Admirable Assistants Alethea Prewett

This California horsewoman took the long road to becoming an assistant trainer, but her maturity, life experiences and reliability have made her an asset to trainer Nick Dowers.

By Jennifer Denison

Working as a trainer’s assistant seems like a fun job. You ride horses all day and hang out with some of the top campaigners and horsemen in the cow horse industry. But then there’s feeding at 3 a.m., cleaning stalls, saddling and unsaddling horses for the trainer, barn and fence maintenance, and any other odd jobs that come up. Not to mention, staying up all night monitoring a colicking horse, and preparing for and setting up at shows. It involves lots of late nights, early mornings and few days off.

But for those wanting to start their own training businesses someday, it’s the best way to get hands-on experience and learn the dedication it takes to reach a professional level. And, head trainers rely on their assistants to handle day-to-day activities, so they can focus on refining their show horses.

It takes dedication and perseverance, two characteristics that Alethea Prewett has in spades.

“If you want to be a trainer’s assistant, you have to realize the responsibility that comes with it,” said Prewett, assistant to National Reined Cow Horse Association Snaffle Bit Futurity® and

NICOLE POYO

A lifelong horsewoman, Alethea Prewett has gone from riding her family’s ranch horses to becoming Nick Dower’s assistant to starting her own futurity prospect.

World Champion trainer Nick Dowers. “You not only have a responsibility to the trainer you work for, but also to the clients. The horses belong to other people, and sometimes you’ve met them and sometimes you haven’t, but nevertheless they’ve invested a lot of money into their animals. When you’re asking a horse to perform at a high level, the level of care must be top notch; it’s more than making sure they have feed and water. I’ve had to become so much more observant. If a horse isn’t feeling well, it’s not going to perform.”

Raised in a fourth-generation Hollister, California, ranching family, Prewett never set out to be on the reined cow horse show scene, nor did she ever envision herself as a trainer’s assistant. Through a series of serendipitous opportunities, however, she landed in Dyer, Nevada, in the fall of 2020, to work for Dowers.

Prewett’s parents, Jim and Michelle Prewett, manage a cow-calf operation and run their own set of cattle. Her parents also enjoy the traditional Vaquero methods of training bridle horses for ranching, roping and showing in local stock horse events. Michelle showed reined cow horses as a youth and rode with George Rose, an NRCHA founding member.

“My dad always had a couple of nice bridle horses around that he trained,” recalled Prewett. “They were ranch horses, but my parents always took the extra time with their horses so that you could do a job on them and take them to town to a show. I’m lucky I grew up riding those horses and learning from my parents. They instilled in me the love of a good ranch horse and the value of training a bridle horse.”

As a youngster, Prewett rode on the ranch with her parents, and she also showed in the youth stock horse classes at the San Benito County Saddle Horse Show & Rodeo, held at Bolado Park, and the Carmel Valley Rancher’s Days.

“I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t obsessed with horses and riding,” she reflected. “I would get so upset if my dad moved cows without me. I always looked forward to showing at Bolado Park. I would try to steal my dad’s bridle horses for the kids’ classes.”

When she was a teenager, Prewett threatened to quit school and cowboy I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t obsessed with horses and riding. I would get so upset if my dad moved cows without me. I always looked forward to showing at Bolado Park. I would try to steal my dad’s bridle horses for the kids’ classes. —Alethea Prewett

or ride horses for a living, but her mother quickly thwarted her daughter’s plans. She finished high school and then attended college at California Polytechnic University where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural communications in 2011.

She spent about eight years working in the agricultural industry for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, followed by jobs in produce marketing and corporate public relations and marketing for an Idaho beef company.

“My horsemanship and roping were getting stagnant,” she lamented. “I just didn’t have the opportunity to ride that often, and I missed it terribly.”

On the recommendation of a friend, she contacted northern Nevada horseman and rancher Rolly Lisle about cowboying starting colts for him for a summer.

“I always had a bug to start my own colt, but I never had the chance,” she said. “When I met Rolly, I was honest with him that I’d never ridden colts before and that I hadn’t ridden much at all for seven or eight years. A month later, I moved to [the ranch] north of Elko and started colts. I was more of a test dummy. I didn’t have the instincts to react to different situations, because the horses I’d always rode were broke. When you get on a colt, everything is unpredictable, and I wasn’t ready for that. It was eye-opening and humbling. I had my fair share of mishaps, buckoffs and wrecks, but Rolly was always willing to help me learn.”

