J
Jillian Sinclair
Guest
Some dreams take shape on the back of a horse, and Katie Luttrell is the first on board. There are no subdivisions or Starbucks where she lives. In Northwest Oklahoma, powerful winds drive giant turbines, hurl red dust across the plains, and set the world on fire some days.
Katie is a fifth-generation rancher and professional colt starter. She is the first to throw a saddle on a young horse and usher it past its initial fears into a place of calm, confidence, and partnership. Her goal is to make that horse rideable for someone else.
She specializes in barrel futurity horses—young horses that will (in time) blaze a path around three barrels in a cloverleaf pattern at a high stakes barrel race. Futurity horse owners dream of big checks and recognition. Riders dream of earning the distinction of being able to train, compete, and win on young prospects in the highly competitive sport of barrel racing.
Way before the glory, however, are the unassuming horsemen and women who put first rides on these horses. It’s a high-risk profession. Many a “colt breaker” has broken a bone or two riding “green” or untried horses. Experience doesn’t guarantee them immunity from getting thrown or hospitalized.
Katie doesn’t “break” colts. She “starts” them. It’s the beginning of something, not the end.
Katie has “started” several futurity standouts. In 2021, a horse called Return of the Mac captured the Barrel Futurities of America futurity championship—one of the most highly coveted titles in barrel racing. MCM Firewater Dixie raked in over $50K in futurity earnings. Swingers Kandy sold for over $100K as a two-year-old and is winning at big shows as a four-year-old.
Katie got her own start with horses on her parents’ sprawling cattle ranch near Woodward, Oklahoma. As a child, she was infatuated with horses. They were her “happy place.”
She began raising, training, and selling Shetland ponies for extra money. She later competed in barrel racing at local rodeos. After earning degrees in Agribusiness and Animal Science, she worked for a stint in the Oklahoma oilfields. There, she met her future husband, David.
Still, she felt the mystical, inescapable pull of horses.
“I went to a cutting clinic put on by Tommy Marvin,” she said. “I asked, ‘Is there a trainer you know who would need some help at a show?’”
Marvin, a renowned cutting horse trainer, offered Katie a behind-the-scenes opportunity she was looking for. After helping him at a show in Oklahoma City, Katie dropped off a load of horses at his ranch; that led to a full-time job. She finally phoned her fiancé, David, and said, “I think I’m working here. I don’t think he’s going to let me leave!”
When it came to starting colts, Marvin was not one for dilly dallying.
“Tommy was pretty particular,” she smiled. “If I didn’t get on a colt in a couple of days, he would be like ‘Hey, are you gonna get on that horse?’”
“I did get bucked off a few times down there,” she laughed. “Getting on that volume of horses, I learned a lot.”
Today, Katie raises her children and starts colts for herself at Infinity Ag & Equine. They live amid a treeless expanse of undulating plains boasting more country roads than neighbors. Her husband is far from home half the time. She has the girls, the horses, and her thoughts.
Katie does not have the look of a typical colt starter… not at first. A wedding photo of her depicts an elegant young woman bound for an office suite and an Audi. Actually, she is “ranchy” and capable. She can pull calves, fight wildfires, and takes up jiu jitsu to stay in shape.
For Katie’s training program, “The goal is to make everything boring (to the horse).” She added, “If you had an eventful day in the round pen or colt starting, you probably weren’t prepared enough.”
She starts her colts in the round pen through “groundwork” a series of well-planned tutorials with specific objectives in mind. She doesn’t saddle them right away. Her gestures are smooth and confident. She is kind, yet authoritative. She is quick to praise when the filly relaxes and looks her way.
“Yesss, good girl!” she exclaims.
Katie is unfazed when the filly kicks or bucks when she applies a flank rope or cinch. It’s all part of the process and preparing her for the saddle.
While she works, her five-year-old daughter, Lottie, hangs on the fence—watching. Letty, the baby, lolls in a playpen nearby.
