Jack Brainard

H O N O R E E
N R H A
Jack Brainard is considered a
legend in the horse industry.
He has trained horses for
more than 70 years.
Jack Brainard
HE’S A MASTER HORSEMAN, MENTOR,
AND ONE OF NRHA’S FOUNDING MEMBERS.
BY ROBYN SCHERER
F
ROM HIS HAT TO HIS SPURS, NO ONE COULD DOUBT
that Jack Brainard is a cowboy. His bright
smile warms a room. The laugh lines
around his mouth are evident, and his eyes
sparkle with happiness. Always comfortable
in the saddle and master of the flying lead
change, he is no ordinary man. That is why the NRHA will
induct him into the Hall of Fame this year.
The Enthusiast
A Texas horseman, Brainard has always had love and enthusiasm for horses. Born in 1921 in South Dakota, Brainard
began riding at three; his first steed, a Shetland pony. He
started training horses when he was in high school and
worked with several people to learn everything he could. “I
lived at a time when the horse business was growing,”
Brainard says. “I took advantage of every opportunity that I
thought existed.”
Brainard graduated high school in 1939 and attended college at Iowa State University where he studied animal science for three years because no equine science program
existed. In 1942 he was drafted into the U.S. Army and
served for three and a half years in Alaska. After his discharge, he returned to his horse training and competed on
horses in several events. In fact, he showed for 25 years. “I
competed when I was little, and then again when I got back
from the Army,” he says.
He has lived through several changes in the industry. In
an excerpt from his book, If I Were to Train a Horse, Brainard
writes, “I have seen the Quarter Horse emerge as a breed
now approaching four million horses (my first Quarter
Horse had a registration number of 369). I remember when
Paints were only spotted horses, and the ranchers called
them ‘Indian ponies.’ I watched the Appaloosa breeders
struggle to publish a studbook in Moscow, Idaho, and I
watched cutting grow from spectator events to million-dollar contests.”
The Industry Leader
According to Brainard’s website, jackbrainard.com, he has
had many firsts in his life, “including taking the first registered
American Quarter Horse to Iowa in 1946 and also having
the first Quarter Horse in Wisconsin. He made the first
AQHA Champion in the upper Midwest, was one of four
people who organized the Iowa Quarter Horse Association,
and he also helped organize the Midwest Quarter Horse Association. He even owned a horse that won the title of ‘Best
Bronc’ at the National Finals Rodeo four different times.”
One of the other opportunities that he saw was in international business. “I did it for profit,” he says. “Europe was
a new market, and I sent many horses over there, primarily
broodmares and reining horses. Many of the reining horses
were the catalyst for the popularity of reining horses in Europe now.”
He was named the “Man of the Year in Texas Agriculture”
in 2003 and was awarded the Industry Leader Recognition
Award at the Texas Equine Industry Conference in 1999 for
his work in the horse business. He was also elected into the
Texas Horseman’s Hall of Fame and was recently elected into
the Iowa Quarter Horse Hall of Fame in January 2010.
The Trainer
Brainard has been training horses since he was a teenager,
which means he’s been training for more than 70 years. He
thinks of training a horse as a partnership, with the rider as
the primary driver.
“Schooling a horse is a logical progression of training exercises,” he says. “We must remember that every horse is an
individual. Sometimes it takes more time to train one than
another. Training a horse is simply being able to show a
horse how, where, and when to place his feet.”
His book, If I Were to Train a Horse, is one of the most
well-read books on horse training available. According to
Larry Kasten, Brainard’s friend and colleague, in his review
of the book, “He will open your mind to the challenges, enjoyments, and fulfillment of training young horses. I know
of no horse trainer who is a greater student of horsemanship than Jack.”
“Seventy years of training horses and producing some of
the world’s greatest reining horses have given him the vast
wisdom that he shares,” Kasten wrote. “You will be amazed
at how he takes complex training procedures and simplifies
REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF THE NATIONAL REINING HORSE ASSOCIATION AND NRHA REINER VOLUME 31, ISSUE 03.
one of the most consistent observations she has heard from
clinic participants is, “I learned more in the last four days
than the last 20 years.”
