of the horse into consideration.
Evan Bonner is a six-time Colt Starting USA Champion trainer and a 2014 & 2015 Las Vegas Finalist. He is a North American Western Dressage member, a student of Dennis Reis Universal Horsemanship with 15 endorsements, and a level 3 graduate of Parelli Natural Horsemanship. For more information on Evan Bonner, his philosophy, services, and horses, visit Evan Bonner or contact him directly at (360) 551-3736.
Warwick Schiller – Clinician
Location: Hollister, California
Disciplines: Natural Horsemanship, Reining, Colt Starting, Problem Solving
Philosophy: “When working with horses, our job is not to prepare our horses for something. Our job is to help them learn to prepare themselves for anything.”
Bio: A lifelong rider, Warwick Schiller moved from his home country of Australia to the United States to pursue his dream of training horses. He focused on reining, his passion, eventually going on to become an NRHA (National Reining Horse Association) Reserve World Champion and also representing Australia in reining at the 2010 Alltech World Equestrian Games.
Somewhere along the way of learning to train reining horses, Warwick came to understand a thought process; a way of dealing with horses that crossed all boundaries of breed or discipline. This thought process involves a high level of understanding the nature of horses, something that doesn’t need to be taught to them, as it is something they already understand. Warwick’s ability to solve horse problems is a skill that only the world’s finest horsemen possess, but his unique gift lies in his ability to explain the how, why and when of what he does with the horses.
For more information on Warwick Schiller, visit his website www.warwickschiller.com or contact him directly at warwick@warwickschiller.com. You can also watch his popular YouTube videos, subscribe to his Video Library, and follow him on Facebook.
Jana Guthrie – Sponsored Rider
Location: Canton, Texas
Discipline: Barrel Racing
Horses: Unbridled Memories (“Worm,” Quarter Horse), Bar Tee Peanut (“Peanut,” Quarter Horse), Gee Force Cash (“Gee,” Quarter Horse)
Bio: Jana grew up in a family that loved horses. She has been riding horses every since she can remember, and won her first saddle when she was six years old… after that, things only got better! Jana has had several amazing animal athletes that have helped her get where she is today. She now competes in many futurities all across the United States. Every year, she trains a three-year-old to compete in the futurities all during their 4-year-old year, and also has a few open horses that she rides at the rodeos and large barrel races. When she isn’t training horses and chasing cans around the country, Jana is a Criminal Justice major at Trinity Valley Community College.
Jana says, “The Safe Clip has saved me a lot of injuries and chaos. A lot of my young futurity horses get spooked at the slightest things and set back very easily. The Clip has allowed them to get relief when setting back instead of getting hurt or breaking my trailer ties. It is also convenient for me because I no longer have to tie my horses up, I just simply clip them wherever they are being tied. I use The Safe Clip every day on all of my horses, no matter how young or old.”