Reflecting with Devon Garone: The Saddlebred World We Grew Up With, and the Future She’s Building at Fairfield South

Devon Garone 0:00

Well, I was born into it. My parents started Fairfield South in the early 80s every weekend out in the barn with them and listening and watching them teach lessons and work courses and eventually showing myself. So it's really cute to see my own kids sort of like just starting to emerge in that whole world of like having their own peers and their own kids that are at the barn, and it's a lot different than when I was growing up, but there's a lot that's still the same.

Alex Husner 0:33

What an amazing legacy. And also for your parents, how do we get more people back into this?

Devon Garone 0:38

Girl who rode with my parents in the 90s, Molly, who lives in Missouri now, she said, Oh my gosh, we're coming home for Thanksgiving. I'd love to bring my daughter to see the barn that I grew up at. It doesn't have to feel like an intimidating visit where, oh, they have all these expectations and now I have to ride like I did when I was 17.

Reconnecting After 26 Years in the Saddlebred World

Alex Husner 1:00

Welcome to The Long Ride Home. I'm your host, Alex Huisner. This show is about honoring where we come from, pursuing what still calls us forward, and trusting the power of timing in both life and in sport. Through honest conversations with riders, trainers, and leaders in the American saddlebred world, we'll explore the stories behind the horses and the people shaping the future of this industry. Come on this journey with me. Welcome back to the long ride home. I'm your host, Alex Huesner, and I am joined today by a very special guest. They're all very special, but this one is kind of near and dear to my heart, Devin Garonne with Fairfield South, who Devin and I were the same age. We grew up together, riding in the same era, and just knew each other a long, long time ago. And for the first time in 26 years, spoke on the phone last week and I invited her to come on the show. And Devin, I'm so glad that you're here.

Devon Garone 1:58

Thank you very much for having me. It's crazy. I know it. I always say it feels like uh it was all another lifetime ago. Really, in some ways, wasn't that long ago, but just different chapters of your life. But looking back to when we were kids showing, I don't know, it's just it was a long time ago. A long time ago, yeah. I'm so glad that you're back in our industry. And I've loved watching your clips and just following your story. And thank goodness you're back. It's just wonderful. I'm so excited. Thank you.

Alex Husner 2:24

I'm very happy to be back. I hate that it took so long, but everything happens for a reason. And you and I have talked about that, and we'll talk about that more today. Of like, you have to trust the timing and the signs of things. And it's really cool for me coming back to be able to talk to people that I knew back then, and especially people like you, like

From Equitation to World Cup Teams and Madison Square Garden

Alex Husner 2:40

Amanda. I mean, some of the other people I've had on the show that like I had personal relationship with, they still kept doing it the whole time. And I've been watching the whole time, but now I'm not just on the sidelines, I'm on the side of the ring. So I'm getting a little bit closer. But before we get started, there's a lot of people that listen to the show that are outside of saddlebreads, a lot of people that are inside saddlebreads, but even still, I bet there's a lot of people that don't know the full story of Devin Grown and the Fairfield story. So maybe just share a little bit about your history in riding and how that got you to where you are today.

Devon Garone 3:12

Well, I was born into it. My parents started Fairfield South in the early 80s. And we've had our barn here in Richmond, New Hampshire my whole life. And I grew up as an only child right alongside them every weekend out in the barn with them and listening and watching them teach lessons and work courses and eventually showing myself. And primarily I showed in equitation. I would say probably in the 90s and the early 2000s, equitation was the primary aspect of our barn. We had a lot of equitators, and so it was really fun to do that together as a team. And we were all different ages, but just a lot of group lessons together and really just like a big uh support system. And I was able to do a lot of amazing things because of this industry. I um traveled to South Africa twice on World Cup teams. I was able to show at Madison Square Garden, which I think is just the coolest thing to be able to look back and think about.

Alex Husner 4:17

Oh my gosh, yeah. What a what a thing to keep on your mental and reality resume. I mean, that's I know, I know.

Devon Garone 4:25

Some amazing horse show venues over the years. Obviously, that one tops the list. So I've just I've seen, I'm 41 years old, I've seen the industry evolve in those years, and I've had a pretty similar role in in a lot of ways the my whole life. Although obviously now I'm a professional and married to a worst trainer and running the stable alongside of him. So it is obviously it is different than being a kid, but there's a lot of similarities too. It's um kind of been one of those things that I've sort of was born into and really never fully left.

Alex Husner 4:57

Yeah, there's so many things that you just mentioned that I remember so clearly and literally seeing pictures pop in my mind when you were talking about the equitation side of things and like I'll think back to the magazines back then, and there are the pictures of your whole I can like picture one of them. I know there was a girl named, I think it was Erica or Oh yeah, Erica Sapory.

Devon Garone 5:15

Yeah.

Alex Husner 5:16

Yeah, okay. Like I remember her face just flashed into my mind as I said that, and like there's always the pictures of your team and the beautiful tuxedos, and then the Cricket Hill team and the tuxedos.

Devon Garone 5:26

It seems that those headshots were kind of popular in the 90s. Everyone was doing like wearing your suit leaning against the barn and and for everybody like at the big E, you know, or like at one of the championships.

