Mother and daughter teach good horse sense
FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS
BY SUZANNE LOUDAMY Staff writer

Photo/Suzanne Loudamy Sarah Thomas and mom Colleen Snyder show off one of the horses, Cutter's Jet, from the BCXR Horse Center in Troup, which offers equestrian training.

Colleen Snyder brought along her New York accent when she came to East Texas in 1996. She also brought a great deal of horse sense, not to mention her husband Gary.

With the southern migration to Troup came the creation of a nice little spread of acreage they named the BCXR.

"It was named for my grandfather's brand he created," Sarah Thomas said. "He always dreamed of being a rancher and having a brand, we did it in honor of him."

The "broken circle x ranch" or BCXR Horse Center as it's called, is home to several horses, a boxer sporting a coat to warm him in the chilly winds of January, numerous barn cats and the Snyder and Thomas families.

Snyder said after she and her husband came here and found what they just knew would be a great place to build their equestrian training center, it wasn't long until her daughter Sarah was convinced this should be her home as well.

Winners in the hunter equitation category were (left to right) Samantha Morgan of Tyler, Ashley Kethan of Bullard, Anna Hutto of Tyler, Hannelie Horn of Whitehouse, Mykala Horn of Whitehouse, Kelsey Lassen of Troup and Laura Mitchell of Tyler

BCXR Horse Center offers boarding, lessons and training.

"At BCXR we believe very strongly in the owner having the most fun with their horse," Snyder said. "We also believe in being as safe as possible around horses. We do all in our power to keep every horse and person that comes to BCXR as safe as possible."

Together with four instructors, Snyder and Thomas train some 70 students ranging in age from six to sixty and beyond. There are many different learning levels taught.

"Even though I grew up with horses, my father took me to lessons as a child," Snyder said. "We are very safety focused here."

While Snyder truly enjoyed spending so much time with the horses as she grew up, she knew that a good business background would be an asset to whatever she chose to do down the road. She went to college and majored in business and became a banking executive.

Photo/Charlotte Smith Award winners in the dressage category were (left to right) Lindsay Hill of Whitehouse, Cassity Hammer of Tyler, Holli Bushnel of Troup, Ashley Kotzur of Bullard and Mary Lauren Shelton of Tyler.

"I've seen many training centers come and go and many of them go because they are not well run," Snyder said. "They don't have a good business practice behind them."

Her daughter Sarah followed in mom's bootsteps, receiving her degree in business and putting in some time in the business world before joining mom at the horse center.

Thomas says she really loves to see the reaction of the children when they have mastered a challenge on horseback. With a child of her own, Thomas sees that accomplishment as a real leg-up for kids.

"I know that the kids that are attracted to this sport are also driven to succeed in school," Snyder said.

Snyder went on to say that theirs is a "family barn."

"We check out everyone who works here very carefully. We know that our employees know what they are doing and that we can trust them with the riders."

Colleen Snyder presents the Horse Person of the Year honor to Daryl and Amy Hardaway of Whitehouse. Snyder said the couple was an easy choice for this year's award.

The center trains people and horses from all over East Texas. Some are there just for fun and to learn the basics of horsemanship, others have chosen to commit themselves to being a part of the show team.

"Our show team has been growing over the past few years. They are a group of very talented young women who BCXR is proud to be represented by in the USEA Area V events and the USDF Region 9 dressage shows," Snyder said. "Our team goes to horse shows to compete but above all they go to have fun."

The breeding program at BCXR Horse Center is focused on sport horses. They currently have four Oldenburg brood mares. These beauties have been carefully bred over the years from their Germany carriage horse beginnings into world-class elegant spor t horses.

The days are long, some cold - some hot, but all filled with a promise, a promise that Snyder and Thomas share with their students, a promise that hard work and dedication pay off.

These ladies share their love and respect for horses with all who will listen. It's that horse sense. It goes a long way.