Build a Bond Training started after Tiff brought home her horse, Buymeabond (Bondy) from Canterbury Park in Shakopee, Minnesota.
Our mission statement of, “learning to enjoy the journey,” is paramount to our belief and promise to work with the person or horse as they are each day.
Learning to enjoy the journey with your horse is something we strive for. We look forward to continue to learn how to help you and your horses have better life long relationships. We offer opportunities for all levels of riders and horses to Build a Bond.
Bond, the horse in the left photo, pretty much fell into my lap accidentally… You see, I had been “low-key looking” for a new horse because my old man was closer to 40-years-old than 30-years-old and I knew I was working on borrowed time with him. One morning I ran across a friend’s page who had posted Bond’s stall mate (the right photo) as needing a home off the track because he didn’t have the heart to race. Well, long story short, we went to meet Bond’s stall mate, AJ, and ended up bringing him home a few days later. But, if you hear my husband tell the story, Bond was just as interested in us as AJ had been. My husband had been standing nearer to Bond while I was taking a look at AJ in his stall and had been getting pestered by this big boy the whole time I was preoccupied.
A few weeks after getting AJ home, I got a message about Bond needing a home. I hemmed and hawed about even going to look at him but after thinking about it more, I knew I would always wonder if passing on him had been a mistake so I decided to go look at him. Setting up the appointment to look at him, I was told to bring the trailer. I knew at that moment he would be coming home with us. Not even 15 minutes with my goofy boy that day and he was loaded in the trailer and on his way to his forever home.
My Bondy Man, who is Jockey Club Registered as Buymeabond, is a 2010 Thoroughbred gelding. He had raced most of his life and was still doing well racing when I took him off the track in September 2020. The fact that he has raced most of his life has left him with some anxiety and concerns within his own head that I knew we were going to have to work through to make him the horse I know he can be for me. He is the horse that has pushed me to follow my dream, which has been 20-years in the making, to dedicate my time to helping people understand how to help their horses to be the best partners they can be to each other.
While this Journey really started with Bondy, it’s picked up additions along the way. One special addition we picked up was Born Force. Born came to us to retire from the track just like Bondy did. However, his story is much different. Born doesn’t suffer from track anxiety like Bondy but he does have challenges in the fact that he is completely blind. It is a different Journey with Born but still a journey we embrace.
This is the journey. We are embracing this journey with an open heart, open mind, and all the passion we have for these beautiful animals. We welcome you to enjoy this journey with us.
As the owner and head trainer, Tiff has more than 35 years of experience with horses, horsemanship, and training. She has trained and ridden in most disciplines and multiple breeds. She loves working with the horses and has a passion for creating an all around horse that is great for experienced riders but amazing for a child, too.
Robbie is Tiff's oldest. Growing up with horses, Robbie has seen Tiff work her magic. He is now working on re-starting his own horse, Fire, and learning the training process under his mom's guidance. He is training under Tiff as an apprentice trainer. He also helps keep things in working order around the barn.
Bryce is Tiff's second oldest. Like Robbie, he has seen Tiff work with horses his whole life. He is now training with Tiff as an apprentice trainer with his own horse, AJ, who is an off-the-track Thoroughbred. He's re-starting AJ and is looking forward to helping start more horses off on the right foot for life. Bryce is also studying to become the resident farrier.
Merrick is Tiff's third child. He has compassion for the horses that he interacts with and has started to learn re-training processes with his own horse, Born. When Merrick is done with his apprenticeship, he will specialize in training or re-starting horses that have lost their eye sight as Born is completely blind in both eyes.