Alex Husner 5:37

Like it was so cool. And I grew

How Equitation and the Saddlebred Industry Have Evolved

Alex Husner 5:39

up alongside all those gals too. But I was a performance rider. But like the fun thing was I still got to ride in the group lessons and do the camps and everything with them and learned so much about that. And there's a lot I want to dive into, but I let's just start with there because I think that's actually kind of interesting. And then we'll go back to some of the other things that preceded this. But in your career now, and just in general, I think equitation, it doesn't seem like there's as many riders that are are in it, or at least to the level that it used to be back in the day. But are you guys training a lot of equitation riders now?

Devon Garone 6:11

It's kind of the age-old topic, really. We certainly don't have the same numbers as they did in the 70s and 80s and probably the 90s, but I feel like it's pretty healthy overall, and the quality is amazing to me. And I think every region kind of ebbs and flows a little bit. We have certain time pockets where there's a lot or not as many in New England. But I would say for our business, and that's really what I really can speak mostly about, you know, we have had a little bit of a dip in equitation in recent years, but it kind of could almost be more that we've just had more adults that are coming back into it, such as yourself, just people that used to ride as a kid. And, you know, maybe they some of them did equitate as kids, and the courier takes over and family takes over, and then they find their way back. And I feel like that's what our a majority of our clientele is currently. We do have a few equitation riders, and we love doing that. But it is kind of funny. Kyle and I are both growing up and showing we were almost to a point, almost exclusively equitation riders, but we definitely love all the variety of divisions. We do not know exactly, yeah. And then that does keep it like so fresh, and it'll be really fun to see, you know, like over the winter, for instance, Kyle will start equitating some horse that you kind of never thought he would start doing some lead changes and stuff with. And that part is really fun. And the people coming on the weekends are like, oh wow, you've made so much progress over the week. That's so cool. And it's fun to still be able to have a lot of that and have that background. And probably a lot of that is used in coaching the performance riders, kids and adults, too. Going back to the equitation numbers, when I watch some of the big classes at Louisville, I feel like they're riding better than ever and riding just top-notch horses, and it's just as thrilling as ever to watch. So, my most recent little phase, we have a Hunt Seat Morgan equitation rider, we have another pleasure equitation rider, and we have our son Brody, and those are our three equitators. There you go. So funny and just fun. And the two girls are they treat him so well, and but it is really cute when you'll see just like when you would get ready at the shows as a kid, and you've got your suit on, and the other equitators are showing that day too. So you get that little group picture of everyone getting ready to show, and it's like teenage girls and Brody, and everyone's like arm in arm, and then now Waverly showing too. So it's really cute to see my own kids sort of like just starting to emerge in that whole world of like having their own peers and their own kids that are at the barn,

Building a Family and Raising the Next Generation of Riders

Devon Garone 9:01

and it's a lot different than when I was growing up, but there's a lot that's still the same. Wishing good luck and saying congratulations and go finding the kid that won and telling them good job and just teaching the kids and the riders, but also obviously, you know, teaching your own kids and parenting your own children. Yeah. So many of our horse show lessons are um exactly how you want to raise your kids. I really appreciate the industry more having kids. I really can see the benefits, and it is a cool childhood, cool way to grow up and has a lot of positives.

Alex Husner 9:33

Yeah. Learning to win and learning to lose gracefully is a huge thing. And I actually hadn't really thought about that recently in this whole process, but like that is for sure something that you learn as a kid and something that you take with you in your career, whatever you do. If you stay with horses or you do something else. So, probably ask you more. I kind of jumped around and got into that because I'm just excited to talk to you about your training philosophy. But let's talk about what got you to where you are now. You mentioned your kids and you mentioned your husband. And so your husband used to ride at Cricket Hill when I was there when we were probably 12. He was what, nine, eight or nine?

Devon Garone 10:09

Yeah, we're three years apart.

Alex Husner 10:11

Okay, yeah. So when we were younger, he was even younger than that. But I remember meeting Kyle Gagnan and his family, and when he first came to ride at the barn, and he was just the most astute, professional, like looked like a little man that was in a little boy body and could ride the pants off a horse. I know. So unfair, right? It was great. It was wild. He rode so many great horses back then, and it was just always captivating to see a little kid that was such a great rider. But when I saw later in life, I think it was after we graduated college, maybe that's when I started seeing, like, okay, they're like hanging out. Like, that's kind of cool. That makes sense. So you guys are married now and you have kids. I know. 11 years. It's crazy. Where does the time go? So, how did that all start? I mean, like, when did you and Kyle start realizing, like, okay, I kind of she wants the Kyle and Devin story?

