Jerry
Lee Sewell’s whole direction for training owners and their horses is to
get a better deal for the horse. Learning has always been important to Sewell,
and has been a lifelong process with regard to horses.
Sewell’s experiences include evaluating and rehabilitating horses from
the racetracks. His program consisted of first getting the horses off their
“rocket fuel” diet, and turning them out to be “just a horse”
for a few weeks. Their training started back at square one with ground training,
driving, and then to riding. “To determine if the horse would go better
in Dressage or in the Hunter/Jumper arena,” said Sewell, “I’d
evaluate each horse, looking for good minds, athleticism, and attitude.”
Sewell has also worked ranches in Colorado, Wyoming, and New Mexico. Most times
he was starting colts and fixing problem horses, inevitably winding up being
the resident horse guy. Some of his other duties were to ride horseback 10-12
hours a day breaking ice for the cattle to get water.
Sewell believes ranch work is one of the most demanding calls for a horse. “Besides
the physical attributes of stamina and athleticism,” said Sewell, “the
horse needs to be patient, good minded, and have a blue collar work ethic. A
horse that’s a quitter won’t make it doing ranch work, and a horse
that is temperamental can’t take the pressure.”
In 1983 Sewell attended a John Lyons clinic in Steamboat Springs, Colorado with
his daughter, Rene. The trip and clinic were a graduation present to Rene, but
Sewell was impressed and he’s been training horses ever since. Sewell
has also been influenced by the gentle approach to horse training by such greats
as Tom and Bill Dorrance, Ray Hunt, and his mentor, Craig Cameron. He also studied
Dressage and equine movement from Wolfgang May, formerly of the Spanish Riding
School in Vienna.
Sewell developed “Humane Horsemanship,” which is observing the horse
in his interaction with other horses and using that information to deal with
the horse on his own terms.
“I think we are all constantly in a learning process from the day we are
born,” said Sewell. “How many “horsemen” 
won’t
attend clinics because they don’t want to appear stupid? That old cowboy
ego can get in the way of progress.”
It’s no different for the horse. The horse learns from the day he’s
born, and Sewell tries to find ways to tie what he wants the horse to learn
to the horse’s normal process of living. The learning process is retained
and effective when the horse is free to learn without pain and fear.
Learning is a two-way street for Sewell. Not only has he started hundreds of
colts, corrected “problem” horses, and retrained horses –
Sewell is continuously learning too. He’s had many teachers since he received
his first horse, Buttermilk at the age of 4. “Maria, was a big mule who
helped me learn to rope,” said Sewell. “My 24-year-old Gay Bar King
mare, Pistol introduced me to cutting and team penning. Sonny Boy, is my Colonel
Freckles gelding who has won everything in sight in the Western world and went
on to compete to second level in Dressage, along with teaching many kids how
to ride. Sonny is my closest friend, and if he could speak “human”,
I’d be in trouble!”
Sewell’s strong desire to learn and improve crosses over to his love for
passing on that information to others. He has a special ability to teach the
new or unsure rider, believing it is important to give them a solid foundation
because the new people are the lifeblood of the horse industry. The key is to
ensuring that the new individuals into the horse world have a good experience,
is to make sure they receive solid and safe instruction.
“Everyone will make mistakes,” said Sewell, “and I hope that
people can learn by my mistakes and what I’ve learned from those mistakes
over the years.”
Clinics
and training sessions don’t always run smoothly – the horse doesn’t
always cooperate and some horses are more challenging than others. “Recently
I worked a 2-year-old Warmblood at trailer loading,” said Sewell. “It
was the first horse I ever worked with that I couldn’t get into a trailer.
His owner later told me that he went into the trailer for her using my technique…I
just flat ran out of time, and it was embarrassing.”
“Another time I was working at a clinic in Belton where I pushed a young
horse too hard, trying to meet a human-imposed schedule,” said Sewell
“and I got dumped in the process. It’s interesting to note that
in both cases I was embarrassed because the horses involved weren’t wearing
watches!”
Sewell is ready to present “Humane Horsemanship” any time and any
place and is always looking for new public and private venues. He’s always
looking to make a better deal for the horses…whether it’s starting
one colt at a time to make a good horse, or reaching ten people at a clinic
to make their ten horses happy – it’s all about the horses.
You can contact Jerry Lee at 512-360-2241 or email
visit his website
(contact information
updated as of 1/7/04)
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