Jim Greendyk: A Reining Legend With a Horse-First Approach

Jim Greendyk is a reining trainer and educator based in Scottsdale, Arizona whose path into the western performance horse industry was anything but traditional. He built his program the hard way—one ride, one client, and one opportunity at a time.

Today, his program reflects that same approach, built around longevity and trust with horses and the people behind them. Alongside his training operation, he has developed a strong digital presence, with more than 100,000 Instagram followers and an online reining masterclass that extends his horse-first approach far beyond his own barn.

Now surrounded by some of the sport’s top names, Jim built his business on instinct, grit, and a relentless commitment to doing right by the horse. Jim’s commitment to welfare-focused training makes him a standout voice building the next generation of reining stars.

From Mucking Stalls to Sliding Stops

While many equestrian professionals are raised around horses, Jim Greendyk didn’t find his way into the industry until his late teens. Born in Michigan, everything changed when his family moved just north of Montana to southern Alberta, Canada, where farming and ranching are a strong part of the community.

“I had absolutely no farming, ranching, or horse background whatsoever,” Jim says. “But when we moved there, that world became something I was really interested in.”

After transitioning to homeschooling at age 13, he used his flexible schedule to gain hands-on experience working at a feedlot, volunteering at a veterinary clinic, and taking every opportunity he could to interact with horses. “I tried to get into every part of the industry as quickly as I could,” he says.

That mindset led to the opportunity that launched his future career. At 17, Jim took a job cleaning stalls at a Western training barn in Fort Macleod, Alberta.

What started as entry-level barn work quickly became a crash course in horsemanship. Within months, he went from mucking stalls to starting colts, thrown into a fast-paced, trial-by-fire environment that forced him to learn by doing.

After four years developing his skills in Alberta, Jim’s career and personal life gained momentum over a summer working at Grand Arabians in Michigan. The job led to a chance encounter that would ultimately alter the course of his life.

“I met my wife, Pauline, by chance. I was with family wakeboarding at a lake, and she was there for a summer camp,” he says. “A year later, I moved to British Columbia, we got married in 2008, and that’s where I spent the next 17 years: training horses, hosting clinics, and competing.”

 

The Move That Changed Everything

In 2009, Jim’s first trip to Scottsdale planted the seed for a future move. Over the next decade, that idea grew into a clear goal: to own his own facility and take the next step forward. “I wanted to own my own barn,” he says. “I loved the farm life with my family, and I knew I wanted to build something of my own.”

A conversation with his teenage daughter sparked the idea of exploring places like Scottsdale and Texas, where he found encouragement from others in the industry.

In February 2023, he returned to Scottsdale to surprise one of his students who was competing in the area. This trip was a turning point, pushing Jim to stop talking about the move and finally commit.

“Within a few months, we sold everything in Canada, bought a place here, loaded up the horses, and moved to Scottsdale,” he says.

The Power of Influence

When Jim first began building his program in Canada, he did it one ride, one connection, and one opportunity at a time.

“I moved to Alberta with one saddle in my car and just started knocking on doors,” he says. “There’s no magic to it. You tell people what you can do, and when they call, you have to be willing to do the work. I’ve never been afraid of that. And if I don’t know how to do something, I’ll go figure it out.”

 

 

As his business grew, so did the team around him. The people who helped expand his brand and program became a defining part of how he operates.

“We started with YouTube, then moved into Instagram reels, and it just grew from there,” Jim says. “The kid in Alberta who helped me with it went from volunteering to being full-time, and we eventually built it to 100,000 followers. The people who stuck with me helped me get where I am today.”

Despite the growth of his program, Jim’s perspective on success remains grounded, shaped by the reality that training horses is only one part of the bigger picture.

Despite positioning himself as a trainer and educator, Jim’s program has consistently produced results in the show pen and beyond. He has shown or developed multiple Derby and Futurity champions and continues to place at major events.

His program has also produced successful non-pro and youth riders, with clients earning year-end championships and Rookie titles, while generating over $450,000 USD annually in horse sales.

Rideability & Relationships for Long-Term Success

Alongside his training program, Jim has spent more than a decade running reining clinics. He is known for breaking down complex concepts into practical, easy-to-understand instructions for riders of all levels.

Jim’s training philosophy starts by prioritizing rideability over forcing maneuvers, based on the belief that the basics under saddle should be easy to ride.

“The horse needs to know two things: where to go from pressure and that you’ll give it time to get there,” he says. “If it walks, trots, lopes, and steers easily, now you’ve got something. If it’s talented enough to be a great reining horse, that’s a bonus, but it still has to know those things first.”

Building Champions From the Inside Out

In a high-end equine market like Scottsdale, how the horse looks is often just as important as performance. “All the horses can run, stop, and turn well here. It’s incredibly competitive,” he says. “So it often comes down to appearance. If your horses are shiny, healthy, and look like a million dollars, they’re going to sell like it too.”

 

 

Beyond improving performance and appearance, proper horse care and diet management play a major role in building client trust and long-term success. In Jim’s program, nutrition is the foundation for both the horse’s performance and long-term soundness.