She moved on to work for California ranchers and horse trainers Wyatt and Lacie Burdette for a couple of years as a “catch-all”—cowboying, starting colts and doing anything else that came along. Then, she moved to Texas to assist Luke and Kelli Neubert.

“Alethea came to us as an employee with one of the best work ethics and positive attitudes of anyone I’ve ever been around,” Kelli Neubert said. “It impressed me then, and still does today. It was clear that she enjoyed the horse and held a learning frame of mind for her own journey, and she always cared for our animals and customers as if they were her own.

“Because we rode so many colts while she was here, she saw a lot of different sire-dam combos,” Neubert continued. It was fun to see her embrace and recognize the importance that genetics play in the performance horse world.”

Prewett’s time with the Neuberts segued into her job with Dowers, whose training techniques were influenced by Luke Neubert’s dad, Bryan Neubert.

“After I left Texas, I bee-bopped around and went to a lot of brandings in Utah, Nevada and California,” she recalled. “I was at the McDermitt Ranch Rodeo in McDermitt, Nevada, over Fourth of July in 2020, and a young cowboy who was working for Nick at the time said Nick was looking

for another assistant. I knew who he was through Luke and Kelli and other mutual friends, but I’d never met him. I gave him a call and he said to come down for a trial week.

“When I got there, he was getting ready to go to [Las] Vegas for the Stallion Stakes and Pre-Futurity, which were held together that year due to COVID,” she continued. “He asked if I had enough clothes to go to Vegas for a week, and I said, ‘I have my whole life in my trailer.’ ”

Dowers didn’t know what to expect from his new hire, but he noticed she was a hard worker, personable and easy to be around.

“Assistants are so important to a head trainer,” he said. “You have to trust they will keep up with the little things behind the scenes without having to check on them. A good, responsible person bears more weight in the hiring process than someone who is a hand.”

With Prewett, Dowers continued, “She does what is expected, not inspected.”

Now in her second year working for Dowers, Prewett made her debut in NRCHA competition at the Idaho Reined Cow Horse Futurity & Aged Event in Nampa, Idaho, last fall on one of her personal horses and one of Dowers’ client’s horses. She placed third in the Level 1 Open and second in the Limited.

“She has grown a lot,” said Dowers. “When she came here, she had ridden a lot, mostly ranch horses, and now she can train different horses and has gone from a ranch kid to a show [woman].”

The 33-year-old horsewoman says she still has so much to learn from Dowers before she decides her next step. In the meantime, she has two horses she plans to show: A Storms Brewin (Nabisco Roan x One Time Rey Jay x Docs Hickory), a 5-year-old she rode at the Neuberts and bought to cowboy on, and a 3-year-old futurity prospect, Stevie Wunder (Stevie Rey Von x Justa Lil Freck x Freckles Playboy), she bought at the NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity Horse Sale in 2021.

“As an assistant trainer, it’s nice to have my horse available to ride and progress in my skills rather than waiting for one to come along in Nick’s program that I can ride,” she said, adding that if you invest in yourself and your horsemanship it makes your mentor want to invest in you, too.

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FACES OF THE NRCHA

Tina McCleary brings a wealth of experience to the member and affiliate shows manager position.

Interview and photograph by Kate Bradley Byars

Tina McCleary shines when show-time stress is at its peak. She has planned, fundraised for and managed events ranging from weekend shows to larger regional competitions. Now, her organizational and management skills are propelling the National Reined Cow Horse Association’s membership approvals, affiliate shows approvals and results entry, and results entry at the NRCHA premier events. A horse lover and competitor since she was a young girl growing up near Temple, Texas, McCleary is no stranger to competition. Yet, she has thrived as a show secretary. “I am originally from the Temple area, but most recently from the BryanCollege Station area, where I lived 20 years with my husband, Kyle,” she said. “I grew up with horses, have ridden my whole life and have shown in the Stock Horse of Texas and some in the [American Quarter Horse Association].” While running equestrian program and fundraising at the Still Creek Boys Ranch in Bryan, Texas, McCleary became involved in the NRCHA affiliate, South Texas Reined Cow Horse Association, serving as show secretary and growing the events to where the Still Creek facility had to add stalls and other accommodations.

