When Nate was 14, he really wanted to get a quarter horse. They didn’t have internet back then, so he would watch ads in the catalogs, and finally Nate found a 3 yr old Reg QH mare halfway across the country. He mailed his hard earned $1200 to them, had her hauled in and started her from scratch, which really fueled Nate’s passion to learn more. Nate then started reading books from John Lyon, then buying training videos, and at one time he bought $500 worth from Clinton Anderson, which was a lot for him back then! 

At the age of 15 Nate began work as a stall cleaner at the Bar F Ranch, cleaning 25 stalls, feeding etc.. The Bar F Ranch was a pleasure, cutting and team roping equine facility in Pennsylvania and that is where his passion grew, and where he learned how to train across all disciplines. Soon Nate started working horses on the ground and eventually riding and training under Rob Foster. 

Several years later Nate went out on his own training for various clients. In 2013, a friend encouraged him to do a mustang makeover, so Nate did. That year started his competitions with wild mustangs, leading to many championships and reserve championships. Nate has also competed in reining, cutting, team roping, and ranch versatility as well. 

Nate, his wife, and their three children came to Texas in 2017, and are blessed to have a ranch in Mineral Wells, training, team roping, doing clinics and helping people get connected with their horses!

“I feel honored and incredibly blessed to be invited to do the Road to the Horse Wildcard Challenge, it’s something I’ve been wanting for a long time, it’s really neat to compete along other horsemen and women, and RTTH has a neat way of making this a prestigious event each and every year!”

Learn more about Nate Eicher at or visit Either Ranch on Facebook here.

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In 2019 Lee Hart got married and moved to Elizabethtown, Kentucky after living 34 years in and around Council Grove, Kansas. Lee spent many years developing as a horseman by working on ranches, training horses, competing in various horse disciplines and instructing people in riding and horsemanship. Lee has travelled over much of the United States, as well as Europe, Australia and New Zealand conducting horsemanship clinics. Lee is passionate about teaching and learning from his students, both human and horses, and takes pride in being able to help people to better read and develop a feel for their horse so they can become stronger, more confident leaders.  

Lee was born in Texas where he learned about working, ranching, and cowboying from his granddad and the ranchers he worked with.  Life required Lee to leave Texas and move to Kansas when he was 13 years old.  Lee begged cattlemen around his hometown to let him ride and cowboy in their outfits.  Lee continued to learn and grow his reputation as a hand.  Lee worked for a few ranches for several years, honing his cowboy skills.  Lee wrestled, played football, and rodeoed through high school and college.  Lee continued to ranch and chase rodeo buckles until 2012.  Lee stepped away from cowboying once, to deliver milk.  That was a miserable, long six years of his life! Once he quit delivering milk, he promised himself, never again would he make my living without horses.

Lee’s wife, Laura, are continuing the business Lee started in Kansas and developing their horse business in Kentucky.  They are in the process of turning their farm into a horse training, riding, and breeding facility.  Lee continues to travel and teach horsemanship clinics around the country and abroad, start and train as many horses as his schedule will allow and compete in Extreme Cowboy Racing. Laura and Lee share six amazing children and one granddaughter.  

Lee has competed in several equine disciplines over the years.  Lee has been the WRCA World Champion Bronc rider as well as WRCA Top Hand.  Lee has been an American Royal Colt Starting Champion and Ultimate Equestrian Colt Starting Champion. In 13 years, Lee has won 6 Extreme Cowboy Association World Champion buckles and 4 Reserve World Champion buckles in the Pro, Futurity and Mustang classes.  Lee has also competed in a couple of Mustang Heritage Foundation make-overs, several times at the Calgary Stampede’s Cowboy Up Challenge, as well as Ranch Horse of America events.  

“Being a cowboy has been a passion and a dream fulfilled for me.  I have been blessed to live my life as a nurturer, confidence builder and caregiver for these amazing animals that I love as well as help people achieve true horsemanship with a confident and logical approach – Cowboy Logic.”

“I am very honored and proud to be invited to Road to the Horse’s Wild Card Challenge.  I am humbled to be chosen to compete alongside some amazing competitors.  I aspire to help my colt become confident and willing to learn not only for the competition, but for the rest of his life.” 

Learn more at www.LeeHart-Training.com or visit Hart Training on Facebook here.

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Kelsey grew up in Parkfield, California, where she high school rodeoed before working for cutting horse trainers Russ and Janet Westfall in California. She later trained horses for Wagon Wheel Ranch in Lometa, Texas. Now, Kelsey and her husband, Buddy, breed, train and sell horses from their home in Rising Star, Texas.

Kelsey has been a longtime fan of Road to the Horse, saying “It’s an incredible opportunity to be invited to an event I’ve admired for such a long time. I already feel butterflies when I think about being in the pen with a colt while a stadium of spectators looks on.”

“Road to the Horse is such a unique event” she adds. “Normally the first few rides on colt happen at home with hardly anyone around. This event completely flip-flops that experience because it gives the general public a firsthand view. It’s the little things that make the big difference when starting a colt, and at RTTH it’s set up for the spectator to take it all in.”

Kelsey is familiar with being judged on her horsemanship skills, and she’s taking what she’s learned in the show pen to this colt-starting competition.

