Arizona in the Saddle | Page 51

J ason Gifford has been involved with the horse industry as a rider, trainer, showman and student of the horse for more than 14 years. After high school, Jason was fortunate enough to have worked for a few large cattle/horse ranches in Wyoming and Colorado, spending many hours in the saddle. It didn’t take long for Jason to realize that starting colts and training horses was the only career he wanted to focus on. After leaving the cattle ranch life, Jason went to work as an assistant trainer for a few different professional horsemen. During the past several years, Jason has had experience training and working with horses in the following disciplines: reining, cutting, team sorting, trail riding, and working ranch horses. Jason has also had the opportunity to start and work with a few Mustangs from the BLM. In the summer of 2012, Jason was fortunate to have gone on the colt starting/horsemanship tour with Larry Nelles throughout Canada. “I enjo