Business Sense Meets Horse Sense At Reid Thomas Performance Horses
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298 – July/August, 2025
By Elizabeth Arnold
Reid Thomas didn’t grow up in the horse industry, but he made his way there as soon as he could. Thomas started riding at age seven after his mom signed him up for lessons at a local hunter-jumper barn. “I think she thought I would pick it up and put it down,” laughs Thomas. Originally from Corpus Christi, Texas, Thomas spent his youth showing horses–first in the pony hunters and then eventually in the Palomino Horse Breeders Association and stock horse industry.
Career Decisions Meet Grandma’s Wisdom
Though horses were an early love and passion, Thomas didn’t intend to make them a career. Instead, he had his sights set on law school. “I kept plugging along with the horses all through college,” he says. “I kept a few training horses and eventually reached a pivot point where I had to decide: am I going to train horses for a living or am I going to go to law school?” In 2002, he graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in business management and a minor in international law. At the time, the stage seemed set for a career in law, but he couldn’t shake the pull of a possibility of life with horses at the center.
Coming from a family outside the horse business, Thomas explains that the prospect of making a living as a horse trainer felt out of reach. “I had to prove to myself and to my parents that this was something I could make a living doing.” Today, he credits his grandmother’s wisdom with helping him make the decision that would set a course for success in the horse industry.
Thomas remembers, “My grandmother on my mom’s side sat down with me and said, ‘There are enough lawyers in this world. Whatever you put your mind to, you will be successful at as long as you follow your dream and keep your moral compass of honesty and integrity’.” He adds, “My parents were incredibly supportive–they were parent-of-the-year kind of parents. Looking back, I understand why they were apprehensive about me pursuing training as a career. It’s scary going this route as opposed to a 9-5 job.”
More than twenty years later, Thomas has proven that his parents had nothing to worry about. His business has grown and flourished from his home base in Boerne, Texas, where he specializes in multiple stock horse disciplines including western all-around, English all-around, and ranch events. Combined, the Reid Thomas Performance Horses Team has won more than 175 AQHA and AQHYA World and Reserve World championships and Congress championships.
Business Sense Meets Horse Sense
Click here to read the complete article
298 – July/August, 2025