Devon Garone 11:05

Yes, please. All the time. Um, you know, we were riders together and teammates and barn mates. And Kyle was always, I know he was like this at Cricket Hill too, but he was always like getting horses ready, helping work horses. You know, he was never just like the typical rider around waiting for his horse to work or he was always long lining horses, jogging horses when he was like 10 years old. Exactly. He was always like trying to find a way to ship the horses with my my mom shipped our horses at that point. And um, so he was always, even as a young kid, he was like her right-hand man, and they were hauling horses to Kansas City together. And and at that time, and I guess now still, but a lot of our clients are long distance. So when you have a barn full of junior exhibitors that all live two, three, four hours away, a lot of times they're spending the summers and the weekends, and it's just everybody's trying to do as much riding as they can, and it's just a big team atmosphere, really. You know, we're like training together and riding together, and we're friends, and we're going to all the shows. So yeah, we were just friends and teammates and just evolved. I don't know. It's just timing is everything, I guess. I don't know. He uh absolutely treats me like gold, and I just man, I lucked out. I don't know. I just got really lucky, and he is just absolutely one in a million. And you were talking about when you met him for the first time, he was like serious and driven and whatever. He's he's I think he's just absolutely inherently so focused and hardworking and gonna get the job done and always like that, and still is, and there's no quit in him. And my mom always says it's like he does the work of four people. What is how is he doing this all? I don't know, he's an amazing person, and yeah, so we ended up getting married in 2015. So we've been married 11 years and we have two amazing kids. It's just wild how time flies. And uh here we are with we have a six and an almost nine-year-old, and they both ride and they spent the whole summer with us. They didn't want to do any summer camps or do anything like that. They were out there in the barn with us every day getting their horses ready and helping work their horses and do their own kind of little projects and whatnot. And I try really hard to get them to watch the other riders and make sure that we can try to. There might not be a lot of other little kids similar age. You know, I try to encourage them to watch and pitch in and support each other. And our barn family is just amazing to our kids. Totally. I joke sometimes. I feel like they really probably don't know enough about how the real world works because they are completely spoiled and we have the best group that just treats them so well. That's awesome. Yeah, we just um and it just sort of has evolved just one year after another. Here we are.

Alex Husner 13:57

Yeah, it's amazing and makes a lot of sense. And just because you have kids and you're horsemen, horsewoman, doesn't mean that they will naturally love it. I mean, like I there's a lot of trainers that their kids are not part of the sport at all. So clearly it was ingrained deep in your DNA of both of you. So I it's probably hard that it wouldn't happen, but what an amazing legacy. And also for your parents. I mean, I grew up knowing your mom and your dad, Marsha and Gary, my whole riding life too, and just seeing, I'm sure they've got to just be immensely proud of like what you're doing, what Kyle's doing. Yeah, and then now the grandkids, like what do they think about all this? Like, what are they thinking right now?

Devon Garone 14:36

It was crazy because you were talking about there's a lot of people that a lot of trainers, kids that maybe don't ride. And it seems weird saying it now. Brody's only eight years old, so he hasn't really been alive for very long. But when he was probably four years old, he really wasn't expressing a whole lot of interest in riding. And I was kind of like a little bit freaking out, like, oh my god, is he not gonna be a rider? Does he not really like this? You know, what do I do? And Kyle's mom. I said, Kyle was interested in this at this age, right? And she's like, Oh yeah.

Alex Husner 15:05

So I'm like, all right, I never kind of walk and trot on on Rudy in those years at eight years. Right, right, right.

Devon Garone 15:11

So I said, Okay, well, I don't want to push, you know, I don't want to force riding on them. That's not gonna work for anybody. But I kind of thought to myself, well, it's sort of like a life skill being in this family. Like, you need to just learn how to trot around the arena on a horse. We need to get you to that point. And if you don't like doing it, that's totally fine. I can get behind so many other activities, it's gonna be great. So when Waverly was born, I stopped teaching beginner lessons. So we didn't have a group of seasoned lesson horses to really get Brody riding on. So we took Brody and Waverly, she was really little, but um we took both of the kids to do some lessons with Morgan at Chase Farm in Hollis, New Hampshire. A lot of lesson horses fairly close by. And I said, I just really want to get Brody to the point where he can just trot around the arena and call it like, okay, I've done my due diligence. Now you're able to sort of ride with the family a little bit. He took to it so fast, and Morgan was so amazing teaching him. And my mom was going to all those lessons with me. And oh my goodness, I swear it was like 10 lessons in, and she had already called Cindy Zubrod and uh basically bought Cinderella Blues for Brody. And oh my god, my dad and I were like, oh my god, this is ridiculous. He's way too this is you know, we you gotta go through the proper steps and no, this is not how we do things. Oh my god. I'm sure Kyle was in on it, knowing Marsha and Kyle. But anyway, so I do kind of want to say I do feel like I want to give my mom a shout out. She has a really amazing eye for horses, and she also has like a really she's just got good instincts, and she was so right on that because it really kind of without pushing the kid into it, but really created that spark and he really bonded with that horse. He really started to love the training lessons with Kyle, and Kyle has always instructed him like it's the NFL, and we're super into it, and we're going for it and we're growling and we're whatever. And Brody just totally took to that, and it was a fast progression of, you know, like we went six months from like, oh, he's really not interested in doing this, and then we like had a suit and now we're going to the Super Bowl. And he was like really into it. And now, fast forwarding to the horse that he has now, he just absolutely adores him. He just loves riding him. We're hanging out with a horse all the time. We're just totally in love with him. And Brody still just loves those lessons with Kyle and the intensity and the focus, and he's got a lot

Carrying on the Fairfield South Legacy

Devon Garone 17:44

of goofiness compared to Kyle at that age, I would say. But there's a lot of similarities. Of course, everybody always says it. But yes, the intensity and the focus and the drive and the hunger riding and showing it.

