Set in the rolling hills of Fair Grove, Mo., is the true tale of 22-year-old novice Chance Schneider and grade 1 winner Almanaar, an unexpected pair who will train their way to the 2022 Thoroughbred Makeover under the watchful eyes of head trainer Tim Brock.
The two ride out of BC Stables & Training Center, a facility that specializes in retraining and restarting horses of all kinds. The business is owned and operated by Brock, whose focus is on natural horsemanship and Western riding.
Like Schneider, Brock says he too went through a learning curve when he purchased his first horse at 23.
"I wanted a horse, so I went and bought one. It was a green horse that didn't have very much experience and it was terrible," Brock said. "About two or three months into owning that horse I was thinking, 'People don't own horses because it's this bad, I'm doing something wrong.' So I started looking around and I found some classes on natural horsemanship and I started taking those classes and it changed how I saw that horse and the things that I thought I knew, which I didn't know."
What started as a learning experience turned into a full-time gig after people noticed the success Brock was having and sent their horses to him for training.
"Probably five to six months into that, my horse was doing pretty well, and people started asking why that horse was so different," Brock said. "So they started sending me some horses ... I started doing that and for whatever reason, it was pretty easy for me to read that horse."
Now Brock has spent the last 25 years training horses and is in his 13th year of operating his own facility.
"It's gone from having a few horses in training to three full-time riders and we have over 20 horses in training at any time. I do clinics and horse fairs and all of that stuff ... It just blossomed, it's a way of life," he said.
When starting the training process, Brock utilizes the round pen to gain mutual respect, set boundaries, and test the horse's response to stress.
"I have a little bit of a checklist that I go through," he said. "I don't really trust what people tell me when they drop (a horse) off. We'll put them in a round pen; I'll move them a little bit in there and see how much anxiety is there. If there's some, try and see if they want to hook up with you and stay with you or not."
Though Brock works with all breeds, he says he enjoys working with Thoroughbreds because they are "world-class horses." When asked how their behavior differs from others, he said that it all depends on how they were treated on the track.
"You can tell the ones that were handled with respect and the ones that weren't," Brock said. "The ones that are handled with respect, what I like about them is that they're a real class-bred horse. They're intelligent, they try hard, they want to work, they want to please, and they want to be happy."
He noted that some OTTBs that were not as well taken care of will be riddled with anxiety and fear, which often manifests in cribbing and weaving behaviors.
"They're the ones that have baggage that you find along the way. It might be anxiety about someone getting on them, it might be someone touching their mouth ... You just kind of feel those horses that haven't been allowed to get along," Brock said. "That's what I want right. I want that partnership, and I want it to be a 52/48 partnership. I want to make some suggestions and I want them to say, 'Yeah, let's go do that.' I don't want to be rude to them. It's a respect issue."
Brock attended his first Thoroughbred Makeover in 2019 with his daughter Megan after he realized that it set the horses up for better second careers after the show's conclusion. He had been competing in the Mustang Makeover for the past 12 years prior to attending the Thoroughbred Makeover, which is put on by the Retired Racehorse Project.
"Those (mustang makeovers) are a lot of fun, but it worries me that at the end of that those horses go to someone who doesn't really understand what they're getting because it truly is a 100-day horse at that point," Brock said. "It was untouched 100 days before that. Just because I can get along with it or my daughter can get along with it, doesn't mean it can go to someone's backyard and be a backyard pet. That bothered me about that scenario. Don't get me wrong, I love the mustangs, but for me, I didn't like that I didn't have control of where that horse went."
The Thoroughbred Makeover has been a welcome change for Brock, who enjoys the process of taking the time to train the horses and being able to ensure that they go to a good home in the end.
"I love it. The show is run well, and it's a big show," he said. "You get to see everything, from Western stuff, to polo, to jumping, to cross country ... It's just an amazing show and those horses are capable of being family horses at the end of that; most of them are.
