Living The Red Life - Horse & Rider Ventures: How Authenticity Built a Western Lifestyle Brand

Episode Date: December 16, 2025

Tanner Bryson and Christa Brunori, two dynamic individuals who've devoted their lives to the horse industry through their company, Horse and Rider Ventures. This episode dives deep into their fascinating journey, discussing their professional milestones and unique offerings. From horseback tourism in Arizona's scenic landscapes to professional horse training and their passion for Western art, Tanner and Christa share their experiences as they work to preserve the legacy of the Western horse industry.Listeners will gain insight into the inner workings of a horse-centric business model, exploring their diverse revenue streams and the importance of an authentic social media presence in today's digital age. The guests emphasize the intricate process of training horses, highlighting the balance between nurturing equine talents and managing customer expectations in the marketplace. With themes of legacy, authenticity, and the nuanced art of matching horses with potential buyers, this episode offers a comprehensive overview for enthusiasts or anyone curious about the industry. Tanner and Christa’s genuine love for what they do is apparent as they share personal stories and industry secrets, creating an engaging experience for all listeners.Key Takeaways:Horse and Rider Ventures Diversity: Tanner and Christa operate a business with multiple facets, including horseback tourism and professional horse training, showcasing their expertise and love for the industry.Social Media Influence: Christa underscores the significant impact of social media as a driving force and tool for engagement with loyal followers and potential customers.Horse Training Philosophy: The duo emphasizes the importance of nurturing both the horse's talents and their own skills through an intuitive training process, akin to being talent agents in the industry.Legacy and Authenticity: Maintaining a respected brand and passing on knowledge to future generations are central to their mission, upholding a strong sense of authenticity in the Western horse community.Customized Client Experiences: They tailor experiences for corporate and group events, using their industry knowledge to create memorable and educational Western adventures.Notable Quotes:"The real magic is when you're... You get to ride a horse and you get to understand them.""Our social media presence is huge. It's actually our biggest driving force.""I look at horse training almost like being a talent agent.""Horses have bad days... The greatest horses in the world have a few little quirks.""It's all about your intuition with what you just feel."Connect with Tanner Bryson and Christa Brunori:WebsiteFacebookArtStudioConnect with Rudy Mawer:LinkedInInstagramFacebookTwitter

Joining me today is Tanner and Krista. Our business center ground horses. We have a facet of our company, which is Horse and Ratt Adventures. There's so many horses out there, and the industry is so big. I mean, how else do you separate yours and your calling card from everybody else? And that brand's been notorious. Yeah, we're pretty protective of that image, and we're not out there sticking our iron on every horse. Wow.

I really believe in developing trust. You know, you have one opportunity and first impression. for people to look at you in your image and you'd be like why go with them if you don't have what you can back up you say you really don't have a product at all and those horses are truly invaluable what are someone you've ever used dreams like do you do all host like you know off-sides for big corporate companies for larger like corporations and such we really believe in creating an ultimate authentic experience oh yeah I feel like our business you know we make a living doing what we do but it that there's a legacy

in the industry that we want to pass on for sure you know we have my name's Rudy more host of Living the Red Life podcast and I'm here to change the way you see your life in your earpiece every single week if you're ready to start living the Red Life ditch the blue pill take the Red Pill join me in Wonderland and change your life welcome to another episode of Living Your Legacy podcast the Red Life edition joining me today is Tanner and Krista we tried to figure out everything they do and I've already lost track, so I'm going to let them take it away. What do you all do besides being amazing cowboys?

Well, our business center ground horses. Right on. We have a facet of our company, which is Horse and Ratt Adventures, where we take out guests, tourists and other, you know, dignitaries, go on a horseback ride in Arizona, get to see the countryside. Right on. And then we also have a professional horse training program for our rodeo horses. Very cool.

As well as we have a art business. Right on. Some Western art and some images. And Krista's definitely a big facet of everything we do. Right on. Chris, how did you get involved? How did it all start? Well, I found myself in somewhat of a life-changing situation.

My foundation has always been in horse training as well. I was a professional in the industry for about 10 years prior to running into Tanner. and had an opportunity to actually start to work with him. Cool. And that's how we met, of course. Erdog. And started just collaborating on our abilities with horse training and the business with horse and around.