She continues, “I think Jack’s greatest accomplishment is
his ability to teach and to share his knowledge.” She thinks
a good instructor needs three qualities: a thorough knowledge of the subject matter, the ability to observe the student
and be able to find out what needs to be improved, and
knowing how to communicate to help that student without
discouraging him or her. “Jack is superb at being that kind
of instructor,” she says.
He is dedicated to education, not only for others, but for
himself as well. “I have always admired Jack because he is
such a continual learner,” says Glasgow. “He is always looking for a way to be a better instructor for both the people and
the horse. He has never lost his drive or his interest.”
Kasten agrees, “His continuing thirst for knowledge has always impressed me. He is an extremely accomplished horseman, but he was always looking to become a better horseman.”
ROBYN SCHERER
Jack Brainard
shows Gary
Vickrey how to
assemble a
headstall and
how to make it
work properly.
them through his understanding of the horse’s mind and
movements.”
Known as the “Master of the Flying Lead Change,” he
helped others tackle this difficult maneuver. “He has demystified flying lead changes,” says Bonnie Glasgow, Brainard’s
business manager and personal friend.
The Teacher
Brainard’s dedication to education is also evident. He helped
develop the equine education program at the University of
Wisconsin at River Falls.
He served as an instructor in horsemanship and was responsible for developing their entire equine program. “I got
it going, and then we hired Kasten to take over the program.
He was there for 30 years, and it is now considered one of
the best equine sciences programs in the country,” Brainard
says. He is also on the equine sciences board at Texas A &
M University, where he serves as a consultant and mentor for
the program.
Brainard teaches roughly 20 horsemanship clinics for advanced riders per year around the country. Glasgow, who
has served as his manager since the spring of 2003, says that
ROBYN SCHERER
ROBYN SCHERER
Jack puts on roughly 20 clinics each year
across the country. Here, he takes a moment
with Sandy and Gary Vickrey, while at a clinic
at NV Equine in Cedaredge, Colorado.
Jack is a much
sought-after
horsemanship
clinician.
The Friend and Mentor
Brainard is considered by many to be a wise and trusted person. “Many of the reiners came to me for help.”One of the
reiners he worked with is Craig Johnson, a two-time NRHA
Futurity Champion, Million Dollar Rider, NRHA Derby
Champion, an eight-time AQHA world champion and a sixtime American Paint Horse Association world champion.
“He (Brainard) is a hero of mine,” Johnson says. “I have
spent a lot of time with Jack.”
Brainard has known Johnson for decades. “Craig is like
family,” Brainard says. “I sold Craig his first reining horse. I
even taught his mother how to ride.” Brainard’s work with
Johnson helped him to become the first $100,000 NRHA
Futurity winner in 1983 on Lucky Bay Glo.
Brainard has influenced colleagues as well. “I’ve worked
with Jack for a number of years and he was very instrumental in getting me involved in the reining and Quarter Horse
industry and in developing my talent,” says Kasten. “He
helped me with a number of things. He instilled in me as
much or more than any university professor the desire to
keep learning. He always told me, ‘There is somebody out
there who is doing it a better way or taking a different approach.’ That is probably the most important thing I’ve
learned from him.”
Kasten continues, “There are few who are better at horsemanship than Jack. I am extremely honored to have Jack as
a friend and to have been able to work with him for the last
30-plus years.”
One of the people Brainard has had the biggest impact on
has been his son, Jody Brainard, who’s shown numerous
NRHA and AQHA world champions. “With every father and
son relationship, the father always wants the son to do well,”
Jody says. “Fathers are probably harder on you than they
are on anyone else. Obviously, that worked really, really well
in my case. It’s not such a bad method of teaching. He told
me, ‘If you show enough interest to want to be in the business, you are either going to be really good or you should
find something else to do.’ It’s that way with any father-son
combo I think.”
“Jack doesn’t want to just love the horse himself, he wants
other people to enjoy them as well, and love them,” says
Jean Brainard, Jody ’s wife. “There are times he has told me
that he dances with horses, not just rides them. He is a great
guy to take a lesson from.”
