From Young Rider to Champion Trainer
By Brianna York
Cher. Prince. Everyone knew them just by a single name. Nothing more needed to be said about people so influential, so talented, with so much star power.
Skylar Powell’s “Van” was the same. All you needed to do was say that Van was in the class, and everyone knew exactly who you meant, and they could probably guess who would win the class as well.
Great horses make great riders, and often they make even better trainers. TA Giovanni came into Skylar’s life at a pivotal moment. Born to a horse training dynasty and immersed in horses from birth, Skylar hadn’t yet decided if horse training was in his future.
He had had plenty of horses to ride over the years, of course. In his own words, lots of them were “cheap and bad” but good enough to get him in the ring. All of that was set to change on his sixteenth birthday, however.
His parents, Rod Powell and LaRae Fletcher Powell took him to the Reining arena at WestWorld and showed him a bay stallion, spinning “on the wrong pivot foot but so wicked fast,” in Skylar’s words. LaRae asked him if he liked the horse, and he said he did. Everything shifted for Van and for Skylar at that moment because her next words were, “Good, because he’s yours.”
Toskhara Arabians bred Van with an eye toward performance horses with true athleticism and talent. A son of Kordelas, who was already very well-known for creating talented, good-minded, and sound reiners, Van was slated from birth to be a very good riding horse. Skylar says that his parents had excellent timing in that they were able to snap Van up before he had done much in the way of showing.
It’s often hard to parse where a good horse ends and good training begins. The two parts of the puzzle must fit together to make special horses. Silver Aspen, already a huge name in the Reining and working horse business, was the perfect home for a talented horse just starting in life.
TA Giovanni aka “Van” as a foal at Toskhara Arabians.
Van’s career was full of firsts for everyone who was lucky enough to swing up onto his back. Van was Skylar’s mount when he won his first Youth National Championship. He was the first horse that Skylar trained to go in the bridle. He was the first horse that Trenton Powell learned to lope on, despite being scared to go that fast and needing to be bribed with Xbox games even to attempt. He was the horse that Brittany Powell, Skylar’s wife, won her first National Championship on. Later in his life, he was the first horse that many small children learned to ride on.
Skylar said, “He was the go-to for little kids. How many stallions do you know that can pack three-year-olds around, and you don’t even have to worry?”
Perhaps most importantly, he was the first horse that made Skylar think that maybe he did want to be a horse trainer. Great horses show us what we’re made of and often guide us toward the path we will take as riders for the rest of our lives. It’s hard to imagine a world where Skylar Powell isn’t a horse trainer. But there is a reality where a horse named Van didn’t come into his life, and he chose another career path to the detriment of us all.
Skylar did all the training on Van throughout his long career, much of the horse’s finish work being completed while Skylar was young and learning the ropes himself. He reflects with a laugh that his first year at Youth Nationals was a bit rough. “I went off course in every pattern,” he says good-naturedly. But the next year he returned and won every national class he showed in.
Throughout his long career, Van carried many riders besides Skylar to multiple National Championships. Trenton Powell won National Championships in Horsemanship, Reining, and Ranch Riding, as well as national classes in the Western Pleasure, which most Reining horses will never be able to say. Colby Powell won the Open Reining at Canadian Nationals with Van in 2013, and Brittany took her turn on Van, collecting an armload of roses.
Van earned twelve National Championship titles, eight Reserve National Championship titles, and twenty-three Regional Champions and Reserves. According to Brittany, he was “The horse that gave it his all and yet would challenge you to ride better.”
This is what makes the Arabian horse so special. They are partners in every sense of the word, working as hard as their riders, offering advice, guidance, support, and heart when it counts the most. Unearned championships don’t mean as much as the awards that you receive because you gave it your all, and Arabian horses know this. They bring out the best in us, make us better riders, and offer a glimpse of the serendipity possible when true partnerships are built from the ground up.
Skylar and Van at Youth Nationals in 2009 after winning Arabian Reining JTR 14-17 and Freestyle.
Van might have passed away, but his foals are carrying the torch for him, creating a legacy of sound, willing, solid-minded horses who are highly successful in the ranch classes as well as the reining division. His very first foal, Bringin Sexy Back, has nine National Champions and Reserves and a massive list of regional titles in Reining and Ranch Riding. WCF Vanderbilt has four National Reserve Championships in the reining, as well as many regional decorations and National Top Tens in the Ranch and Reining.
The foals are all blessed with great brains, good feet and legs, and the kind of soundness that all breeding programs aspire to be able to boast about. “They’re user-friendly,” Skylar says, a factor which is critical for any breeding program. Every stallion owner wants to be sure that their stallion leaves behind a legacy that improves the breed and influences positive change. Van did that every time he set foot in the ring, and his progeny are lining up to help make the Arabian breed stronger, more amateur-friendly, and more visible to those who are not already competing at Arabian shows.
There may never be another Van, but thankfully, there will be many horses who carry his legacy forward into the future with their winning ways, kindness, and hearts.
Skylar couldn’t have said it any better in his post about Van after his passing.
“This horse is the reason I’m a horse trainer. This horse was a huge part of who I am. [Van], thank you for everything you did for me.”