It was still very new at the time. And my involvement started to help get it up to where it is today. And then, I don't know, maybe six months into our working relationship, we realized that we actually like each other. So then the rest happened. Very cool. So is there like, was it an apprenticeship that kind of happened here? well how did it work here before the fun stuff happened what happened what what what was all the boring horsing around

happened well chris uh i i i'm a professional horse trainer but i did have this tourism company that i had started sure sure and christa started working for me in that in that regard um we were taking out guests and tourists and but as i got to know her i realized that there was a lot more depth there she's very good at horse training she's she has an english background And mine is all Western. So with her ability to do things with horses that are centered in the English world, we collaborated on training some horses and such outside of our horse and around business. And then over time, we just kind of merge those two elements.

And she's also got a background in acting and media and stuff. So she's really helped us try to push our. media forward. Sure, sure. And so there was a lot of collaboration with between our different strength and weaknesses. Very cool. Well, I'm sure folks are just very curious about what it's like to run a ranch and living with horses. What's your social media presence like? Are folks curious? Do you have a social media presence? You mentioned acting, so I'm sure you're in front of the camera all the time. It was a little bit more back in the day. But no, I'm definitely behind the camera now. I'm behind the scenes on almost everything, which I enjoy. I really enjoy the

production side of what we do, not just in the marketing, but also in our operations, which is heavily my role. But our social media presence is huge. It's actually our biggest driving force. We do have the B-cross performance horses on Facebook and Instagram, as well as horse around adventures. But a lot of it is truly old school. Word of mouth. I mean, in this industry, in the Western industry, it's a big one, but it's also small in a lot of ways. It's like you kind of just always run into somebody you know where you go, whether it's a rodeo or a show or something of that sort.

But the social media presence is huge. It really is. Our followers are very loyal. Very engaged. And sometimes it's the most unexpected reel that I post that gets the biggest views. And I really enjoy that. It's challenging for me. You never know what's really going to work.

So it's cool. We play with that. I got to ask, what came first to the horse or the paintbrush? You mentioned artistry. It was kind of simultaneous when I was a when I was a kid you know my grandmother was an amateur artist but she was really talented and so on days when I wasn't at the ranch or whatever I was as young kids so I would go to my grandma's house and she would give me painting well we would just work on paintings like I was doing my first paintings at seven eight years old and so I would say that that started the art and art is a little

bit like, you know, singing or other maybe what you would call God gift talents. Absolutely. And but simultaneously, I was, I was, my dad had a ranch and he was a horse trainer. And so I grew up working in that business as well. And it just kind of evolved. And it's one of those things where I, I really do what I love. And then figuring out how to monetize that and turn into an actual business has been the challenge. But it's, you know, I've never had a real job. I tell people I laugh I said that's my goal is to go through life without having a job so and we work hard

don't get me wrong I don't feel like I ever just go to work during the day that's awesome yeah same same here this is my ranch what's it like gosh I don't want to sound like a dumbingal what's it like living with horses like it's got to be

magical it and Chris has probably got our own aspect of what she thinks but you know it is magical You know, the relationship that we have with horses, really and truly just about our entire business is driven with our passion for horses. It gets tedious at times when you're, you know, haul on a truckload of hay and you're paying for the hay and you're doing all these things that take for care and boarding. It becomes tedious, but the real magic is when you're, you get to ride a horse and you get to understand them and learn. And then the horse is teaching you. You're teaching the horse.

And then you create a product that other people design. And that's what it's all about. It's kind of like being a construction guy. You're building a house, not necessarily to live in or keep forever, but you're building a house that somebody else wants. Same with a horse. You're training a horse. You take them from not much into something that's very sought after.

So that's the real magic. How does a horse take a sick day? Besides, you know, being physically ill, can a horse be depressed and not perform that day? Like, how do you manage expectations? It's like these are your babies, your fur babies, livestock per se, but they're also entertainment. These are your revenue streams. How do you

differentiate when a horse is good to go? Answer that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, I wanted to also just mention my opinion on the last question was that I really think that people get in a habit of thinking that they're making the horse, that they can take all the credit for how successful that horse has become.