Two Million Dollar Rider and Hall of Fame member Tim
McQuay has also spent time with Jack. “He showed me how
he was very smooth and soft with his hands,” says the
NRHA Professional from Tioga, Texas. “He is an excellent
horse trainer. He brought up the competition another step
and laid the foundation for today. He has helped so many
young trainers in his lifetime and influenced so many lives.”
In fact, Brainard was a lot of the reason why McQuay moved
to Texas. “Jack said to me, ‘Come this way, you won’t be sorry,’
and I believed him,” says McQuay, who’s won every major reining event possible. “We have been here 20 years, and he has
been there helping me during all of it. He still comes over and
gives lessons and helps a lot with lead changes.”
Kim Diercks, Brainard’s student at the University of Wisconsin and one of his past employees, is another person who
looks to him for advice. “He is always wonderful help,” she
says. “He had a simple way to train horses; make the right
things easy and the wrong things difficult. You don’t get that
kind of devoted help from just everybody. You never felt
alone—it was always a great team.” Diercks, an NRHA Professional, now lives in Wisconsin and trains reining horses.
She is a multiple finalist at the NRHA Futurity and Derby
and National Reining Breeders Classic.
These people are not the only professionals who have
sought Brainard’s advice. “He has gone to and consulted
with the top competitors in the area,” says Glasgow. “When
trainers have trouble, they come to him.”
Jack is passionate
about learning
and passing what
he's learned on to
others. He says,
“There is
somebody out
there who is doing
it a better way or
taking a different
approach.”
says. “It will be fun because I know all of those who have already been inducted. It will be like a family. It will be fun to
be admitted to the group that is primarily responsible for
the success of the Reining industry.”
Kasten added, “The Hall of Fame induction is extremely
well-deserved. His contributions to the horse industry as an
educator, horseman, and idea person have helped to develop
the industry.”
Jack competed
all over the
country. Shown
here in Denver
in 1962.
Current Life
Last fall, shortly after learning about his planned induction
into the Hall of Fame, Brainard contracted pneumonia while
teaching a clinic in Canada. After further testing, the doctors
discovered he had heart trouble. At 88, he underwent
quadruple bypass surgery on October 14. After the surgery,
the doctor said, “Wow, he is strong as an ox! He is stronger
than me and I am 44! He will live to be 100!"
His recovery is going well, and he plans to continue his
clinics. He will be attending the Hall of Fame ceremony at
the 2010 NRHA Derby, and his first event since the surgery
was judging Road To The Horse, which he has judged every
year since it started. ✦
The Organizer
One of the bigger organizations that Brainard helped to establish is the Stock Horse of Texas Association (SHOT). This
was Brainard’s “brainchild,” according to Glasgow. “The
show world had gotten so highly specialized that there also
needed to be a place for a more well-rounded type horse,
and SHOT was that outlet,” she says.
SHOT, which started in the early 1990s and incorporated
in 1998, gave rise to the American Stock Horse Association
(ASHA), which was formed in 2008.
According to Brainard’s website, jackbrainard.com, “This
program outline has since been picked up and implemented
in both AQHA’s Versatility Ranch Horse Show classes and
now APHA’s Ranch Horse Versatility class.”
Brainard was also one of the founding members of the
NRHA in 1966. His membership number is 19. “Prior to the
NRHA, Reining was done only at breed shows. I thought it
could stand alone and become a competitive horse event,”
he says. Today, the NRHA has grown to more than 15,000
members in 40 countries.
Brainard calls this award his greatest reward in working
with the NRHA. “It means a lot to me to be inducted,” he
ABOUT THE WRITER:
Robyn Scherer is a NRHA member and student at Colorado
State University studying animal science, agricultural business
and journalism. She graduates in May and will be attending
graduate school in the fall to pursue a Master's of Agriculture.
She lives in Fort Collins and raises show livestock.
Jack's NRHA membership
number is 19.
Jack helped establish
the Stock Horse Association of Texas.