The Trainer
The philosophy Tom Estes uses in teaching and training is most like that of Tom Dorrance or Ray Hunt. And he stays pretty quiet about it. Each horse and human is treated as an individual with a spirit and energy to be nurtured and channeled, never eliminated or broken. He's spent much of his time showing and winning and now teaches novice to advanced riders how to win in both English and Western classes. He sees the best in both equine and human students, opens the gate to building on those strengths and invites them through, set up for success.

Tom's timing, balance and feel for horses comes naturally. Horses came to him early in life — his first horse for training at the age of 9. Her name was Beauty and she had already foiled two adult attempts to "break" her. Tom used his own approach. His father took note, and soon Tom became his dad's go-to trainer for many of his own American Saddlebreds.

In the following years Tom honed his skills in both horse training and ranch management at several large private estates across the country. After thirty-plus years of breeding and training numerous National Champions, managing boarding and world-renowned breeding programs, and the hundreds of acres, employees, and events involved in that work for others, Tom found Mt. Si Stables—his very own labor of love.

Most of the horses in the photos are examples of Tom's training. The two middle photos are of horses with awards ranging from Top Ten National Champion, National Champion Halter Mare, National Champion English Pleasure Half Arabian Division, and World's Champion Racking Horse. Tom has many stories about the horses in his life, their awards, their successes, and how he guided them in their journey. The stories both impress and delight—and are being added to on a daily basis.