She’s stair stepped her way from small shows to the premier events NRCHA produces, but she maintains her connection with competitors and horse owners that she’s built over the years to her new title of membership and affiliate shows manager. RCHN: What drew you first to reined cow horse? McCleary: I grew up with horses and ridden my whole life. I’ve shown Stock Horse of Texas and a little bit of AQHA, and then got started running horse shows. I think the best part of reined cow horse as a spectator is that every run is different and exciting. The camaraderie is amazing. Our crowd is LOUD! That hooked me.

RCHN: How did you become involved as a horse show

secretary?

McCleary: I got started running horse shows at Still Creek. I started as secretary at South Texas [Reined Cow Horse Association] shows, then for other affiliates. Eventually, I was also assisting with NRCHA premier events. I enjoy helping our membership in any way I can. Managing horse shows gives me the opportunity to help with education on the ground level and to keep my fingers on the pulse of the affiliates.

RCHN: What are your goals in your position with the

association?

McCleary: My past experience is a huge advantage to my position with NRCHA because I am familiar with the forms, the process and many of the members. It should help expedite processing membership approvals and show results. My goal is to try and stay as current as possible and not let there be a lot of lag time in processing memberships, show approvals and the show results, as much to my ability. I also want to communicate well with members and affiliate management.

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By Jennifer Denison

FUN IN THE SUN

Check out six sizzling side trips to incorporate into your Scottsdale, Arizona, stay during the 2022 DT Horses Western Derby.

Standing at 2,704 feet in elevation, Camelback Mountain is an advanced hiking destination near Scottsdale, Arizona.

When National Reined Cow Horse Association exhibitors roll into Scottsdale, Arizona, in June for the DT Horses Western Derby there’s no doubt it’s going to be hot. The area enjoys an average of 330 days of sunshine each year, and during the summer the mercury rises well into the triple digits. That doesn’t mean you have to stay inside, however.

We know NRCHA members prefer to explore outside, and Scottsdale offers a scenic Sonoran desert playground with more than 41 parks, 384 miles of bicycle-friendly routes and hundreds of acres of open space. Here, we suggest some of the many places to visit that will show you the diversity of the desert destination. After your excursions, beat the heat at the many resort spas, pools and splash pads around town.

1. OLD TOWN SCOTTSDALE

From Western art, history and culture, to spas, cuisine, boutiques and nightlife, Old Town Scottsdale offers something for everyone. A Mecca for artists, Old Town Scottsdale is home to the Scottsdale Artists School, several galleries and public art installations.

Known as the “West’s Most Western Town,” Scottsdale has ranching, farming and cultural roots that are celebrated today on the streets of Old Town. In the early 1900s, cotton-field workers from Mexico built by hand the Old Adobe Mission that still stands in the heart of Old Town. Today, the oldest Catholic church in Scottsdale is open for special events and public tours.

Next door to the Old Adobe Mission is the Mission restaurant, a sophisticated tequila lounge and restaurant specializing in modern Latin cuisine. For something simpler, treat the family to homestyle comfort food, sandwiches, salads and an array of ice cream concoctions at the Sugar Bowl. Opened in 1958, the old-style soda fountain and diner is immortalized in Scottsdale cartoonist Bill Keane’s “Family Circus” comics.

For more than 70 years, the Rusty Spur Saloon has been a Scottsdale’s Old West-style watering hole and a place for live music seven days a week. For those who prefer a different vibe, there are plenty of coffee shops, wine bars and pubs.

For more information: oldtownscottsdaleaz.com.

Above: Admirers of early architecture can also view the Old Adobe Mission, circa 1933, that was the first Catholic church in Scottsdale. Lower left: With more than 100 galleries and an equal number of public artwork installations, Scottsdale is a Mecca for art collectors and admirers. The weekly Scottsdale ArtWalk takes place every Thursday evening, from 7 to 9 p.m.

JENNIFER DENISON 2. MCDOWELL MOUNTAIN GOLF COURSE

Tee off in the shadow of McDowell Mountain at the McDowell Mountain Golf Club. Located only 2½ miles from Westworld of Scottsdale, the golf course stretches 7,118 yards. Designed for all types of golfers, the facility has a 20-station grass tee driving range, practice putting green, three practice chipping greens and a practice bunker. Lessons are also available. When you’re finished on the green, enjoy drinks and appetizers at the on-site Mesquite Grille with indoor and outside seating.

The golf club is open sunrise to sunset, except on Mondays when it closes 90 minutes prior to sunset for maintenance. To ensure a tee time, book up to 60 days in advance.

For more information: mcdowellmountaingc.com.