Making It A Better World

Seeing a need for his expertise during the APHA World Show Open Pleasure Driving, Brian Isbell Garcia stepped up without being asked.

By Delores Kuhlwein

It’s easy for all the goodwill that happens at horse shows to get lost in the fray. However, a recent post by show mom Michelle Thode about her daughter, Christina, during the 2026 APHA World Show stopping our scrolling in its tracks.

“When we came to the APHA World Show, our goal was simply to give Pleasure Driving a try with CR Good Chocolate, “Chance.” We had gotten him broke to the cart at home and had arranged for some help once we got to Fort Worth. Unfortunately, with the driving practice running much later than expected, we weren’t able to get that help before the Open Pleasure Driving class.

So…we did what we do best—we took a deep breath and just went for it!

Halfway through the class, Brian Isbell Garcia started coaching Christina from the rail. At first, she didn’t even realize he was talking to her! With his encouragement, they finished an impressive 5th overall in their very first driving class together.

Then came two days of learning.

Brian generously spent time with us making fine-tuning adjustments to the harness, explaining the finer points of Pleasure Driving, and even taking the lines himself to work his magic with Chance. The difference in their overall picture and confidence was amazing.

All that hard work paid off with a Bronze World Championship in Amateur Pleasure Driving!

We are incredibly grateful to Brian Isbell Garcia for jumping in, sharing his knowledge, and helping us navigate this new adventure. We learned more in two days than we ever imagined, and we can’t thank you enough.”

Brian Isbell Garcia later told us that he knows the Thode family from the horse industry, as well as Christina’s trainer, Scott Hand.  Garcia had come to the stands of the John Justin Arena to watch the Open Pleasure driving, one of his favorite classes. As he was watching the class unfold, he was aware it was a new event for Christina. So he asked Scott and Michelle if it was okay if he helped her.

It took Christina a minute to realize he was talking to her, he admits.  “It’s a really nice horse, and whenever I’m showing or judging and I see Christina, she’s riding or working to be the best she can be,” Garcia explains. “But the driving is new to her, so I just wanted to give her a few pointers. And so then she realized on the rail that I was helping, but she didn’t get the full aspect of what I was saying, so they asked me if I would help her in the driving practice the next night. And I said, absolutely. I love doing the driving.”

Over the next two days, Garcia drove Chance, and coached Christina in the driving, and he says, it worked out well, and when all was said and done, the pair progressed to winning a Bronze in their Amateur Pleasure Driving class.

One night, driving practice was late, and he could have been back at his Airbnb chilling, but he says helping people who are excited to learn, and appreciative, is everything.

“As a professional horseman I think that’s what that division of our association represents, whether it be the Paints, the Quarters, or the Pintos,” Garcia shares. “Professional horsemen are supposed to help other people. And, you know, I’ve been showing a lot of reiners. And one thing that impresses me so much about the reining is how everyone is so friendly and so willing to help. And so I really hope that we can also be leading by example.”

That same fellowship and camaraderie can extend between barns and trainers, and he sees it in action at the reining shows.  “At the NRBC, I saw Tim McQuay tell this amateur ‘X, Y, and Z. I see you’re struggling with this, so why don’t you try this?’ And then her trainer got out there and Tim said, ‘Hey, I said this to her.’

The reaction from the other trainer wasn’t of alarm or fear of Tim stealing his customer. It was of gratitude for the help, Garcia adds.  “That’s who we should be, right? We’re all wanting the same result, but in my delivery to you, might say something that clicks.”

He explains a good comparison of helping each other in the industry is the business consultation that he and his spouse, Kevin Garcia, had earlier this year for Kevin Garcia Originals, a custom show clothing company.

“We’ve grown abundantly in the past few years. We had them come in to take a look. And there were some ideas that Kevin was like, ‘I just don’t agree with this.’  I told him what you have to understand is you’re paying for their suggestions. You don’t have to use them all. You take what you think will work and what will improve your business.”

In essence, he shares, that’s just like training a horse or getting better at the showmanship or at the driving or at the trail. “You go to people that have been doing it, and there might be one thing that’s like a light switch. You don’t have to take it all. It’s not saying that the way your coach is doing it is wrong. This is just the way that I do it.”

In general, training and learning aside, as many shows grow smaller or face disappearing altogether, Garcia recommends simply noticing and sharing your knowledge.  “If you see somebody struggling to find the show office, or the ID station, just lend a hand. People don’t want to come in to be a new face, so we have to be warm and welcoming.”

After all, as Helen Keller once said, “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”