Alex Husner 17:56

I love that. I can't wait. I mean, unfortunately, this year our show paths didn't cross, but I cannot wait until hopefully next year. There should for sure be a show that we're all at together because I absolutely see him in the ring and see this live in action and get to see Kyle. And then hopefully your parents, if they're there too. Absolutely. Yeah, that would be great. So the transition from okay, now you and Kyle are together. Was there a conversation of like your parents being like, Okay, this is good, like you guys can take it from here? Or they're like, How did that happen that now you guys took overall?

Devon Garone 18:30

It always just kind of evolves, I guess. My mom over the years has sort of taken a step back at one point or another, taking care of some relatives and family members during illnesses and whatnot. And Kyle just has kind of sort of just kept working all the horses. And you know, it sort of just evolved and morphed into we have a lot of long-term clients, a lot of clients that started when Kyle even was a kid still. But obviously, we have a whole nother group of newer clients that maybe kind of started under Kyle's program a little bit more and sort of like as the years go on and sort of just morphs into kind of a little bit more under Kyle's umbrella. And my parents are kind of like a little bit, you know, I'd say semi-retired, but they're still very much involved and still live at the property and still come out and watch horses work once in a while, especially now with kids, especially now that my dad is able to travel with my mom to the shows. They're coming to the shows to see the kids, our kids' show, and obviously the clients as well. And a lot of our people are long-term enough that they're people that we have all known for decades and feel like family to my parents as well. So they're not they're not gone. They're not at all washing their hands of the whole situation, but definitely very graciously letting Kyle and I step in as more of the leading role. And I'm sure that isn't easy and we don't take that for granted. But it is nice to be able to see them have a little bit more free time and be able to spend a little bit more time together and try to enjoy some hobbies and not have the barn be the center of everyone's universe.

Alex Husner 20:11

Yeah. Well, like you and I, when we spoke last week, we talked about your parents had you and you guys have had two kids. There's a lot of trainers that never end up having kids, and whether by true decision or just because of the time commitment that the barn kids are their kids, and it's a lot to have children and run a farm when you have the client kids are your kids, the horses are your kids, your team are your kids. I mean, this is it's a very, very difficult industry, but I think it's it's wonderful how it's worked out for all of you. And I can't wait to see what happens with your kids where they go with this next.

Devon Garone 20:42

And it probably wouldn't have been, we wouldn't have been able to do it quite as easy if my parents hadn't been involved in their younger years, sort of having enough people on hand, you know, to be able to kind of juggle it all obviously is crucial. And so it is, but it is definitely a balancing act and trying to make it all work. And that's been a nice part about having enough of us. There's always well, usually always someone to do all the plan.

Alex Husner 21:08

Yeah, exactly. Because there've been a moment where something happens that you're like, Oh my god, I sound exactly like my mom or I sound exactly like my dad right now. Oh, yeah. Like with the barn or even with your own kid, what they would say to you.

Devon Garone 21:22

Yeah, yeah, totally. Every time I teach a lesson or or anything, everything that I'm saying is all of their sayings for the most part. I do feel like obviously working with your family has a lot of challenges, but we're all very like-minded. The four of us or the group of us are all very much have the same vision, the same dream look. So very similar coaching styles. Maybe there's some different approaches, I guess, but there's funny stories from when I was a kid. Some of the kids used to say you'd be going around the ring and you'd be down at Marsh's end, and she'd say, Get going, come on, hustle. And my dad would say, What are you doing? Slow down. Hold them together. You know, whatever. But there are plenty of opportunities where it's kind of like a more of a complimentary style when you've got multiple sides of it. But very similar, a lot of a vision, I guess, is the same. And I hear myself saying a lot of the same things that I've heard my parents say. And my dad's mom was a very successful women's basketball coach. And I've always felt like he coaches people on the rail, like he's coaching a basketball game. He's, you know, obviously gets a little bit of a, I think he has a little bit of a reputation of being loud, boisterous, but he's intense in his own way and fired up, trying to create that like hunger-winning attitude, competitive confidence. A lot of it, you know, trying to boost a person up. But yeah, I've really learned so much listening over the years to my mom teaching lessons. And I think she has a real gift for teaching, and she doesn't teach anymore. But I always tell her, Come on out, teach this person. No, no, I couldn't, I couldn't. They actually one uh one day this summer, my parents have never done any of the lessons with the kids, but one day before Louisville, I had each of them teach Brody on a lesson horse, and that was really cute just to see and hear. And Brody is so good, he takes instructions so well, you know. He is it's gonna sound a little bit raggedy, but he's just a dream student. He just really tries really hard for whoever it is. But that was really neat and hearing a lot of the familiar things and the end goal is all the same. That finished, polished product. It's like the same. I really feel like it's the same picture in all of our minds.

