
"Debi
Williams and I Blaze to Differ"
Reserve World Champion 3 world champions
High
Point Stock Type Horse in 2007
Debi Jones
Williams and Wagon Trail Farm have long been associated with all-around
performance horses, first in AQHA, then PHBA and now they are establishing
a long line of winners in the American Paint Horse Association. For the
last five years, Debi's Amateurs and Novice Amateurs have been taking the
awards for either High Point or Reserve in the Carolina Paint Horse Club,
located in North Carolina, and have been successful regionally and nationally. Debi's
philosophy in training is that nothing can be accomplished by taking short
cuts or "quick for" methods. She believes in using resistant-free
methods in starting her 2-year olds, and that the horse will tell you when
he is ready for the next step. "So many trainers are pressured into
producing winners at a quick pace" Debi says, "that many intricate
steps are left out and this produces an animal that is ill-tempered and
hates what they do." Debi advises her customers during consultation
periods with their horses that to produce a world quality horse takes time, and
that the customer has to have the dedication to work at the process as hard as
the horse does. Sometimes, it isn't the horse that needs the improvement,
it is the rider in using their seat and hands and balance to produce better
communication to their horse. For certain events, it can take a while for the
communication between horse and rider to become flawless and effortless.
The person that influences Debi and gives her the determination to be different
than most trainers in her field is Lynn Salvatori Palm. "Lynn's work
with Rugged Lark and all the tours they did over the United States and
abroad just go to show that taking your time and not backing down from
your principals will pay out in the end. Just watching videos of
the farewell tours with her and Lark performing bridle less will take your
breath and renew your faith that a horse and rider can become one without
abuse or short cuts."