“My husband, Jerry, and I, along with our son, Hunter, discovered Brandi when we were searching for some training help for Hunter’s horse, Cheyenne. We owned several of her dad’s horse training DVD’s, so we were pretty excited to find that Brandi lived here in Phoenix. We contacted her in late Spring or early summer of 2012.
I was impressed immediately with her friendliness over the phone, but as the conversation went on, I was more impressed with her knowledge of horses! We’d only had our 3 horses for about 6 months, so I was feeling a bit intimidated by Brandi, but that feeling lasted as long as it took for me to ask my first “stupid” question (which was probably 3 minutes into the phone call). Brandi made it clear right away that “no question is ever stupid”! I was put at ease that quickly.
Another conversation that stands out to me happened when Brandi called us back after Cheyenne’s evaluation. She felt Cheyenne’s problems were certainly fixable, but she stressed that training Cheyenne was only half the battle. It was equally important that Hunter (and Jerry & I if we were going to ride her also) participate in her training 2-3 times per week. She said it would be a waste of our money to pay her to train Cheyenne if we didn’t know how to duplicate what she was doing when we got Cheyenne home. It made perfect sense to me.
We went through the entire training with Cheyenne and were pleased with the results. I’d also like to say that we really enjoyed Brandi the entire time. She is an upbeat, friendly, encouraging & attentive professional woman. She is also a great listener. Any time I’ve brought up a question or concern, she has understood what I’ve said and addressed it thoroughly. Personally, I would expect someone so well known in the horse world to maybe be a little “above it all”. But that’s not what you get with Brandi. You get her whole heart, for your horse, but also for you. She truly cares that you are happy with your horse and the training she is giving. She’s all about the connection you have with your horse. And she cares enough to be brutally honest if need be. I have heard her turn down training opportunities because she felt that the horse was not right for the owner and vice versa. I don’t see that kind of integrity often.
Brandi continues to train our horses. My horse, Beemer, & I have been in reining training since mid-summer 2012. We moved our horses to Thunder Mountain Ranch (her training facility) when it opened last September. Since then, my husband has also become Brandi’s client. This past weekend, for the first time by ourselves, we were able to take our horses out of town for a weekend trail ride. We now feel confident in our ability to control our horses in almost any circumstance, thus making our time in the saddle enjoyable for ourselves, but also for our horses.
One thing I always say about Brandi is that she has never given me advice or a suggestion for my horse that didn’t work. She knows her stuff. She figured out early on that I struggle with my confidence when it comes to riding, and she has been sensitive to that in my lessons. Always encouraging along with correction, always patient when I get overwhelmed or frustrated. And even on my worst days, she has something positive to send me home with. As a result, I’m much more confident on Beemer than I was 9 months ago. My husband’s confidence and skill have grown tremendously as well. To top it all off, Brandi had just finished training Naughty when my husband got an infection that prevented him riding for weeks. Without even telling us, Brandi continued to make sure that either she or her assistant, Emily, rode Naughty every day so that he wouldn’t forget what he had learned before my husband could ride again. No ulterior motive, just kindness, because that’s who she is.
Last but not least, it would be pretty unbelievable if I were to say that Brandi & I have never had a disagreement & she’s just perfect. Of course she’s not, nor am I. We’re all human. What’s important is not whether we’ve had differences or not. What’s important is the way in which& Brandi handles herself in these situations. She has the utmost respect and appreciation for her clients. She is willing to listen even if there’s some criticism involved. She gracefully accepts responsibility for herself where appropriate and adjusts accordingly. (I know very few people that are this humble!) I have had some “bad” days myself, after which, I’ve apologized to Brandi. I can tell you she is quick to forgive & forget!
Given all of the above that my husband and I have personally experienced with Brandi Lyons in the last 9 months or so, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend her to anyone needing a competent, ethical, compassionate, and professional horse trainer. As an added bonus, I count it a blessing to have gotten to know her!”