Alex Husner 23:43

Right. One thing that I've seen coming back to this is like you can say something to someone, or one trainer can say something to someone one way, and then somebody else or an assistant trainer says it a different way, and it clicks with you. I mean, with your family, you guys probably are all more similar in how you say things, I would imagine. But like at the same time, you are still different people than your mom and your dad, as Kyle is different than than them too. That there's going to be different things that you hear from somebody that could be like that aha moment of, oh, okay, that makes sense. I mean, like for me, like just a simple example, there's a horse that I rode yesterday at the barn that he's got a very strong canner. And Andrea kept saying, like, calves away, calves away. And like I stopped at one point, I'm like, I don't feel like my calves are on the are on the horse. And she came over, and one of the other girls came over and she said, Literally move your foot like this. Like you have to point your heel out. Because even though you don't feel like it, your calves are on him. And when I woke up this morning, yeah, my calves are bruised, so they were on him, you know. But it's like it's just it's literally how somebody can describe something different. And and it goes in all ways. And it's like sometimes one trainer says one thing, something a different one. Like it's

Coaching Adult Riders Through Show Ring Nerves and Confidence

Alex Husner 24:51

just there's a multitude of things. And I think as a kid and also as a returning amateur, we actually have more in common than you would think. But it's like the kids still learning how to even understand what you're saying, just generally, the adults over processing everything in our heads and being like, I'm not doing that. What do you mean? You know, like and like trying to try so hard to understand what you're asking. So it's like sometimes it's it is really good, I think, to have um more than one person that's giving you instructions. So I think in your situation, that's great if they can come out and just say a few words, you know, they're the royalty.

Devon Garone 25:21

Right. Yes, exactly.

Alex Husner 25:23

So let's talk about a little bit about like just how you look at training too. And so you mentioned that you don't have quite as many equitation writers anymore, but more like adults and you know, returning amateurs. How do you coach somebody like me that's coming back or older and wanting to get into this? Like, because it is different than coaching kids, like, and maybe use me as the guinea pig, but like you would be so fun. I if I need to do a new hampshire tour because I would love to come up there and see all you guys up there so so badly.

Devon Garone 25:55

Well, part of it is because you're so clearly into it, you're just so passionate about it, and you want it so bad. I mean, you've done most of the work right there. Yeah, now it's just the fun stuff. Now you just ride a bunch, ride.

Alex Husner 26:10

Honestly, being like being at this age and not wanting it, then why the heck are you doing right? When you're the one that's paying for it, you'd be crazy to not want it. But like, yeah, I get it too. I mean, some people, and I'm not like crazy competitive, but I am somebody that I want to see results, I want to see progress. Like progress is probably the most important thing. Like, that's a core value of like as long as we're progressing, then that's gonna keep moving along. It's like when things are not progressing, then that's when it is really easy for anybody to be like, why am I even doing this? You know, and that that's that's the slump you don't fall into. But for people like me coming back to it, how do you coach them through some of the things that I have been through? Of I am seeing progress in me and my horse, but like just specifically about me, I'm seeing progress. But then sometimes I'll watch videos of a ride and be like, Oh man, I thought I'd fix that. And it came back again. How do you keep people motivated, I guess, like that are trying and they want to be better, but like we are adults and our brains work differently now?

Devon Garone 27:02

Yeah, first of all, and our bodies. Yeah, it's so cool for an adult to return to it, or even we have some adults that didn't ride as a kid and started riding as an adult. And I think that is just about the coolest thing to be an adult and do something that is so challenging, something that you can feel so proud of yourself about. There aren't very many opportunities as an adult. We get so immersed in our work and our family, and it's like we do a vacation or whatever, but who has a hobby? I mean, there's so few adults have hobbies. I think this is so amazing.

Alex Husner 27:42

Zero hobbies until a year ago. So I think it's working out is not a hobby, or working in general is not a hobby.

Devon Garone 27:49

So I never have really taken a break from riding, but I did have two kids. So I was obviously not riding for a few years there, or not showing for sure. And we had a really cool client that had a gated horse in the barn. And I can't totally remember exactly how this happened. I guess it was probably she and my dad, and probably Kyle all conspired together. And her name is Janelle, and she had me show her horse. That was the first horse that I had shown under saddle anyway, in probably like five years. And Kyle and I are driving to the show, and I am like out of this world nervous. I am like so uncomfortable. I'm like, what am I doing? I hate this, I'm freaking out. Why do people do this? I can't do this. Oh my God. What if I look like an idiot? And this is someone who like I never took a break from coaching people, going to shows, putting people in the ring, putting my own kids in the ring. It was really, really eye-opening for me. I think I'm thinking of mine, I'm like, I had to be eye-opening.

Alex Husner 28:54

That's the only way to explain it.

