Mark Lyon
My Beginning
Mark Lyon was raised in Nebraska and grew up in town but always dreamed of riding good horses and being a cowboy. While growing up he developed problem solving, thinking outside the box and relationship skills he would find necessary with horses. His parents demonstrated to all their children a faith in God, good work ethic, positive attitude and having integrity. These traits have been the foundation of Marks life as he focuses on being an example to others. After leaving home his thirst for knowledge continued and he held a myriad of jobs from printing press type setter, EMT, lifeguard, to Crew Forman in a nuclear power plant. His interest in learning and education and maybe a little ADD has resulted in hobbies from Competitive couples dance to slalom, wakeboarding and hockey. His variety of talents is impressive and eclectic, this diversified skill set allows him to relate to people from all walks of life and be able to use analogies that resonate with each person.
My Journey
While working he continued to improve his cowboy skills, his study of horsemanship led him to seek out Buck Brannaman, Martin Black, Peter Campbell and was blessed to learn from these and many other great horsemen. He discovered that the Vaquero style suited his style of riding the best. The Vaqueros took the practicality of getting the job done in the real world while incorporating the style, grace and finesse of Dressage and combining them into an art that was beneficial to the horse and human. In 2004 After learning from many clinicians and developing his horsemanship he started training horses full time for the public.
Achieve It
Mark was selected to compete in the 2008 Extreme Mustang Makeover, which he was deemed champion. He was one of 200 trainers in the nation to receive an untouched mustang, work with it for 100 days, transport it to Fort Worth, TX, and show it to see which trainer could do the best job transforming their wild horse into a partner you would love to own.
Mark and Christian then competed in the freestyle competition at the Sun Circuit in Scottsdale, AZ in 2009. They finished second. The winner was a wonderful dressage horse which bested them by half a point. Soon following they compete din the 2009 Road to the Horse Smack Down VS Extreme Mustang Makeover against Tommy Garland, in a head to head competition called “Battle for the Bling”, which they also brought home the prize.
He has organized an education program that focuses on teaching people how to make a living in the horse industry and enjoys helping others reach their potential.
Mark met Dan James in 2015 and the two have done several clinics together, Mark has learned so much about liberty horses from Dan and how to develop this into his horsemanship program. Mark has performed various acts for numerous Equine Theater Shows and horse expos with his horses and trained steers. Mark recently organized horses and riders and appeared in a short film about the Biblical story of Job. As well as providing stock in the feature film Emancipation. His horses, oxen and even a trained racoon are often requested for movie and photo shoots.
Achieve Your Dream
Helping people and horses build a better relationship is the most rewarding aspect of Marks business.
Like any relationship it is based on communication. There are all kinds of relationships all leading to different destinations, some good, some not so fun.
Marks philosophy is based on some foundational principles. These bedrock facts allow you to determine the best way to work with any horse, just as it is possible to figure out the best way to communicate with a person and the most beneficial ways are dictated by the skills, knowledge and experiences each side of the conversation has. After helping the owner understand what is important to your particular horse and how horses communicate with each other the relationship can begin to build. When training Mark uses his years of experience gained with knowledge from the best horsemen he could learn from. You and your horse learn the cues that will be used and the correct response to each one, these cues are important they direct the feet and are the building blocks on which the rest of the horses movement and action will be built on.
When teaching people Mark demonstrates the cues and helps the rider understand how it affects the horse and how to help the horse get the correct answer. Determining where the communication is getting misunderstood is a critical part of getting both sides to understand what is expected of them. Once the rider is correctly cueing the horse and understands how the movement is performed by the horse, we can progress to helping the horse respond to the cue with more precision and with less pressure. Understanding why the horse isn’t responding properly is the first step, determine if the horse understands what the correct answer is or perhaps they have been practicing the maneuver incorrectly. Finally, we finish by working on refining each maneuver and trying to get the horse to respond to softer and more subtle cues.