Katie pauses to send “Jo” off on missions… to fetch a rope or long whip. Or feed the cats.
She is a mother first. Safety is paramount.
She insists establishing a “safety bubble” (personal space) with a horse is a critical first lesson.
“She’s a big animal and she needs to learn to look out for me,” Katie explains. “If you have taught your horse ‘this is my bubble’—you respect it—they’ll stay out of your bubble. If they are spooked by something, you lessen your chance of getting run over.”
Katie reiterates her safety-first principle throughout her groundwork. To her, “details matter.” Every move is purposeful—born from experience.
“I don’t care about actual maneuvers like most trainers,” she explained. “I want a horse to be able to stand still and relax after I ask them for something.”
Her first ride is bareback. She eases onto the filly, laying across her back, with only a halter and lead rope to steer their course. She cautiously swings a leg over while staying low, gauging her filly’s steps. As they meander, their confidence builds. Katie sits up slowly until she is completely upright. It’s a quiet victory. A worthy horseman understands the spectrum of alternatives—a busted ego, kneecap, or worse.
When it was time to saddle up, the unthinkable happened—nothing. There was no squalling, bawling or flurry of feet often touted on social media. The filly trusted; she was prepared.
The next thirty days Katie said she could expect her to pick up her leads, lope a “decent circle,” and move her hips and shoulders over on request. She would ride her across wide-open country, through cattle and canyons, and unlatch gates without as much as dismounting.
Around sixty days her filly would have a “soft feel,” collect for small circles, and lope off in straight lines. Her horse would know to listen to her for giving and receiving communication. They would grow their trust and confidence knowing that after a challenge they would relax.
“I can’t stress the importance of building confidence and relaxation enough,” she maintained. “This is super important to me. It makes it so much more than just training. It’s a bond. And a bond that sets up their relationship with training the rest of their lives.”
When it comes to training expectations, Katie believes slow is best for the first seven days. She compares her approach to the Tortoise and the Hare scenario. Slow and steady wins the race.
“Horses are more than dollars to me,” she said. “It’s sacred (colt starting). I know you have to make a living at it, but I really believe if you slow down and put your heart into it, it will pay off.”
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Katie is a fifth-generation rancher and professional colt starter. She is the first to throw a saddle on a young horse and usher it past its initial fears into a place of calm, confidence, and partnership. Her goal is to make that horse rideable for someone else.
She specializes in barrel futurity horses—young horses that will (in time) blaze a path around three barrels in a cloverleaf pattern at a high stakes barrel race. Futurity horse owners dream of big checks and recognition. Riders dream of earning the distinction of being able to train, compete, and win on young prospects in the highly competitive sport of barrel racing.
Way before the glory, however, are the unassuming horsemen and women who put first rides on these horses. It’s a high-risk profession. Many a “colt breaker” has broken a bone or two riding “green” or untried horses. Experience doesn’t guarantee them immunity from getting thrown or hospitalized.
Katie doesn’t “break” colts. She “starts” them. It’s the beginning of something, not the end.
Katie has “started” several futurity standouts. In 2021, a horse called Return of the Mac captured the Barrel Futurities of America futurity championship—one of the most highly coveted titles in barrel racing. MCM Firewater Dixie raked in over $50K in futurity earnings. Swingers Kandy sold for over $100K as a two-year-old and is winning at big shows as a four-year-old.
Katie got her own start with horses on her parents’ sprawling cattle ranch near Woodward, Oklahoma. As a child, she was infatuated with horses. They were her “happy place.”
She began raising, training, and selling Shetland ponies for extra money. She later competed in barrel racing at local rodeos. After earning degrees in Agribusiness and Animal Science, she worked for a stint in the Oklahoma oilfields. There, she met her future husband, David.
Still, she felt the mystical, inescapable pull of horses.
“I went to a cutting clinic put on by Tommy Marvin,” she said. “I asked, ‘Is there a trainer you know who would need some help at a show?’”
