doug carpenter
Photo by Kelly Carpenter
Born in 1957 in Rhode Island, Doug Carpenter developed a
passion for horses at a young age. Doug would often hang out with a friend who
owned horses, and would help him prepare them at shows. When Doug was
13-years-old, he hitchhiked to Columbus, Ohio, to experience the 1970 All
American Quarter Horse Congress. Although he had to sleep on bleachers in the
old coliseum and knew he would return to angry, worried parents, Doug was
hooked and knew one day he would show horses at the prestigious horse show.
Doug left home in 1972 to live with Jack Farrell and his family in Connecticut, where he honed his horsemanship skills. Legendary trainer Tommy Manion was impressed by the young trainer and offered Doug a job. However, Doug turned him down to take a job in Ohio. Luckily, when the Ohio job fell apart two years later, Tommy would make another offer to Doug.
In 1978, Doug began working for Tommy, who gave him an unbroke 2-year-old mare in June to train and finish for the Congress Pleasure Futurity in October. Showing for the first time at Congress, Doug rode the 2-year-old Good Lookin Babe to a reserve title and a check for $10,000, beating his boss Tommy, who came in third.
Frustrated with showing, Doug made up his mind in 1981 to trade horses for NASCAR and move to North Carolina. Thinking the AQHA World Championship Show would be his last, he didn’t even bother to change out of his work shirt when he showed Karen Sullivan’s 3-year-old mare Miss Docs Melody in the first go of the Junior Western Pleasure. He ended up placing first in the prelims and coming back in front of a crowd of more than 6,000 people to win his first AQHA world championship. Doug ended up staying with horses.
Doug decided to hang up his own shingle, and for about a year he trained and showed clients and his horses, including the NSBA Hall of Fame stallion Hotrodders Jet Set. Although an unexpected financial hardship caused him to take a job with John Mulholland in 1982, the short stint on his own showed him he had the knack for picking good horses and training them to be competitive in the arena.
When Doug arrived at John’s place, there were many top show mares in the barn as well as promising 2-year-olds and yearlings. In 1984, rode a 2-year-old mare named Ms MBJ Mudlark to more than $85,000 in the top western pleasure futurities and Congress. He later showed the mare to a junior western riding world championship at the 1986 AQHA World Show.
Weary of showing, Doug turned his focus more to the training horses when he partnered with Keith Whistle in 1987. Doug would prepare horses for the show arena for Keith as well as amateur and youth riders. But after the tragic death of his amateur client and friend Rodney Miller in 1992, Doug began drifting away from western pleasure and moving toward the world of reining and selling good horses.
Doug already had a reputation for picking future winners in the western pleasure industry, and it wasn’t long before he was doing the same with reining and reined cow horses. He bought or sold such standout individuals as 1992 National Reining Horse Association Futurity champion Boomernic, 1999 National Reined Cow Horse Association Futurity champion Smart Zanolena, 2003 NRCHA Futurity champion Chics Magic Potion and 2007 World’s Greatest Horseman champion Light N Fine as well as top money-earning performers Jac Be Quick, Roosters Wrangler, Hes Dun His Time, and Bueno Chexinic. His client list has included Clinton Anderson, Bob Avila, Shawn Flarida, Benny Guitron, Dell Hendricks and Tim McQuay.
Today, Doug continues to purchase & broker top reining, cutting & reined cow horses as well as promising Thoroughbred racing prospects.
Doug left home in 1972 to live with Jack Farrell and his family in Connecticut, where he honed his horsemanship skills. Legendary trainer Tommy Manion was impressed by the young trainer and offered Doug a job. However, Doug turned him down to take a job in Ohio. Luckily, when the Ohio job fell apart two years later, Tommy would make another offer to Doug.
In 1978, Doug began working for Tommy, who gave him an unbroke 2-year-old mare in June to train and finish for the Congress Pleasure Futurity in October. Showing for the first time at Congress, Doug rode the 2-year-old Good Lookin Babe to a reserve title and a check for $10,000, beating his boss Tommy, who came in third.
Frustrated with showing, Doug made up his mind in 1981 to trade horses for NASCAR and move to North Carolina. Thinking the AQHA World Championship Show would be his last, he didn’t even bother to change out of his work shirt when he showed Karen Sullivan’s 3-year-old mare Miss Docs Melody in the first go of the Junior Western Pleasure. He ended up placing first in the prelims and coming back in front of a crowd of more than 6,000 people to win his first AQHA world championship. Doug ended up staying with horses.
Doug decided to hang up his own shingle, and for about a year he trained and showed clients and his horses, including the NSBA Hall of Fame stallion Hotrodders Jet Set. Although an unexpected financial hardship caused him to take a job with John Mulholland in 1982, the short stint on his own showed him he had the knack for picking good horses and training them to be competitive in the arena.
When Doug arrived at John’s place, there were many top show mares in the barn as well as promising 2-year-olds and yearlings. In 1984, rode a 2-year-old mare named Ms MBJ Mudlark to more than $85,000 in the top western pleasure futurities and Congress. He later showed the mare to a junior western riding world championship at the 1986 AQHA World Show.
Weary of showing, Doug turned his focus more to the training horses when he partnered with Keith Whistle in 1987. Doug would prepare horses for the show arena for Keith as well as amateur and youth riders. But after the tragic death of his amateur client and friend Rodney Miller in 1992, Doug began drifting away from western pleasure and moving toward the world of reining and selling good horses.
Doug already had a reputation for picking future winners in the western pleasure industry, and it wasn’t long before he was doing the same with reining and reined cow horses. He bought or sold such standout individuals as 1992 National Reining Horse Association Futurity champion Boomernic, 1999 National Reined Cow Horse Association Futurity champion Smart Zanolena, 2003 NRCHA Futurity champion Chics Magic Potion and 2007 World’s Greatest Horseman champion Light N Fine as well as top money-earning performers Jac Be Quick, Roosters Wrangler, Hes Dun His Time, and Bueno Chexinic. His client list has included Clinton Anderson, Bob Avila, Shawn Flarida, Benny Guitron, Dell Hendricks and Tim McQuay.
Today, Doug continues to purchase & broker top reining, cutting & reined cow horses as well as promising Thoroughbred racing prospects.