Devon Garone 28:56

I think I actually said to Kyle, like, we need to make this even more fun for people somehow. I don't know why people are doing this. This is like I was really nervous. So then I go and I show, of course, just like everybody says, like, pretty much the minute that you hit the show ring, the nerves go away and you get really into it, and then it's over in a second, and all you can think of is like, oh my God, that was so much fun. That was amazing. And like I felt so proud of myself. And it was just so silly, really, because it's not like I really had taken a break, but I hadn't actually done it. And to be a mom and to take that break, and then to like get yourself back out there, and you're either gonna become a sideline person or you're gonna like become a show person again. And you can kind of do both, I guess. But anyway, I remember feeling like, wow, I'm really proud of myself because I could have very easily said no, and then another five years would have gone by, and probably another five years would have gone by, and all of a sudden it would have been like, Yeah, I'm not ever gonna do that again, am I? Yeah, yeah, and I feel so grateful that I did. I don't show all that often, but the more years that go by, the harder it is to get back into it. Anyways, I can totally appreciate the nerves and like the doubt and the what-ifs. So I actually think that really helps me when there are inevitably the circumstances in which people are doubting themselves or feel like they've lost their confidence or whatever it is, and those moments or hours before your class where you're just like, oh my God, you're questioning all your life choices. Why am I doing this to myself? There's got to be some other hobby that I can do that won't make me feel this way. Yeah. But when you get done with your class and you feel like you accomplished a couple of the things, and then you do another class and you're like, okay, well, I was able to do those things. Now I'm gonna try to push it, I'm gonna try to do these things. And then you get to the next horse show and you're like, okay, that one I'm gonna, you know, it's just all building. It's probably just like a working out or other hobbies or sports. It's just trying to make small goals and trying to remind people where they started and where they came from. And it's never gonna be perfect, it's always a process. And I think it's definitely hard for adults who are a little bit more analytical, a little bit harder on themselves. You know, they wish they could have like a special formula to follow and that will produce the results that they're hoping for. And obviously that's just not the case, but trying to focus on the positives and small goals, you know, one step at a time.

Alex Husner 31:23

Yeah, I think everything that you said there makes so much sense. And, you know, a good experience in a way for you to have had that of like leaving and coming back because I mean, obviously your body changed, I'm sure, after having kids too. So it's like there's a break from writing, so it's like you have to regain that confidence physically. And you know, in your head, I mean, there's no way you forgot an ounce of it, I would imagine, but your mind plays tricks on you, absolutely it's gonna make you think like, why am I doing this? I'm not good enough to do this. And the compounding interest and efforts part, I think, is really important. And that's one thing that I've tried to really focus on getting back into this too, especially with the young horse. And like, really, I mean, like, I when I look back on this year, I'm like, I had we had no idea what we were getting into, and I wouldn't change any of it, but like I did not know how complicated getting a young horse would be, and like that it was a long timeline ahead of us, and is it's gonna be worth it, but like it's little steps, and it's like every ride has been better than the last ride, and I can say that to be honest, that just makes me proud. Like, even though the first ride was not great, so like it could only go, it could maybe only go better, but like everything has gotten a little better, a little better, a little better. And so we're at that point now where he's enjoying his fall break and he's getting to be a horse for a little bit.

Devon Garone 32:36

I loved that video of him getting turned out.

Alex Husner 32:39

We just went up there earlier this week and I got to see turn him out in person and let him run around and like just see the whole thing, and it's so cool.

Devon Garone 32:46

But he's so much of it too is like you're you've got your barn mates, you've got your husband, you've got your trainer behind you. It's such a team, there's so much camaraderie.

Speaker 3 32:56

Yeah.

Devon Garone 32:57

And like so many people feel the exact same way, whether you idolize them and think that they don't get nervous or not. So I think that's comforting when you're freaking out and when you're like, oh my god, this is taking forever. And you can kind of everybody's going through it, you know, and it's like or has at some point. Maybe they're not at this point, but the feeling proud of yourself as an adult, I think is just such a cool experience that not a lot of adults get to feel. I'm sure there's pride in your work and pride in your family, absolutely. But to really put yourself out there and challenge yourself to do a high-level sport with a horse as an adult, I really think is like something to applaud and feel really good about. Any progress in it is huge.

Alex Husner 33:42

And I think at the end of the day, we are all really competing against ourselves more than anybody else in that ring. And if you take the mindset of I just want to be a little better every ride, at least one of the things that can help get you through when there are hard rides and disappointing times. And because they're going, they're going to come, I know they're gonna come for me.

Devon Garone 34:01

You know, I mean it's and it's kind of weird, but it's almost

Can Saddlebred Homecoming Bring Former Riders Back?

Devon Garone 34:05

always easier in the show ring. I feel like everyone is very self-critical at home, and the warm-up ring is always very difficult, you know, no matter where you are. But you know, you hit the show ring and it sometimes just most of the time I feel like kind of falls into place, you know. It's it's uh maybe a little bit of it is kind of like the autopilot thing, but most of the time I feel like people have a better experience, things go very well showing. So don't worry, you'll be able to do it and you'll build upon each ride. I mean, you're gonna have so much fun, it's gonna be awesome.

Alex Husner 34:37

Totally, totally. So transitioning a little bit to you and I talked about like where the future of all this goes and like how do we get more people back into this? I mean, how do you look at people who stepped away and like what would be a way to get people like me that used to do this back? Like, is there anything that comes to mind or like anything that you think would help bring people back? Because I I do feel like my ICP, which is ideal customer profile for horses, is like that I'm the type of person that you want to get back that used to do this. I never had kids, but like imagine if I did have kids and now they are we're empty nesters and now we have a lot of time on our hands. Like then there's a lot of people out there. How do you bring them back in a way that they will want to ride and know that like they don't have to ride at the same barn that they rode at 26 years ago, 30 years ago? What do we do?