"We control where those horses go and they're viable horses at the end of that. We have enough time to make me comfortable to pass them off to somebody."
In his first year at the competition, Brock had soundness issues with his initial mount and secured a last-minute ride in Noble Apollo, who came to him from CANTER Kentucky. Brock has maintained a connection with the organization ever since, and that's how Almanaar came into his care.
"I was struggling to find one to replace the one that I had that had arthritis and I was running out of time, so I got in touch with CANTER Kentucky and Ashley (Watts)," Brock said. "She said, 'I might have one to fit you.' ... When I start looking for a horse, I say, 'Ashley, I need a horse, I need help.' She knows what we're looking for, the size, and demeanor. That ranch horse might be different than somebody who wants a jumping horse ... That's a personal relationship we have with her, but CANTER was great to work with. If I can, that's where I like my horses to come from."
This year, Brock and his team will be taking a total of four horses to compete in the Thoroughbred Makeover. One of those is Almanaar.
"Chance Schneider is who has him and he's only been riding horses for a couple of years. This is the first horse that's been his horse ... That's pretty cool to me," Brock said. "When we saw him and worked with him down at Ashley's, he just was quiet and I thought it would be a great horse for him to work with. I know Chance's nerves will be up because he's never done this sort of thing before."
Having only four years of riding experience, Schneider, who trains for Brock, says that Almanaar is the first Thoroughbred that he has worked with that hadn't already been restarted.
"He's amazing. I could not have asked for a better horse," Schneider said. "Obviously we have four people here at the barn doing the Thoroughbred Makeover, and I'm very thankful for the horse that I have. He's got a mind that's very easy to work with."
Part of the reason Schneider believes the 10-year-old Almanaar is uncomplicated to retrain is due to his racing history. The gelding by Dubawi started his racing career in France where he won the Prix Daphnis (G3) and the Prix de Pontarme, before being shipped to the United States as a 3-year-old. He won the Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap (G1T) in 2017 and two runnings of the Monmouth Stakes (G2, G3). He finished second in the 2018 Arlington Million XXXVI Stakes (G1T) behind Robert Bruce (CHI) and retired with $900,349 in earnings for breeder/owner Shadwell.
"He's seen three countries and he wasn't even born in the U.S. so he had to be on a plane to be shipped here," Schneider said. "I think he's been sculpted to get to this point ... There are certain things he'll be upset with but because he's an experienced horse and he's got a great mind, he's very easy to converse with and get him over those different 'disturbances.'"
Brock echoed these sentiments saying: "He's super quiet and super easy. The only thing that I will say is that if we're out with a bunch of horses and they all get side by side, he's competitive.
"As far as him working, he's got a work ethic, he knows what that means. He likes to work, but I think he's enjoying being out in the pasture with his buddies. When you bring him up and put a saddle on him, he's ready to work."
The Thoroughbred Makeover will be held at the Kentucky Horse Park from Oct. 12-15. Schneider and Almanaar will compete in the 'ranch' and 'trail' divisions.
This will be one of the largest shows that Schneider will have competed in thus far, but he says the ultimate goal is to show off his and Almanaar's abilities.
"I want to make sure that I present the best horse that day," Schneider said. "(I hope) me and Almanaar show up so that when this is all said and done, his second career is with the best owner and best situation possible."
"I'm very excited to feel those emotions (of being at a big show) and kind of get lost in that for a while ... I'm very nervous. When you're on the back of a horse you get in your own little world and having somebody watch you just in a sense of a trainer is terrifying but nonetheless an audience. People are judging you, too; that's a lot that goes on in your brain. I kind of grew up an athlete so I'm prepared."
Though the BC Stables team has not been competing at the Thoroughbred Makeover for an extensive period of time, Brock says that it has become a valued aspect of the program at the farm.
"We deal with other people's horses all the time so we're always trying to do something for somebody else. This gives us a chance at the end of the day to get our horses out, and we all ride our horses and we're just together. To me, it's a family, team-building thing."
