“At the age of 58, I fulfilled my dream of owning and riding a cutting horse. At that point, Rusty, Shelly and their children came into my life. They unselfishly shared with me their knowledge and patience as we began an unforgettable experience. They are tireless, hard working and honest. Their innate ability to relate to animals is God given. What success I had in my years of cutting, I owe to them. Their Christian principles have served them well and they are special people. They are one of the best kept secrets in the cutting horse industry.”
Steve McKinney
West Point, Miss.
Riding is my real passion. Trail Riding is my chosen activity for I love to just ride through the fields, creeks, roads, or woods of our great state. I just love to ride! We are truly blessed to live in a state that has so many equine opportunities for our endeavors whether recreational or showing. Over the years, it has become obvious to me that even as trail riders, we need horses trained or more often ourselves trained to ride our equine partners.
As many of you know, I am a perpetual student of horsemanship. I believe if you are a willing student you can learn something from every instructor. It may be that you don’t want to go there again, but you will learn. All those opinions, I will save for another time to fascinate you with my unending opinions of everything.
My wonderful spouse is a cutter by choice and a veterinarian by trade. Being a cutter, he has used a variety of trainers for his competition horses being trained, tuned, or shown. For the last year or so, he has been using a trainer located in Powhatan, AR. He captivated my interest in this trainer in talking about how he taught. I had to go take a lesson or two just to see for my self.
Rusty Jeffrey is an Arkansas native. He was born in North Little Rock and raised there and in the Newark area. As so many, he grew up riding. During his military service, he was stationed in Arizona. Once his tour of duty was over he stayed there to run a couple of large cattle operation. He spent several years as a “real” cowboy. Once Rusty left the ranch, he spent the next five years as a farrier and trainer. He worked breaking and training young horses or fixing problem horses. While in Arizona, he met Shelley. They are a great team.
Throughout his career he has participated in various competitive venues. He has been not only a cutter, but a roper, reiner, rodeo cowboy, working cow, team penner, but mainly a horseman. He is a gifted trainer of both horse and human. Rusty is soft spoken and constructive. Personally, I am not interested in real competition. My interests in lessons with Rusty Jeffrey was to learn to read and work cows. I needed to be able to handle my horses and my personal apprehension of cow work. Actually, I needed to simply be able to help at home in the practice pen. In the last year or so, I have been intrigued with the versatility ranch horse or stock horses competitions. Who knows!
As I learned to read the cow, I learned to be a better rider. He explains literally everything. Why cow horses are asked to go backwards so hard. Why cow horses are required to move the shoulders so much more than the hips. He uses many techniques that are not what I expected from a showman and especially a cutter. Rusty believes in not only training horses for a specific job, but in providing a foundation on the horse that will serve them throughout their lives. A foundation that would allow a career more than just cutting, reining, or other showing activities. We have ridden with him in the pen, with and without cattle. We have ridden over hills, through the dell, across pastures, and through the woods. His students, whether bound for the show pen or simply learning to ride, are taught first to be safe and in control. That is necessary for any rider to have fun.
The horses trained at Jeffrey Cutting Horses are not all destined to be high level competition cutters. Some of the horses will make their mark in the show pen, some with be ranch horses, and others will go home to people like me to just be their favorite companion and preferred recreation. Wherever they go, they will have a foundation to equip them to handle whatever is required. Often, Rusty takes horses that need to be rehabilitated whether it is a mental or physical problem. He has the patience and talent to help them be a horse again.
Rusty and Shelley Jeffrey are available for training horses and/or their riders. Their facility is as remarkable as they are. It is ideal for Arkansas. The barn has large open stalls, well ventilated and cool. The horses have daily turn out. During inclement winter months, it is protected from the wind and bitter cold. The round pen, working pen, and barn are all connected. They are surrounded by several turn out areas and are directly across the driveway from their home.
If you have questions or comments regarding Jeffrey Cutting Horses, please call Rusty or Shelly Jeffrey. They would love to hear from you.
Who knows! If I keep this up these lessons, you may see my in Ranch Horse Versatility or something similar. But you will definitely see me on the trails.
Alice Singleton
Profile of an Arkansas Horsemen
Rusty Jeffrey of Jeffrey Cutting Horses