Devon Garone 35:25

So I so thoroughly enjoyed the Carson podcast from a couple weeks ago. And when we talked about this on the phone, but then listening to his idea about the saddlebred homecoming for Thanksgiving weekend, I just thought that was the cutest idea. And I loved your analogy saying the lowest lying fruit, the easiest people to bring back are the ones that already have been in it. Obviously, we're all trying to get new families, but it's a heck of a lot easier to get the people that already know right now to the syndistry. So a couple days after that, a girl who rode with my parents in the 90s, Molly, who lives in Missouri now, she said, Oh my gosh, we're coming home for Thanksgiving. I'd love to bring my daughter to see the barn that I grew up at. I said, You're not gonna believe this, but there's a little uh right now. And so we're gonna try to have a reunion the Friday after Thanksgiving. And I just kind of want to run with that Carson idea. I just think that is so cute and just so fun. And I think our barn is uh 40 plus years old.

Alex Husner 36:30

So I think it would be amazing if we could get as many imagine how many people have you have you guys keep track of that? Like how many customers you've had in the lifetime of the barn? No, just lots of storytelling. Well, because back then a lot of it was pen and paper, you know, and probably even still.

Devon Garone 36:47

But that would be still this huge Rolodex on her desk. I loved playing with it and all the people in there.

Alex Husner 36:54

Yeah, I mean, it's almost like uh where are they now? I know, yeah.

Devon Garone 36:57

I mean, some of them don't even probably have a connection to New Hampshire or New England anymore, but any of them that are uh we're gonna try to reach out. Molly's helping me a lot to try to get in contact with people, and you know, but there's so many different generations or different, you know, groups, you know, like there's the group from the late 80s and the group from the early 90s, and so yeah, it would be really cool. And I think that's just such a cute idea. And there's luckily, you know, I know we're not as an industry always the most unified, but there are so many creative thinkers and there's some really great leaders, and I feel good about that fact. There's a lot of amazing ideas, and this was just a quick, simple one about having an event over Thanksgiving weekend. So I hear these ideas frequently, and it is a hard thing with a young family to be probably quite as active as Kyle and I should be in our industry. And hopefully, as our kids get a little bit older, we will be able to participate a little bit more. But that is a very fun, quick idea that we are totally all on board with. And um, yeah, saddlebred homecoming. I love it. I love the name, I love the the whole idea behind it. So yeah.

Alex Husner 38:08

Um well, make sure to take pictures, video of Molly, and like post it on your social. Yes, I will.

Devon Garone 38:13

If there's any Molly Anastasio was her maiden name, but yeah, she won at Louisville. Wow, one won or two walk and track classes at Louisville. We'll have to we'll have to show some pictures. We'll uh her daughter is writing now, and so it's just really cute.

Alex Husner 38:27

Yeah, I mean, like I said, I think at the end of the day, the likelihood that somebody still lives in the area where their barn is that they wrote at is is probably unlikely. But if you're somebody in Missouri that now that person lives in New Hampshire, now it goes both ways. Right, absolutely.

Devon Garone 38:42

This can benefit all barns, and it's not just

How Horses Bring Families and Generations Together

Devon Garone 38:44

about getting your old people back, but and it doesn't have to be like, oh, if I show up, that means they want me to buy a horse. You know, it can just be like visiting, staying a part of the community. There's so many different ways to support and sort of re-immerse yourself in any of the ways and just kind of reconnect and visit. It doesn't have to feel like an intimidating visit where oh, they have all these expectations and now I have to ride like I did when I was 17 and just moment and bring something somewhere. Exactly. Yes.

Alex Husner 39:15

I mean, for me, my first step besides following things on Facebook was early 2025. I resubscribed to the National Horseman and I was like, okay, but that was like the beginning part. And I remember my husband and I went on vacation and I brought the magazine with us to Cabo. And I said, sometime while we're on vacation, just like flip the pages of the horses that you like, and I'll I'll do the bottom pages on the ones that I like. It was so funny because I remember coming at you on my black pleasure horse. When I came back, I had my mind, I'm like, I want a big, like black, either park or three-gated horse. Like that, that's just what I had in my mind. And those were most of the horses that I had pinned, and he had pinned mostly all chestnut horses. And so when we started looking at horses, like in reality, like he didn't like the black ones that I found or like the dark brown ones. But then Chapstick, who was like a sure as day traditional chestnut, all chestnut, he was like, Oh, he's perfect, you know. And I had another, I didn't have anything wrong because it's chestnuts, but like it's just funny. Like, you have to, I think part of I'm a big believer in manifesting things and how you can really bring things into your life if you believe in them. And that was, I didn't even know it at the time. I was just doing something I thought would be fun for the trip, but like right, we were bringing that reality into focus a little bit more and then a little bit more and a little bit more. And then when it started to become like, okay, I want to do this, it just happened. So it's like, you know, go out to a barn, subscribe to a magazine, leave it somewhere your husband will see. But a sticky note to pan the horses he likes. I don't know.

Devon Garone 40:44

And what a great example that story is of how it can be a family, you know, your husband probably doesn't ride or drive, and you know, may or may not ever, but it's uh fun activity that really the whole family grandparents, whatever everyone can find. When I was teaching lessons, you know, sometimes you'd have like the occasional mom who'd want to wait in the car or something, and I'd be like, You don't want to see your kid on a horse? Like, come on, you know, like this is really cool. Yeah, I don't care whether you're into it or not, they're still on a live animal, and this is like a significant thing that you should want to watch. A lot of the spouses are really supportive and find it enjoyable, and they're probably not watching all the classes of the entire horse show, but other ways to enjoy it and like bonding with your family. You're on this road trip and you're spending a couple of days with a show. I mean, there's so much that you can squeeze out of this experience that benefits you in no way because of this activity. You know, it's spending time with your family, it's you know, having stuff in common, it's talking about which color horse you like, you know, it's just there's a lot of adult spending time with their adult parent. Rick Daigle and his daughter Melanie Hart have been able to spend so much time together. Where without this, obviously they're getting together for holidays and they're having their family meals and whatnot, but really spending quality time participating in this industry with your dad. I mean, those are memories I know that Melanie does not tell me about it.

