Valerie and Tenny

Chris met Valerie at a horse show in Illinois  At the time, Valerie was in middle school getting lessons from another trainer who was unable to attend shows with her.  The problem was that her horse had major problems at the shows and that's when she needed a trainer's support the most!  Eventually, Valerie's parents started hauling her and her young buckskin horse to Chris for lessons.  Valerie is the type of person who doesn't give up but this horse had some major problems stemming from previous rough training.  It wasn't uncommon for the horse to be excused from a class by a judge because of his dangerous behavior!  Chris only had to put enough training on the horse to make him safe for Valerie as she was determined to "make" the horse herself!   
Valerie continued to ride with Chris and become more confident in her own talents and the talents of the horse. Eventually, Chris rode Tenny in a buckskin show and he won the junior western pleasure class.  Soon after, Valerie began racking up the points.  With help from Chris and another wonderful trainer (Donna Meyer) Tenny excelled at several events.  To date, Tenny and Valerie have 119 ABRA points in 18 events (from barrels to hunter hack), 181 ABRA points in 17 events (from discipline rail to western pleasure).  She is the 2003 ABRA national youth representative and is a lovely, talented high school senior.
This success story is special because several people worked together to help Valerie succeed.  They include:  
-Her parents, Tom and Rita, who have always supported their daughter and provided the financial resources it takes to get lessons and show.
-Her brother, Adam, who indirectly helped motivate Valerie to do well in the show ring.
-Donna Meyer, another trainer who never had ego issues and was always willing to work with the pair on speed and jumping events, and
-Chris Fleming, who still believes that talent and determination combined with good training are enough to achieve your goals.
CONGRATULATION VALERIE!!!  Everyone is so proud of you!

UPDATE March 2006

Valerie is now a junior at West Texas A&M. She has several Buckskin World Championship BUckles she has earned with Tenny! In addition, Valerie has competed successfully on her college judging team and completed a training internship in Pilot Point, TX last summer where she was able to ride some nice colts! The horse world looks forward to Valerie's graduation and her entrance into the professional horse business.