“It’s my job as a competitor to know the score card and what exactly we are getting marked on, no matter if I’m showing a horse under saddle or, in this case, starting a colt. I have to do the best I can with my horse and let the chips fall where they may. It’s a competition, but, in the end, it’s most important to me to leave the horse in a better spot than when we started. I want to build confidence and a connection.”

Learn more about Kelsey Love Thomas at Love Ranch Horses on Facebook here.

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When Jonath first got into horses at the age of 25, he discovered that he could utilize his education as a foundation for horse training. After being exposed to horse trainers that used a lot of old school “cowboy” training methods, which seemed to Jonath more cruel than effective, he became fascinated with natural horsemanship. He uses it now as his principal teaching method. Developing and nurturing a partnership with the horse is key for Jonath. 

Along with headlining some of the largest horse expos in the country, Jonath travels throughout the year to teach clinics and compete in NRHA shows. J. R. Horse Training operates a full-time training program in Sherwood, Oregon specializing in reining, colt starting, cowhorse and dressage. 

Jonath has successfully competed in colt starting competitions in the past, being named Colt Starting Reserve Champion during the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo Cowboy Christmas in 2016. Horses have presented Jonath with wonderful opportunities, including landing the villain role in a movie and having his program documented for a reality show on the Discovery Channel. Jonath’s reputation working and connecting with horses and humans has led him to some incredible places around the country and now it has led him to give a clinic in Australia next year!

Learn more at www.JRroblestraining.net or visit J.R. Robles on Facebook here.

J.R. Robles secured his place as a Championship Competitor at Road to the Horse 2023 by winning the Wild Card Challenge.

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Neto taught Daniel so much about reining horses, showing him how to build a solid foundation in a performance colt. Daniel learned so many horsemanship skills from Neto, Daniel feels as if he could never repay him for helping him make his dreams come true. 

Daniel contacted Shawn Flarida in 2015, where he relied solely on Google to translate. Even though he had no English experience, Daniel made plans to obtain his passport and travel to Springfield, Ohio. He arrived, ready to work for Shawn, in January 2016. The decision to make the move to Ohio was an amazing experience for Daniel. The first time to see snow, feel temperatures that dipped below freezing, and take college classes to help him learn the English language. The kindness and knowledge that Shawn and his family showed Daniel was invaluable.

It wasn’t long before Daniel felt the pull of Texas, he knew it was the place he needed to be. In 2017, he moved to Fred Werneck’s ranch in Burleson, Texas, where he focused on roping, working alongside Fred and various NFR and PBR personalities. 

Daniel then went on to start his own horse training business, along with his wife, Deziraye Oliveira. They welcomed their daughter Camila in 2018. Deziraye, left her career in nursing to focus on their family horse training program. Together, they created DnD Performance Horses and purchased their first ranch in 2021, in Alba, Texas. 

A strong client base allowed Daniel to focus on high level cow horse colts. He looks forward to competing as a Road to the Horse Wild Card and is very grateful for the dreams he is able to follow. 

“It is an honor and blessing to be a Wild Card contestant this year on Road to the Horse. The opportunity is huge for me and my family. Our dreams are continually growing and we are thankful.”

Visit DnD Performance Horses on Facebook here.  

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Amanda’s philosophy is to teach her horses to respond to questions asked of them through the thinking side of their brain; instead of reacting through survival responses. This technique produces very relaxed happy horses that are easy to teach and thrive in ridden work. She has honed this ability through years of working alongside wild horses, (having tamed many wild stallions in New Zealand as well as Brumbies in Australia and Mustangs in America), studying the world’s best and starting countless horses of her own under saddle, since the age of 15.

Her passion is to bring more awareness to the psychological aspect of training a horse and how they process stress and store trauma. She hopes that her techniques will begin a new way of looking at horse behavior.

Amanda grew up competing from a young age and was show jumping at Grand Prix level by the age of 13-years-old. In 2009 she crossed paths with Showtym Viking, her pony of a lifetime, and together they went on to win many of the nation’s biggest show jumping titles. 

Over the years she has gained a reputation for producing horses through to the highest levels of show jumping, and her career highlights include winning the Pony of the Year, National Pony Grand Prix Championships, 5-Year-Old Series and the 7-Year-Old Horse of the Year, as well as placing second in the Olympic Cup (1.40-1.60m) and Young Rider of the Year.

Amanda is also a popular clinician, having taught thousands of riders across the country during retreats and clinics, as well as at New Zealand’s biggest equestrian events. She is also a well-known entertainer, having hosted night shows at Equidays, Equifest and Equitana, as well as being a sought-after motivational speaker.

At her property in Taupo, New Zealand, Amanda breeds, trains and competes a team of showjumpers. In her spare time, she writes (and in 2022 celebrated the publication of her first book Showtym Viking), travels the world in search of adventure, and studies trauma. 

“I am beyond excited to have been selected to be a part of the Road to the Horse Wild Card competition in Fortworth, Texas. This has been a dream of mine for so long! To be a part of such a rich history of top horsemen and women is such an honour, and I can’t wait to showcase my own unique set of horsemanship skills and styles on the world stage.”

Learn more about Amanda Wilson at www.WilsonSisters.nz or visit Amanda Wilson on Facebook here.

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