Jessica Pancost reaches for the stars at the 2023 APHA World Show

Jessica Pancost of Eaton, Colorado, always knew she wanted to train horses. Growing up in the “cowboy country” of Northern Colorado, Jessica began working with horses at a young age when she helped her dad start colts. Over the years, she continued to work with young horses, bouncing between different ranches and trainers as a “day worker” until one day she decided to go all in on her horse-training dreams.

“I knew that I wanted to train horses, but I had never found my niche, so I just said, ‘I’m going to go and strike out with what I know how to do,’ which was starting colts,” she said. “I mean, what do they say, ‘You’re not ever going to be truly ready for anything so you might as well do it’?”

Through the support of her clients, Jessica is living her dream and making her debut at the 2023 APHA World Show with Trashydramaking, a 2020 bay tobiano gelding. The young trainer is most excited for “Apollo” to show in ranch riding, where she hopes to establish a strong baseline for future improvement and eliminate mistakes in their patterns.

“It’s terrifying—I absolutely love it,” Jessica said of her 2023 World Show experience. “When I was in high school, we came to a judging seminar at the APHA World Show, but this year I will be in the Will Rogers on a 3-year-old that I trained. It’s beyond my wildest imagination that I even have the opportunity to compete.”

—By Julie Papaj

[Reprinting all or part of this news release is permitted, so long as credit is given to the Paint Horse Journal and a link provided back to apha.com.]

About APHA

The American Paint Horse Association is the world’s second-largest international equine breed association, registering more than a million horses in 59 nations and territories since it was founded in 1962. APHA promotes, preserves and provides meaningful experiences with Paint Horses.