Marvin, a renowned cutting horse trainer, offered Katie a behind-the-scenes opportunity she was looking for. After helping him at a show in Oklahoma City, Katie dropped off a load of horses at his ranch; that led to a full-time job. She finally phoned her fiancé, David, and said, “I think I’m working here. I don’t think he’s going to let me leave!”
When it came to starting colts, Marvin was not one for dilly dallying.
“Tommy was pretty particular,” she smiled. “If I didn’t get on a colt in a couple of days, he would be like ‘Hey, are you gonna get on that horse?’”
“I did get bucked off a few times down there,” she laughed. “Getting on that volume of horses, I learned a lot.”
Today, Katie raises her children and starts colts for herself at Infinity Ag & Equine. They live amid a treeless expanse of undulating plains boasting more country roads than neighbors. Her husband is far from home half the time. She has the girls, the horses, and her thoughts.
Katie does not have the look of a typical colt starter… not at first. A wedding photo of her depicts an elegant young woman bound for an office suite and an Audi. Actually, she is “ranchy” and capable. She can pull calves, fight wildfires, and takes up jiu jitsu to stay in shape.
For Katie’s training program, “The goal is to make everything boring (to the horse).” She added, “If you had an eventful day in the round pen or colt starting, you probably weren’t prepared enough.”
She starts her colts in the round pen through “groundwork” a series of well-planned tutorials with specific objectives in mind. She doesn’t saddle them right away. Her gestures are smooth and confident. She is kind, yet authoritative. She is quick to praise when the filly relaxes and looks her way.
“Yesss, good girl!” she exclaims.
Katie is unfazed when the filly kicks or bucks when she applies a flank rope or cinch. It’s all part of the process and preparing her for the saddle.
While she works, her five-year-old daughter, Lottie, hangs on the fence—watching. Letty, the baby, lolls in a playpen nearby.
Katie pauses to send “Jo” off on missions… to fetch a rope or long whip. Or feed the cats.
She is a mother first. Safety is paramount.
She insists establishing a “safety bubble” (personal space) with a horse is a critical first lesson.
“She’s a big animal and she needs to learn to look out for me,” Katie explains. “If you have taught your horse ‘this is my bubble’—you respect it—they’ll stay out of your bubble. If they are spooked by something, you lessen your chance of getting run over.”
Katie reiterates her safety-first principle throughout her groundwork. To her, “details matter.” Every move is purposeful—born from experience.
“I don’t care about actual maneuvers like most trainers,” she explained. “I want a horse to be able to stand still and relax after I ask them for something.”
Her first ride is bareback. She eases onto the filly, laying across her back, with only a halter and lead rope to steer their course. She cautiously swings a leg over while staying low, gauging her filly’s steps. As they meander, their confidence builds. Katie sits up slowly until she is completely upright. It’s a quiet victory. A worthy horseman understands the spectrum of alternatives—a busted ego, kneecap, or worse.
When it was time to saddle up, the unthinkable happened—nothing. There was no squalling, bawling or flurry of feet often touted on social media. The filly trusted; she was prepared.
The next thirty days Katie said she could expect her to pick up her leads, lope a “decent circle,” and move her hips and shoulders over on request. She would ride her across wide-open country, through cattle and canyons, and unlatch gates without as much as dismounting.
Around sixty days her filly would have a “soft feel,” collect for small circles, and lope off in straight lines. Her horse would know to listen to her for giving and receiving communication. They would grow their trust and confidence knowing that after a challenge they would relax.
“I can’t stress the importance of building confidence and relaxation enough,” she maintained. “This is super important to me. It makes it so much more than just training. It’s a bond. And a bond that sets up their relationship with training the rest of their lives.”
When it comes to training expectations, Katie believes slow is best for the first seven days. She compares her approach to the Tortoise and the Hare scenario. Slow and steady wins the race.
“Horses are more than dollars to me,” she said. “It’s sacred (colt starting). I know you have to make a living at it, but I really believe if you slow down and put your heart into it, it will pay off.”
Continue reading...