In the last few years, the Relentless Remuda has evolved. We’re still looking for the same end product, but the industry has gotten to the point that Miles (Baker) and I are both riding 3-year-olds and up, and we can’t start every 2-year-old we’d like to start.   

Everyone wants to be a futurity trainer or team rope for a living, but there are way too few people specializing in 2-year-olds. There’s a huge market for somebody to take a horse from 2 to 3. There are way more people who can take a 3-year-old on and make him a rope horse. A lot of people can start one, but a lot of horses don’t reach their full potential because those trainers don’t have the right skills to give a horse the foundation he needs to be a great rope horse. 

A great start stays with them a lot longer than someone fixing one later. The great foundation can’t be overplayed. They can be rode poorly after their 2-year-old year, but in the right hands, they can come back to that base. But if they’re ridden badly from the start, there’s no baseline to come back to. 

In my 2-year-olds, my needs are real simple: I want them really broke and broke right. It takes consistency, it takes repetition and it takes riding them for what they are each day. It isn’t going from Point A to Point B in 30 days. It’s looking at the horse as a whole picture. 

There’s some guys who need to spend the first 30 days on a colt, and there’s somebody better for the next 60 days. Some people are good for two months beyond that. It’s just a balancing act. There are not many guys hanging their hat on that profession, and if that’s something you have any passion for, it’s a great spot to make your mark in the industry. 

So how do you get your foot in the door? You’ve got to bet on yourself first. You have to show people what you can do. I’m not going to bet my colts’ futures on anybody I haven’t seen a consistent product that I like out of. I don’t want to bet them on a one-hit wonder, and I want to know they can do it and create it time and time again. By the time somebody gets good, they want to go into another market versus staying somewhere long enough where they’re the renowned 2-year-old guy. Those guys can stay booked up, and for the most part, your overhead costs can be down from rope horse trainers. But you can be charging the same amount.

—TRJ—

The Colt Starting video library on Roping.com teaches you how to lay a solid foundation for young roping prospects. With step-by-step training, his collection is ideal for ropers at any level seeking to enhance their skills and understanding of starting horses from the ground up.