Alex Husner 42:22

I just got back yesterday with my dad who came up. My husband, unfortunately, wasn't able to make it. We had something going on with our dog. They had to stay home. But my dad and I spent a lot of hours over the last couple of days, and really this whole summer, we've spent a ton of time. And I mean, he used to be you know my main supporter at the shows, both emotionally and financially back in the day. And so now he gets to just come and just be the emotional support for it. But it has been so much fun reliving this with him and and just like literally like the rides up to the barn, something always happens, like there's always some like comedic, crazy thing. And like we've just we've spent more time together in the last three or four months than we have literally in 26 years. I mean, because of all these drags.

Speaker 4 43:04

Yeah.

Alex Husner 43:05

And we actually just filmed yesterday. I was like, we need to start like the podcast called The Long Ride Home. On the actual long ride home, we should do a recap of what happened at the barn. And so yesterday we did the first one, and you know, he goes down a rabbit hole of like crazy comedic things. My dad is like over-the-top, funny comedian kind of guy, and I've got to reel him back in sometimes. But it's been so many fun memories. And, you know, my mother-in-law, my husband's mom, who she knew nothing about this, you know, nine, 10 months ago. Now she's following things and she's asking questions about the horses, and she's gone up to see chapstick with us. And it it can really be a wonderful family thing that, like you said, it's it's something else to talk about besides what else is going on in the family or like what's going on with work or the kids. Like it's something just to give your mind a little bit of like something fun. For you guys, it's it's your work too. But for people that this isn't our daily thing, for me, this is like that is the most amazing just vacation in my mind every time I go up there and my body.

Devon Garone 44:03

The system is so proud of the exhibitor too. I mean they obviously get a sense of their ups and downs and their disappointments and their oh their what ifs and it's just it's just a really amazing bonding activity and creating a lot of special lifelong memories for whatever age or stage of life that you're at. So there's just a really a lot of positives to participating in this industry.

Alex Husner 44:30

Yeah I agree completely. Well for now this is it but I want to have you back because I think there's so much that you and I can go deeper into in this I can talk about this stuff all day long. I know I literally we could we could go forever but and I think it's super fun for me especially with you because we are we're the same age we grew up at the same time I know I know you're at a very different point than I am but like I know we will end up hanging out at the shows and it would be just great to see everything going on at your barn and talk to your people and you know you guys have built something amazing. You and Kyle have built something amazing and your parents built something amazing and just to see that legacy continue. You know I mean literally the word I think of is amazing. Like that's just it's such a cool thing and you don't see that in every type of business these days. And I know there's challenges with all of it but a lot of great successes and the impact that you guys have made on your clients and the horses over the years is just unbelievable.

Devon Garone 45:23

So well thank you very much. We really love it and um we're excited when people are rejoining the industry and um you know I feel like podcasts and reels and just in the last couple of years we are starting to see some fresh takes on maybe some of our slightly antiquated habits or routines. And I think it's just wonderful to incorporate some new ideas and just have some new community members. So we're very appreciative that you're back in it.

Alex Husner 45:56

Yeah yeah that means a lot and I think it is it's a great time to be back and I think it is a good time where people seem open to wanting to try new things and there's no risk in any of this. I mean it's just storytelling is huge and no matter what industry you're in storytelling is the that's the backbone of how you get people interested in it. Right. Yeah and there's a lot of amazing stories in this industry of people over the years and the horses and there's literally just so much to cover but this was awesome Devin and I'm so glad that we reconnected I know when we got on the phone last week I was in the grocery store and as soon as you said hello I'm like oh my god your voice sounds exactly the same I don't know why I thought it sounded different but it's like it's so crazy to reconnect with people from so I know it is so funny.

Devon Garone 46:42

Some things never change even you know the decades fly by but you're still just the same horse crazy games and you still have that snapshot of 90s in Springfield Massachusetts and exactly if anybody wants to get in touch with you what's the best way for them to reach out we have a Facebook page and an Instagram and uh we are usually at all the a lot of the New England shows and follow below I'll tag my phone number or something down there.

Alex Husner 47:12

Yeah we'll include everything in the show notes. I think everybody knows how to find you if they if they don't already know you and I'm honestly I'm sure there's probably plenty of people that don't know you listen to this and you might have said something that they wanted to hear more about. So we'll make sure everybody can get in touch but uh in the meantime if anybody wants to reach out to me into the show you can go to thesattlebreadpodcast.com and that's all of our social handles on Instagram Facebook TikTok YouTube is the Saddlebred Podcast so thank you for tuning in and Devin I can't wait to see you at a horse show in 2021 it was so fun yes thank you for what you're doing appreciate it thank you