Tommie is a second generation horse trainer, raised on a paint horse ranch in California. Tommie spent his time growing up breaking, training and performing on horseback. He is the only son of a professional rodeo cowboy, stuntman, actor and Marine Corp. veteran. It was his father’s strict guidance and "just do it" attitude around the horses which became Tommie's destiny. “To successfully train a horse you must know how to convey what you are thinking to the horse in their language and in a way they can understand”. It is Tommie’s imagination and creativity what make him unique in the horse industry.
An accomplished performer in many disciplines, Tommie works in all aspects of the entertainment and equine industry. You’ve probably seen him in feature films, television commercials, as a featured performer at dinner theaters, a specialty feature act at a touring circus, a main character in a wild-west show, to performing his “extreme” shows at horse expos, equestrian events, rodeos, fairs, and numerous international horse shows around the world.
Tommie’s partners and traveling companions are his prized paint horses. Pokerjoe has been with Tommie for seven years and has travels over 100,000 miles a year performing in front of thousands of people. He is the veteran of the herd, is a solid performer and “upstages” Tommie in the “Riding Instructor” comedy act. While just six and seven, Joker and Ace, Tommie’s black and white paints are quickly growing towards stardom. Tommie acknowledges “You are as only as good as your horse. With discipline and respect comes love and understanding.”
 “I love what I do”, proclaims Tommie. “It’s great to be able to play with my horses, entertain people, and make a living out of it”. Tommie’s experience shows it is a consistency in training methods and routine which get the best results. “If you can get a horse to trust you, you can get a horse to do anything you can think of.” His trust building techniques are what has enabled him to roman ride over a wall of fire, leap through rings of flames and in an amazing feat of courage and trust performs a death-defying stunt by roman riding his horse while he is engulfed in flames. This is a dangerous stunt which has never been attempted by anyone other than Tommie.
|
