Meet Lester

Lester Buckley is an unusual, multi-disciplinary teacher of both horsemanship and the principles of Classical Dressage. He is respected among his peers as one of the most accomplished equestrians and gifted teachers in the business today. Lester grew up in the historic cattle country of North Texas. He earned his B. S. in Equine Science from Sul Ross State University in Texas. As part of his college education, Lester worked with Ray Hunt in colt starting and horsemanship classes over a four-year period. After graduation, Lester went on to starting colts for the King Ranch in Texas and the Parker Ranch in Hawaii, personally starting over 3000 horses. He apprenticed with National Cutting Horse Hall of Fame rider Willie Richardson for seven years, and was a successful cutting competitor himself, earning a rank of #2 in the World Open Senior Horse Cutters in 1999.

Lester’s immersion into the world of classical dressage came about, oddly enough, as a result of showing cutters in the early 2000s.  While showing at a cutting horse competition in Fort Worth, TX, Lester had the opportunity to be introduced to and invited by Hannes Muller, head instructor of the Nordrhein-Westfälisches Landgestüt and German Olympic training center in Warendorf, Germany to come to Germany and train. That was the beginning of Lester’s in-depth classical dressage training  and from 2003-2013, he traveled back and forth to Germany, all the while continuing his regular work as an independent trainer in Hawaii.  Lester completed the program, earning his International Trainers License in Dressage and Sport Jumping from the German FN.

In his career, Lester has trained all kinds of horses, from untouched mountain horses in the Canadian Rockies to elite level dressage and jumping competition to horses used by working cowboys and cattlemen. His personal competition accomplishments include Reserve World Champion APHA Open Superstakes, an APHA Open Cutting Honor Roll Top Ten Horse, showed NCHA 3000 Novice Cutting Horse Champion as well as BCCHA 10000 Novice Cutting Horse Champion.

Lester and his wife, Mary, now live on their horse farm in Shelbyville, Kentucky. Lester is a sought-after clincian across the U.S., in addition to making trips to Germany, to share his knowledge with riders and trainers from every discipline. This includes Grand Prix dressage riders, top hunter/jumper trainers, mustang owners, and Western dressage riders seeking to apply the principles of classical dressage.

But with all of the achievements noted above, the testament to Lester’s unique abilities is written in the expression of the horse’s face after a ride and the experiences of their riders at clinics. We therefore welcome your thoughts, insights and reflections of your rides with Lester.