From my earliest memories I have always loved horses. I was lucky enough to own Arabian show horses as a child. When I was still very young I dreamed of owning my own boarding stable. I have had horses almost continually all of my life.
As I grew older I became fascinated with dressage horses. I started breeding Hanoverian Horses in 1995. In 1999 I left the corporate world and moved back home to Tucson. Immediately started Sunkist Stables on Sunkist Rd. and in 2003 purchased the new location on La Cholla.
Since that time we have worked steadily on improvements to the facility. I was lucky to have a friend who was an equine nutritionist and spent years educating me in that field. I spent approximately five years working as a vet tech for Adobe Veterinary.
Four years I have overseen the Horse Matchmakers Program. This program is one I am most proud of, we have been able to find suitable homes for horses that were unwanted or the owners could not take care of them anymore.
Many needed retraining, we were able to carefully select appropriate owners for these unfortunate courses. The horse has given so much to me in my life I feel honored to get back to them.
Mike Goss is a highly successful competitor, trainer and instructor in the sport of dressage. Mike has trained with some of the top dressage trainers in the world such as former Olympian Gwen Stockebrand, Charles de Knuffy, Conrad Schumaker, Dr. Gerding Heuschmann, Alex Gerding, Uta Graf and many more.
Mike started riding in Germany at the age of 9. After moving back to United States, he showed extensively in show jumping, eventing and dressage. By the age of 15, he was starting and training green horses and working with problem horses. Mike went through the young riders program and was the first Arizona rider to ever make the Area 6 three-day event team. He competed in the Continental Horse and Rider Championships in three-day event. At the age of 19, he moved to Malibu, California and was a working student at a barn that imported the first wave of warmblood horses into the United States from overseas. At times, he had 10 or more show jumpers (some through Grand Prix level) in training simultaneously.
At the age of 21, he decided to change professions. While his life changed, he his love of riding and training horses didn’t. In 2003 thanks to his then 8 year-old twin daughters, Mike found himself back in the midst of horses.
The twins decided they wanted a horse. Every supposedly bomb-proof kid’s horse he found would try to buck him off, balk, or just play games. So, he decided to start a horse from scratch so the horse would have no bad habits.
“I think it’s easier and faster to instill good habits from the start than it is to fix bad habits,” he explains.
Mike found an unbroken 4 year-old mustang mare that had been picked up by animal control due to neglect. She had been tied to a hitching rail because she would kick the stalls apart trying to fight with the other horses. He paid $400 for her, and after 6 weeks, the kids were able to ride her anywhere.
Lots of people started asking him to start their horses or fix their horses’ bad habits. He kept riding dressage with the intention of riding 3-day event again, once he had a horse old enough to jump; however, the more he learned about dressage, the more he realized how much he still had to learn.
“I’m absolutely addicted to dressage, I can’t get enough,” he says.
Mike’s ultimate goal is to take a horse from training level (the lowest level) through Grand Prix (the highest level) in dressage. To date his goal is becoming a reality, Mike has earn both bronze and silver medal, has his I-1 scores and is working on all the Grand Prix movements on his KWPN Stallion “Whisper in the wind” so they can earn gold.
Mike’s wife Michelle (whom he trains) shares his success and has also won many local and state championships and has also earned her bronze and silver medals.
Mike and Michelle also have a very successful program breeding KWPN horses. One whom was ranked top 3 in the country as a foal and all the offspring have so far been given first premium ratings.
Mike specializes in problem horses and starting young horses as well.
” Many years ago the problem and young horses were all I could get.
Now I have a barn full of nice horses, many doing flying change and working on upper level movements. I do still enjoy taking a horse others consider a problem and working through it together. So often horses are misunderstood and often acting out in frustration. It my job to listen to them and what they are trying to communicate to me. Then determine the best way to form a partnership with them.
The rider still leads the dance though”
Mike rides classical Dressage in a day and age when so many trainers are riding modern Dressage. He does show still and enjoys riding with judges who still know the difference.
“Stick to what you believe in. When a horse is truly balanced (back to front left to right) everything should become easier. If it becomes hard again ask yourself if there could be a lose of balance.
I specialize in helping equestrian and horse achieve their Full potential and mutual enjoyment through natural horsemanship methods in foundational, corrective and specialized training.
My personal discipline is barrel racing. I am an avid trail rider.
Jim Allan is a English born, Canadian raised, and Arizona seasoned Cowboy. He arrived in the United States during the 60’s and joined the American Army in 1968 then in the 1970’s he became a Firefighter/EMT and completed that career in the 1990’s. He then returned to the horses and training every since.
When Jim was 13 years old he fell in love with horses and began riding for a stable in Ontario, Canada, from there he went to Montreal and continued riding until he arrived in Tucson for the first time in 1965 taking a position at the Desert Willow Guest Ranch and also Tanque Verde Guest Ranch.
After he got out of the Army he moved to Tucson permanately and raised two horses on his own. After retiring from the Fire Department Jim dedicated himself to horses once again and worked continuously in several aspects to include Wrangler at the Lazy K Bar Guest Ranch, cattle moving for Rocky Mountain Cattle Movers, and Trail Guide for Becky Kerr Riding Stables.
Jims training education came from Clinics with Clinton Anderson and Dennis Reis at his California location and Techniques by Chris Cox. From those methods he developed his own style with Natural Horsemanship techniques and safety being at the forefront of all training.
Jim remains very safety minded and selective of his students and prefers that the student have their own horse.
