A native of Chatham County, NC Jim has spent his entire life surrounded by horses. From his first horse at age 10, he as enjoyed riding and training horses, and sharing his love and knowledge of equines with others. Along the way, he has encountered many different training techniques and several different trainers—all of which have proven influential on his training. Among his most respected are Ray Hunt, Tom Dorrance, Martin Black and Craig Cameron.
Jim has been fortunate enough to spend substantial one-on-one time with Martin Black and Craig Cameron. All of which have contributed greatly to his growth as a horseman.
In 2007, Jim’s horsemanship was put to the test—he was selected to compete in the inaugural Extreme Mustang Makeover. The competition, which is sponsored by the Mustang Heritage Foundation and the Bureau of Land Management, pairs trainers from across the country with an untouched wild mustang. These experienced trainers are given 100 days to gentle their mustangs, and then compete against the other selected trainers. Jim was hooked after the first event, and continues to compete annually.
Emily picked up her love for horses at an early age from her father. Her first training experience was at age 14 with her beloved Quarter Horse, Scarlett. Several injuries and over 10 years later, horses are still her passion. Her chief training philosophy? The training process should be mutually beneficial, for both horse and rider. Both parties should trust, grow, respect and have fun during training. Emily has competed in four Extreme Mustang Makeovers, and looks forward to many more.
Chapin began training horses for the public at age 15. His first equine, a mule, taught him that training horses isn’t as quite as easy as it looks! Since that time, Chapin has trained more than 30 horses himself, and participated in three Extreme Mustang Makeovers. These days, Chapin pilots more than just a horse—he’s a proud member of the North Carolina Army National Guard, and is currently in flight school to fly Apache helicopters. Hooah!