Whereas there is a truth to that, but I also think that the horse is making us. We don't realize it along the way that when we take that horse from a young stage or a very beginning stage and then develop it into the performance horse that it becomes, there's something that happens with us in that, and like you said that, that's the magic.

And, you know, we have our assistant trainers and kids as well and watching them go through that process and that aha moment, that when they get it, when the horse gets it, and what that teaches us and so many values, it's incomparable. I look at horse training almost like being a talent agent. I was just going to say, yeah. We're out there looking for talent, right? And then we get that talent. And then that's where the whole dance begins is because you can't push that horse

past what his limitations are or possibly what he's willing to accept at that time. So being a horse trainer is some of just staying out of the horse's way and making sure that you can develop his good qualities. But horses have a bad day. Horses have bad days. The other day I was at a rodeo and I have one of the most amazing horses I've ever had in my career, and she just had a terrible day. So I was a bit frustrated, but at the end of the day, I said, hey, horses have the most diverse personalities, just like working with people. And part of the real knowledge is knowing how to bring out the best and not bring out the worst. And every horse has, every horse, the greatest horses in the world have a few little quirks or things that you have to deal with that

maybe aren't super desirable, but it's all about management. So you're kind of managing, you're managing that horse's career and notoriety, but you're also, at the same time, they're also either bolstering your ability to train or not, depending on what path he take. I was going to say there's also a level of like just intuition that you have to have. I mean, you can, you can try to force a square peg into round hole. You know, but one of the things that I feel like, especially Tanner's knowledge and expertise in this industry, is that I admire so much his ability to see what that horse's true attributes are

and what that horse will excel out. In regards to like a bad day, obviously horses can't speak. You know, it's all about your intuition with what you just feel. Something just feels a little bit off or something just isn't quite right with this horse today. That's all you can go off of. Oh, yeah. But then you have to decide if it's a behavioral or if it's a health issue and you kind of have to start going through just this process of elimination to try to help figure out,

okay, what does this horse really need, you know, and does it need vet care, or is it something I can manage on my own, things like that? But when you take that idea, that concept, and then you multiply at times a ranch and a horsering facility and now you bring cattle involved and all the other things, it gets a little daunting at times, but I think having key people to help is vital. I mean, you have to, it's more than just Tanner and me. There's a whole team, and we're huge about our team.

Yeah, and not every horse is going to be a premier athlete. So we'll take a horse, and as we develop their attributes, we'll figure out, hey, this horse is really suited. Maybe not in an event that I may be involved anymore. Let's say steer wrestling or calf roping or team roping, or then you have the occasional horse that's just not ambitious enough to do any of that and they become a good ranch trail horse cool so knowing where that talent is going to fit in that's that's a big plus for us because we're able to put those horses in a success

pattern and then horse really determines where they're going to end up and it's my job to be able to recognize hey this horse is ultra talented at this but maybe a little short over here so where are we going to place this horse so that they have the most success that's amazing how where is the horse linked Like, how does one recruit a horse? How do you find out when you eat a horse or not? Well, you know, in the age of digital media, in the old days, when I started, it was word of mouth, reputation. You heard so-and-so was raising some good horses.

You would go to their facility, maybe pick some out, buy them, take them home, train them, see where they fall. And we had some great, we still have great relationships with guys that are bringing us talent. Right on. But now with social media, everybody's got a little ad on the internet. Somebody's trying to sell a horse. A lot of them, I just call them backyard horses.

You can find some gyms, but it's also a really tough world to navigate without a lot of knowledge. I see people go out and they're buying horses off the internet on videos. And you have to understand that I can take a horse that maybe isn't that talented. And I can do multiple videos and edit those videos to the point that you see them. you're like, oh, man, the horse is ultra-talented. But the reality is they're not. And so I'm a little cautious about the whole video process. And I just tell people, you know, if you're looking for a good horse,

you have to go lay hands on it, see what the horse really is, because, you know, people will be a little deceptive in their video. Well, and I think that the biggest thing to tie into what we do, B-cross performance horses, which is our rodeo horse training program, the brand. The brand B cross, it's actually a brand on the horse's hide. That's like a business card. It's a calling card.

