Sergio Hernandez

I recently had the opportunity to talk with trainer Sergio Hernandez. Sergio is the trainer for Spring Lane client, Genevieve Carney, and her horse Mac, a thoroughbred she purchased off the racetrack in hopes of giving him a new life. Genevieve came to Spring Lane looking for boarding. She wanted someplace that would offer excellent care for Mac and a great place to begin his training for dressage competitions. While it’s not our normal agreement to offer clients the ability to bring in other trainers, Sergio turned out to be a perfect fit and a relationship that started a bit reluctantly has nurtured into a great partnership.

Within minutes of meeting him, you know he is friendly, warm, and passionate about what he does and the horses he works with. I talked with him as he worked Mac on a Sunday afternoon. He said he wasn’t sure how old he was when he started riding but he had heard stories from his parents and seen pictures of him climbing fences to get on his Uncle’s horses shortly after he learned to walk. “I still remember them telling me if you get in trouble, grab one of the banana trees”. His Uncle raises Cutting and Reining horses in Miami and that’s where he received the foundation that began his passion and his story. Competing all over the nation in reining and cutting horse events. Somewhere around 1st grade he started going to horse camp and they asked if he would come back each week at no charge to ride the horses. If you ask him, he will tell you that’s kind of where training horses began even though at that age, he didn’t realize it.

It was while he was working cutting horses that he got into hunter jumper and fox hunting since several of the large ranches also host fox hunting events. He trains and shows in many disciplines for clients including dressage, hunter jumper, fox hunting, cutting and reining but his real passion seems to be for helping repurpose horses that are burned out or have had a hard experience in one discipline for a new life in another discipline. Giving them new purpose and helping them leave behind any trauma or hard times they may have had in the past. He has 6 horses of his own that he is currently doing that with along with many client’s horses.

While he works you can quickly see that he listens to the horse. His gentleness, consistency, and calm demeanor prove their efficiency as I watched him work and realized how far Mac had come in the time he had been at Spring Lane. Sergio followed up with what I was thinking by mentioning how he loves coming to Spring Lane because it’s like the “Disney World” of horse farms. He says, “Everything is always so well maintained and manicured. You can really see the owner’s vision has come to life.” As we continued to talk about Mac’s progress and the ranch, he said, “The environment and care where a horse is at has so much to do with how far they will progress.” Reminding me why so many people choose Spring Lane.

Sergio currently travels to many ranches and barns to work with horses and clients but hopes to one day have something similar to Spring Lane. As for right now he likes being able to travel to different places because it gives him the ability to work with so many different people and horses. We are thrilled to have Sergio working with Mac and Genevieve and hope that other boarders may show interest in him especially as our new barn opens additional boarding spots.