Learn About Assistant Trainer & Barn Manager Bryan Gallegos
Bryan Gallegos is the barn manager and assistant trainer at Classical Horsemanship. He started his journey in October of 2023 as a working student before quickly graduating to instructor, then soon after to the position he’s in now. Although he didn't come with much horse handling experience, nothing was going to stop him from gaining the experience he sought. Bryan moved to Fort Collins a couple months prior to starting at Classical Horsemanship with his fiancé, Aleza. All the while he was yearning to work with horses. Aleza helped Bryan look at different horse training facilities and felt lucky to have landed on Classical Horsemanship.
There he has learned safe and ethical horse handling as well as the start of the classical way of training and working with horses. Everything he learned has been such a gentle and friendly approach to working with horses that it kept drawing him in, and left him wanting to learn more.
From the few previous trail rides Bryan had been on, all he learned was: kick the horse to make them go quicker and pull them in a certain direction. Good thing he didn’t make these instructions a habit because people don’t need to do these brutal things to ride and work with a horse. You can be kind and a friend to the horse you’re working with! Horse riding can be harmonious and beneficial to both you and the horse. That realization is what keeps him going: there is always something to personally improve on for the betterment of the horse. Even though it's the harder way of riding, it places the responsibility of becoming better on the individual instead of putting it on “disobedience” of the horse.
In the book Moving ‘Em by Burt Smith, when talking about stockman ship Smith states “Stockman ship is knowledge that is translated into a skill through practice. Knowledge is cheap compared to material goods, and proficiency comes with practice. Stockman ship cannot be bought-it must be developed by the individual.” That is the same approach Bryan is taking to riding lessons and horse training. The only thing needed to become better is awareness and practice.