Today we’d like to introduce you to Fermin Gutierrez.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Fermin. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Born and raised in Dallas, Texas at a very young age, I was introduced to the true definition of hard work, my father owning his own landscaping business meant we couldn’t sleep in to watch cartoons on Saturday mornings but meant waking up early to mow some lawns. My father’s American dream was to one day own land in the U.S and eventually own cattle and horses. That dream became a reality in 2008 when he purchased what is now known as “El Rancho Las 4 Riatas.” I was in middle school when my dad bought his first horse, me not knowing a thing about horses I wanted to go and pet him and spend every day with him, although weekends were mainly my times to spend with them and actually able to ride, I knew I would eventually want to learn more.
Fresh out of high school, I worked at a small animal hospital for about two-three years. Horses had always been my go to after a long day of working at the hospital and well, I wanted to learn more; riding, training and general knowledge about them I made a decision to apply to Medieval Times to where my Journey as a horse trainer would start. My eagerness to learn was so much that I didn’t care about taking a huge pay cut but I knew one day it would pay off. Starting off they had me mucking stalls, brushing horses, cleaning tack anything that they needed I would try and quickly jump on the task to show them that I wanted to be there. After a few weeks, I got the routine down of cleaning and getting everything ready for the show, so I would hurry and finish everything as fast as I could, one day, the Head Horse Trainer Javier Ortiz asked me if everything was done to which I replied with yes, he then proceeded to ask me if I would like to ride. Enthusiastically I answered yes!!
To which, he tells me to grab a horse and be down in five minutes and that if I wasn’t down in those five minutes then to not bother coming down. I did what I had to, ran like a maniac to grab the saddle, bridle, and reins to make sure I made it down on time. From there, my riding continued as long as my work kept getting done, after a few months of training my big debut opportunity arose, I was finally getting put in the show! Riding along with seven guys in a synchronized routine. I continued improving my knowledge in riding and training with the help of Javier to which eventually led to me being in more parts of the show, when the yearly reviews came around, I was presented with some of the best news of my life, I was offered the position as Assistant horse trainer which would allow me to get more riding time and a lot more knowledge on what I truly loved to do. Performing for thousands of people yearly was I guess you could say “a dream come true”, being in the spotlight was one of the best experiences I had lived but my goal was to eventually build a career and train on my own.
In December of 2017, I made the decision to leave Medieval Times a place where I had met some of the best people, rode some of the best horses, and got the absolute best training a young me could have received. 2018 was when I went all in sacrificed it all for what I trusted would be a big turnout, in all reality, I would only hope it was I had no idea what to expect. Since I had rented, my horses out for photoshoots in the past, I thought that it could be a great way to bring people in to not just ride horses but possibly even take pictures with them, so with the photographer’s permission I started advertising Photoshoots with horses and riding lessons. From one day to the other, my phone was ringing and my inbox on Facebook and Instagram was blowing up, I knew that I had struck gold.
Has it been a smooth road?
Dealing with horses is not as easy as it looks and definitely not for everyone, that’s probably the hardest thing to make people understand, they are living creatures and have a mind of their own. Not because they’re trained to the highest level does it automatically assure the rider a smooth and safe ride, it takes practice, patience and a true passion for the art.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with El Rancho Las 4 Riatas/FG Horse Training – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
Here at “El Rancho Las 4 Riatas,” we strive to offer unique riding lessons on Andalusian horses, Our horse training consists of classical dressage, Doma Vaquera, and Alta Escuela Espanola. Not to mention, we also offer photoshoots at our unique venue with or without horses. We are very proud to be a family owned business and we see our clients and horses as part of our family and we truly treat them as such.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
Living in Dallas has its perks and probably the best part about it is the diversity of people living in our community. It really shows how much this city has grown over the years.
The one problem that we have would probably be traffic in these Texas roads.
Contact Info:
- Address: 4111 Middlefield St Dallas, Tx 75253
- Phone: 4693603237
- Email: fghorsetraining@gmail.com
- Instagram: @Ferminator19
- Facebook: @ElRanchoLas4Riatas
Image Credit:
GM Photography, Caitlin Demura Photography, Aim Point Shoot Photography
Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
