Riders seek further wisdom at Greenville horsemanship clinic

Travis Hairgrove, The Herald Banner, Greenville, Texas
·2 min read

Oct. 4—Avid riders recently traveled far and wide to the Longhorn Arena and Event Center in Greenville for a three-day horsemanship and cow work clinic to learn from well-known riding and roping "teacher, trainer, cowboy and philosopher" Joe Wolter.

Hailing from Aspermont, Texas, Wolter spent Saturday through Monday in Greenville, lending his patiently and humbly delivered expertise to those wanting to deepen their understanding of how to work well with a horse.

"The horse is trying all the time and if we don't recognize it and acknowledge his effort we'll cut off his desire," Wolter said on his website in regard to the importance of the relationship between horse and rider.

The clinics in Greenville were divided into morning and afternoon sessions, having Horsemanship 1 in the morning and Horsemanship 2/Cow Work in the afternoon.

Horsemanship 1 was geared toward less experienced riders and/or horses, where either party could benefit from more foundation work. Meanwhile, Horsemanship 2/Cow Work was more focused on refining each horse and rider's skills as applied to working with cattle, using low-stress livestock handling techniques.

Some of Wolter's accomplishments in the show ring include:

—2013 — Will James Roundup, Three Man Doctoring with Nate Wald and Arne Esp

—2011 — Californios Hackamore Champion

—2010 — Californios Stock Horse Contest Reserve Champion

—2008 — AQHA World Show qualifier, cutting

—2008 — Caprock Ranch Horse Futurity 3rd Place

—2007 — Won AQHA Versatility Ranch Horse at the Ft. Worth Stock Show

—2006 — RHAA Ranch Horse Finalist

—2005 — NCHA Oklahoma Futurity Finalist

—2005 — Reserve Champion NCHA Kansas Derby

—2005 — RHAA Ranch Horse Finalist

—2003 — AQHA World Show Finalist

—2003 — NCHA Futurity Limited Open 3rd Place

—2003 — Won the AQHA Versatility Ranch Horse at Ft. Worth Stock Show

—2002 — World Show Finalist, cutting

—2002 — NCHA Derby Limited Open 4th Place

—2002 — NCHA Classic Finalist

—2002 — Won AQHA Versatility Ranch Horse at Amarillo, TX

—2002 — Reserve Champion AQHA World Standings Versatility Ranch Horse

—2002 — Won AQHA Ranch Horse Versatility Pueblo, CO

—2002 — Won AQHA Ranch Horse Versatility at the National Western Stock Show

—2002 — Won the Inaugural AQHA Versatility Ranch Horse at the Ft. Worth Stock Show

Despite his accomplishments as a rider and as an instructor, Wolter remains humble and describes himself as "just a regular cowboy who had some help along the way," in reference to the mentorship he's received over the years from other horsemen.