Today we’d like to introduce you to Carlos Salguero.
Carlos, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I was born in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain in 1983. I grew up in a large ranch in southern Spain. My father was a horse trainer and manager of the ranch. I was always interested in following in his footsteps. I have 2 sisters and 1 brother. I Started professional riding at 16. Before this, I was an apprentice to my father. My father lived on a bullfighting ranch, where they raised horses and bulls for bull fighting. (He was not a bullfighter himself) The first 3 years (16-19) I cleaned stalls, groomed, and started younger horses.
At 19, I stopped cleaning stalls and was asked to train horses for bullfighting. We did different disciplines.: bullfighting Acoso y derribo and doma vaquera. We made exhibitions in other country’s (France and Portugal) I developed close bonds and observed the horses, to choose which discipline they would continue on to train in. I did this from 19yrs to 28yrs) At 28 I was offered a job in America at a big ranch that trained horses for competition. They did dressage and working equitation. When I was working for them I became the national champion in the doma vaquera and working equitation. We traveled to California, Kentucky and over the US doing exhibitions.
Fun fact: I did not speak English at this time, nor had ever driven a horse rig. I worked for them for 3 years.
After that, I decided to become independent. I went off on my own, and rented stalls in Conroe, and started with 2 clients and 4 horses. As I was building my reputation for quality, I was picking up more clients in the discipline Dressage. I grew out of renting stalls, and eventually moved to my own facility with the support of my wonderful wife we bought a piece of land and cleared it over several years and finally was able to build my dream barn. I worked at the facility I was renting at during the day, and at night I was working to build my barn.
My clients moved in, and I started working out of my facility. Several of my horses were performing well in upper level dressage shows. I became more well known in the area. I won a couple of championships, I went to Florida, 2 times to represent Spain, in the Nations cup with horses that I trained from baby’s to Grand Prix. I had the honor to be chosen to represent Spain at the national cup. I go to Florida once a year for competitions. I spend my days doing what I love, training horses for my clients, and for sale.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
My biggest struggle was the language and the different customs. Leaning English was difficult for me. The food is very different. Different American customs were hard to get used to.
As you know, we’re big fans of Salguero Performance Horses. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
We do training, boarding, lessons, sale of horses with a specialization in dressage. We built the ranch with emphasis on the care and comfort of the horses, so they feel secure and comfortable. What makes me different is my mindset on how we treat the horses. I want the horses to work with me and not for me. I want them to totally confide in me, and that’s not something I can say is a goal for all trainers. I am most proud of the fact that I built this facility as a family project with the help of good friends.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
What makes me happy is seeing the horses feel so comfortable in my barn. We try to keep a family atmosphere. I enjoy seeing the progress in my horses, and see the process go correctly as they learn their job.
Contact Info:
- Website: Salgueroperformancehorses.com
- Instagram: Salgueroperformancehorses
