Joe Ammons is "one of the best horse riders you will ever find". That is what you hear all over Alabama when someone is asked who to call when they need someone to ride a horse. Joe is 51 years old and has been breaking and training horses most of his life. His passion is barrel racing, but he has worked breaking all types of horses. One of the most famous horses that Joe broke is a race horse by the name of 'Oakey Streak'; however, there are numerous others, far too many to name.
The one thing Joe enjoys more than his own barrel racing is training our future barrel racers. Joe loves children as much as he loves horses and would do anything to teach one how to 1st, ride a horse, and 2nd, barrel race. He trains them and attends all of their competitions, just in case they need some last minute instruction or pep talk. He will stand at the gate when it's their turn to run and cheer them on to the finish. Good or bad, Joe never yells and is always encouraging to make the kids believe in themselves. He takes the blame for any bad runs and tells the kids what he needs to do to make it better next time.
When it comes to tempermental horses, Joe just has a way about him. Horses seem to listen to him. He can take a gate sour horse and ride him for a couple weeks and that horse will not have gate problems again.