Sonny Gould has been riding horses almost all of his life and made a life-long career out of riding and training team roping horses. He's a soft spoken, easygoing guy who tries to get the best out of the horses he's working. His history of success with team roping is long. On the day I spoke with him, every horse he was riding wore a saddle with some kind of imprinting on it, like USTRC 99 Eastern finals, NIRA Ozark Region Champion Team Roper, L 7 M Productions Champion 2002. Even a saddle pad was monogrammed USTRC Southeast Regional Finals. Sonny humbly admitted, "yes, I have had a few successes." Interestingly, he has sold several of the saddles he has won. "Some people would rather buy a used saddle than a new one", so he has parted with a number of his prizes.
He just finished a 100 by 220 feet indoor arena in Mar
ch and is back to training team roping horses for customers whose horses come from all over. He's currently working with horses from Indiana, Kentucky, and Mississippi. His arena has everything a team roping trainer needs, complete with cattle pens and an automatic chute, which he operates by remote control so he can decide when the steer leaves the chute. the arena even provides shade and a cool breeze to help cope with west Tennessee sultry summers.
Asked about his secrets to good horse training, he could not think of anything special he does, although he has a knack for finding out just what a horse needs. "Horses are like people," he said, "all with their own personalities
and quirks. I just work with the horse until I figure him out and find out what it will take to make the horse a success. Some horses won't make it, they don't like the box or there is something about it that they don't like. But, most horses, if you give them a chance will come around. I can watch a horse or ride him or feel him and tell you what you need to do to fix him. There are times when people start team roping on horses that are too green, that are not finished. So, Sonny "finishes them so they can become competitive horses".
Over the years, "team roping has been good to me," Sonny reminisced. "I've made a lot of good horses and sold some good horses. Today, good prospects are hard to find. More and more ranches are using four wheelers to work cattle. Horses are not really used much." When people do bring their horse to Sonny for training, "some might want a 30 day run-through. Other want me to keep the horse until he is made or until we know the horse won't make it." If your horse is not going to make it, Sonny will tell you so he doesn't waste your time and money. "Some customers appreciate it," his honest approach, "some don't."
text taken from the article "Training With A Sonny Disposition and A Heart of Gould"; which appeared in Mid South Horse Review June 2007
901-491-1678
1985 Poole Road
Moscow, TN 38057
