Thunderbird Equine - Excellence in Horsemanship

This story is about a girl who has always loved horses like so many of us :), so much so that training and raising horses has become her entire life and career. Thunderbird Equine is owned and operated by Jessica Pancost, established in 2019 when she was only 20 years old. What started as working on her family’s ranch in Stoneham, CO has grown into a legacy of horsemanship and excellence. I was able to spend an afternoon with Jessica as much as we could handle with the heat! learning about her background, her business, and her goals for the future. And I got some great photos!

  In Stoneham, the family raised black angus cattle and trained Quarter Horse racehorses, which made for one heck of a childhood for Jessica. She told me that some of her earliest memories included fixing fence, gathering cattle, and most significantly - riding green horses. Nothing like throwing a kid on a green horse am I right? :) Well it stuck, because Jessica would go on to start colts, both as a teenager and as part of her program now. She summed up how her experiences on the family farm affected her really well, “these experiences shaped the way I approach horses today and gave me a deep appreciation for practical horsemanship.”  

 I asked Jessica what the one piece of her business she was most passionate about was, and she responded with the biggest grin. “My favorite horses to work with are young prospects. I love taking a horse with a solid foundation and helping it discover its potential.” She went on to detail how rewarding the work is to watch a young horse morph into a disciplined and athletic animal. Her training focuses on starting colts and developing performance stock horses. She also offers tune-ups, problem-solving for horses that need a reset, and finishing work for horses preparing to compete in ranch versatility and cow horse events. On occasion she also starts rope horses on both head and heel as well as horses for team penning and sorting. Whew thats a whole lotta work! It was amazing to hear Jessica speak about what she does, and see the horses she’s currently working with in person. 

 Not only is this girl busy training horses, but also participating in shows! Majority of the competitions she's in are events like ranch versatility and stock horse through organizations like the Colorado Wyoming Nebraska Stock Horse Association (CoWN) as well as AQHA Ranching Heritage. I want to talk briefly on the ranch versatility, because it’s so interesting. People these days want horses that can do a lot of different types of work, instead of one in particular. They’re looking for horses that can cut and sort, and rope, and do it all. Jessica told me that her horses compete in classes like ranch riding, ranch trail, ranch reining, cow work, and ranch cutting. All pretty “ranchy” but a different type of work for each! She commented on just how much she enjoys these events and why, “they reward horses that are both athletic and practical. The ideal horse is one that can go on a horse show on the weekend and still be useful on the ranch the next day.” I feel like this is the true spirit of a ranch horse but I’m no expert :)

 A question I knew I wanted the answer to before I even pulled up to the barn is “What are your goals as you continue to grow?” I couldn’t write Jessica’s answer any better than how she said it “I want to continue building a program that produces honest, versatile horses while never losing sight of the values I grew up with. I want Thunderbird Equine to be known for horses that are willing, dependable and useful, whether they're in the show pen or doing a day’s work on the ranch.” She looks forward to continuing fostering partnerships with companies and brands that share those same values, expanding her influence through education and content creation, and helping bridge the gap between ranching and performance horse worlds. 

 Watching Jessica work was an incredible experience, I’ll never forget the extremely sweaty  and amazing afternoon I spent with her. Thunderbird Equine is well on its way to becoming a household name in fantastic, versatile, and athletic horses. She even invited me back and wants to put me on a horse so maybe more to come about Jessica and Thunderbird Equine! From a little girl riding green horses and fixing fence, to an esteemed and bold young woman training and showing performance horses, Jessica is a role model and one who I will definitely keep up with just to see what she does next. I want to close this story with another quote from her, “If I can encourage more people to appreciate good horsemanship and the stock horse lifestyle, I’ll consider that a success."