“If the horse looks amazing, people trust the process. When you get that right, everything else becomes easier. If it looks like you don’t care—if the horse is thin, dull, and not presented well—then the moment something goes wrong in training, people are quick to leave. How you care for the horse is a huge factor.”

Nutrition Strategies for Reining & Western Performance Horses

Jim uses a simple, consistent feeding program designed to support the entire horse from the inside out while ensuring nothing gets missed in a high-performance barn.

“For me, it’s a whole-horse approach, making sure they’re getting the right balance of nutrients, vitamins, and fats,” he says. “We feed free-choice so they always have hay in front of them; alfalfa in the morning and Bermuda in the evening.”

Focusing on nutrition ties directly into how his horses feel and perform day to day.

Jim’s emphasis on comfort through nutrition goes beyond joints and muscles. Gut health plays a critical role in a reining horse’s physical performance, as well as their temperament and overall rideability.

“Even subtle digestive discomfort can affect how a horse feels and responds during work. If the gut isn’t comfortable, you can’t expect the horse to perform at the highest levels,” he says. “We feed Visceral+ to help keep our horses’ guts healthy. It’s been a game-changer for stomach issues.”

Overall fitness and stamina are also vital for reining horses, particularly in demanding environments like Scottsdale, where heat can quickly impact performance.

“Some of the most important factors are overall fitness and making sure the horses have enough air,” he says. “You can have a great horse, but if they don’t have the stamina to finish the run, especially in the heat, it shows. That ability to stay strong through the entire pattern is everything.”

To support respiratory health in Arizona’s environment, Jim incorporates Mad Barn’s NOCR. It supports healthy lung function and efficient oxygen use, helping his horses maintain stamina and perform at their best.

“We feed NOCR heavily for respiratory support,” he says. “With all the dust, dryness, and pollen here, you start to see things like coughing or irritation. Keeping their airways clear makes a big difference in how they feel and perform.”

Skrewball Whizkey: From Low Expectations to Competitive Reining Horse

One of Jim’s recent success stories is a reining horse named Skrewball Whizkey, owned by one of his clients. The horse had a significant history of soundness issues and struggled in a previous program, making him an unlikely candidate for long-term success.

“When he came to me a few months ago, he was a quirky little horse with some soundness issues, and he wasn’t a natural loper either,” he says. “But we stuck with him, and now he’s turned into a really fun, competitive horse. Those are the ones I love most, the ones that aren’t supposed to make it, and then do.”

Skrewball Whizkey’s turnaround highlighted the impact of consistent training, nutrition, and overall management within Jim’s program.

“His owner brought him back in January and wanted to give him another shot,” he says. “Since then, he’s sound, strong, loping better, and his coat and weight look incredible.”

“He went out and marked 72.5s, made money in the open at Cactus, and honestly, he’s turned into one of the most dependable show horses in the barn. That’s the kind of turnaround that makes it all worth it.”

The transformation is even more meaningful given his long history with the horse.

Nu Way to Shoot: Turning Heads & Earning Industry Recognition

Another client-owned horse who has benefited from Jim’s expertise and care is a 7-year-old stallion, Nu Way to Shoot, known around the barn as Rusty. This talented horse came with challenges that required the right approach.

“He was a big, strong stallion with some rough ground manners. He’s just a lot of horse,” Jim says. “Not quirky or nervous, just powerful and opinionated.” Since joining the program, Rusty has transformed in performance as well as demeanor and body condition.

The stallion’s transformation also didn’t go unnoticed across the western performance industry.

“When we got to Cactus Classic, I had other trainers stop me and say I know this horse and he has never looked that good in his life,” Jim says. “That means a lot, because we’re all busy trainers and you don’t go out of your way to say that to another trainer unless you really see an impressive difference.”

Putting the Horse First

For Jim, success is more about recognizing each horse’s limits and putting their long-term well being first, rather than pushing every horse to compete at the highest level.

“I think the biggest service we can do for horses is to be honest about their capabilities,” he says. “If a horse can’t do the job physically, we have to have that conversation.”

Putting the horse first and maintaining honesty with clients is central to Jim’s program, guiding where he draws the line between developing a challenging horse and pushing one beyond its limits.

“I’m not afraid to put the work in on a tough horse, but I won’t push one past what it’s capable of just to prove a point,” he says. “Being horse-first and honest with the customer even if it means one less horse in my program always works out better in the long run and does right by both the horse and the client.”

Summary

Jim Greendyk is a reining trainer and clinician based in Scottsdale, Arizona, known for a horse-first program built on longevity, trust, and practical horsemanship.

• His path into the western performance horse world was unconventional, starting in his late teens with no horse background and learning through hands-on work in Alberta training barns.
• After building his career in Canada over many years, Jim moved his family and horses to Scottsdale in 2023 to establish his own facility and grow his program in a highly competitive market.
• He built his business from the ground up, one ride and one client at a time, while also growing a strong online presence that now includes more than 100,000 followers and an online reining masterclass.
• Jim’s training philosophy centers on rideability, emphasizing strong basics, clear communication, and a whole-horse approach before asking for high-level performance.
• Jim ties long-term success to nutrition, horse care, honesty with clients, and recognizing each horse’s limits rather than pushing for results at the horse’s expense.