Genuine and gentle

Some trainers excel in riding and teaching varied disciplines and events. Some shine in their ability to develop and match equine and human talent. And still others stand out for their students’ consistent performances.

To her clients, Carol Jones stands out for all these as well as her high moral standards and her ability to build her students’ confidence.

“’Miss Carol,’ as we all call her, is a great inspiration and a great mentor,” says non-pro client Deborah Whitaker. Deborah is also the mother of 20-year-old Sarah Whitaker, one of many students who advanced through Carol’s program from walk-trot to non-pro.

“Miss Carol treats all her clients, regardless of their age or level, with the same respect and courtesy,” Deborah explains. “She never makes anyone feel inferior, and she always finds something positive for clients to get out of a lesson.

It’s this genuine sincerity and gentle encouragement that endear Carol to those who know her, and resulted in her receiving the Appaloosa Horse Club’s Trainer of the Year award for 2008.

From crayons to college

Carol, who moved her operation from Pine Bluff to Little Rock nearly four years ago, has been involved with horses since childhood. She got her first horse at age 7 when her parents decided to move from their city neighborhood to the country. Great! she thought. I can have a horse now! The barn was built before the house, and she had her first horse before the house was finished.

She was introduced to the Appaloosa breed in 1978 when her brother-in-law, Ron McCaskill, bought an Appaloosa from the late Dr. Cecil Evans of Texarkana, Arkansas. Carol started riding and showing the gelding. “That one Appaloosa led to two, then to three…” Carol says.

By the time Carol entered Connors State College in Warner, Oklahoma, she’d decided on a career in the horse industry. One of her instructors, Ralph Collins, had trained horses privately before joining the college staff. He helped her get her own horses to campus to use in the show program. He also used his connections to get horses for Carol to train, which helped her pay her way through school.

“He kept encouraging me when it was discouraging,” Carol says of some of the rank colts she encountered early in her career.

Because of Carol’s friendship with Linda Pirtle of Diamond L Appaloosas in Gainesville, Texas, Carol was able to line up an internship with Dave Parlier, also of Gainesville. “Linda had a breeding operation at the time,” Carol says, “so I got to see both sides of the horse business.

“Dave had outside horses too,” Carol adds, “and I also got to see the daily grind of the ranch: fence mending, plumbing repairs and so on. Horse training isn’t as glamorous as it’s sometimes made out to be! Sometimes you have to deal with lameness; sometimes you have to tell an owner their horse isn’t ready to compete.”

But she loved the variety and it was there that she discovered training was what she really wanted to do.

Tender yet tenacious

It was also during these formative years that Carol developed her training and communication style. “During our 12 years in Carol’s barn, the only time I’ve seen her get ruffled was when she thought a person or a horse was treated unfairly,” says Deborah.

Carol’s calm demeanor sometimes disguises her determination. Jill Kline Wohlschlaeger, a client for nearly seven years, admires Carol’s tenacity in preparing both horses and riders. “What it takes to prepare me as a 30-plus-year-old is very different from what it takes to prepare a 10–12-year-old,” says Jill, “—and I also have a difficult horse to prepare!”

Jill also admires Carol’s eagerness to learn. “If she has a client who wants to do something that’s not in her current area of expertise, she makes a point to chat with other trainers who have experience so she can help her clients,” Jill says. “Then she practices all of the things she learned with her student. I admire her ability to talk with her peers to learn what she needs to support her clients and her clients’ horses.”

Long-time students

Carol’s positive attitude and willingness to go the extra mile have attracted many clients to her barn. Her fondest memories involve 26-year-old Nasty Ole Man, who’s carried a succession of those clients to National and World top ten finishes.

“About 15 years ago, my farrier’s neighbor had him,” Carol says. “He needed a new home. When I took him to National the first time, it was pretty incredible to watch the big horse trot.

“Then he got away from me,” Carol says, “and a lady trail rode him for several years. She ran an ad in the paper for a world champion Appaloosa barrel racer. I thought I knew them all, and when I called, sure enough, it was him.”

Carol got him back when he was 20 and he won a number of championships after that. “This is the first year he didn’t show,” she says. “He officially has nothing to do but eat grass. He couldn’t be happier.”
Regional ramrod

Along with her training and coaching duties, Carol has also devoted untold hours to supporting and promoting the Appaloosa through the Arkansas Appaloosa Horse Club.

“She’s been a member for well over 30 years,” says Deborah, “and she almost single-handedly, for the last 16 years or so, has kept the Arkansas ApHC going.”

Carol also works with Carol Ogle on the Southern Regional Show. “She knows what needs to be done and she tries to keep everyone interested in showing and keep the camaraderie going,” Deborah says. “She just goes above and beyond.” By Diane Rice