When people see that and they understand what is behind that brand, the quality, and what it represents, that's one way people can kind of help know, okay, no matter what, I know that that stands for something because of what he's done in the past, you know, since 1985. A seal of approval. Absolutely. Absolutely. And it's really the only way, I mean, because there's so many horses out there and the industry is so big. I mean, how else do you separate yours and your calling card from everybody else? And that brand's been notorious. Yeah, we're pretty protective of that image.

And we're not out there sticking our iron on every horse. Wow. We're only putting them on the horses that we really want to represent what our values are. So we want people that can buy a horse with that brand on them. And they realize, hey, there's quality behind it. For sure. The same goes for even our trail riding facility, the horse around adventures. The horses that we select for that,

I mean, they are hand-selected. They have to go through a whole process of criteria to meet. There's a zero tolerance for certain things. And I think that that's another part that just helps separate us. You know, when people do try to choose, who do I go to? I really believe in developing trust. You know, you have one opportunity and first impression for people to look at you in your image. And you'll be like, why go with them?

And to me, it starts with the herd. If you don't have what you can back up, you say, you really don't have a product at all. And those horses are truly invaluable. And in my opinion, performance horses compared to the trail horses, a lot of people knock trail horses. They think that they're kind of the bottom of the totem pool type animal. I have learned from the bottom up in this industry, they are the most incredible of all horses. And I've been there, done that. I've trained, I've shown, I've jumped, I've rodeoed, trail road, all that.

And they have to have a certain mindset. They have to have a certain capability to adjust to a new person. Oh, yeah. Every single time they go out on that trail. Yeah. That is a hard thing to do. And still give that excitement to the rider. You know, you don't want a horse that's just poking along.

You know, that's what they call dole. But anyway, it just takes a really special type of horse to represent that image as well. This is so fascinating. I feel like we can sit here for another hour or so talking about just the culture, the subculture. and that sub-sub-culture within that culture of horses. Yeah, we can. We can go on that. Well, and I should add one of the greatest challenges is making sure that you're finding a horse,

if you have a client that's looking for a particular style of horse or certain demeanor, that you're able to recognize maybe what the client needs and match that with the horse, that's very challenging. We're not, I mean, I've seen my dad over the years, you know, back in the day. He would actually not sell a horse. to somebody that was dying to buy that horse. Which is odd because at the time I was like, Dad, just sell it.

And he's like, no, he can't ride that horse. Wow. So I always took that. I finally at an older age realized why, because he knew that if we put them in a relationship, we sold that horse to that client, that there was going to be trouble. Wow.

On the horizon, maybe the rider's expertise wasn't enough to handle the horse he wanted. So we always try to not overmatch the buyer, with the wrong horse. Because we want that relationship to come back. We want people to get a horse. Maybe it wasn't the horse that they had envisioned that they realized, hey, this is the horse I need.

And they're coming back year after year to buy new horses. Hey, you treated me so well on the last one, I'm not going to buy from anybody else. So that's been a bit of our back room business model is just to try to match the horse's talent with the prospective buyer. How are you doing this? What are you doing to communicate,

like your philosophies because these these are philosophies that I hear in other business models and other brands that Ferrari not for obviously because of horses and stuff but I love Ferrari and when you were talking about the brand I'm like well that's what Ferrari does that's what we do are supreme you know it's like you see that's the little approval you immediately think that's quality that's that's the whole lineage a whole legacy you mentioned your father let's let's rewind and talk about what are we to learn today about filming your legacy maker episode what do we learning. Give us a preview. Well, I think we want to give some insight to our business model and we've been in the business. I grew up in it. We started our company in 1985. We came up with

the brand. We came up with the logo that's called branded quality. So we've just really stressed in trying to maintain that image. And we do, you know, we have people call us and say, Hey, oh, yeah, I saw one of your horses at a rope in the other day. Hey, I heard you guys do a really good job making sure that the horses are sound and healthy. And also, it comes down to honesty. I'm unwilling to sell a horse and not disclose literally everything I know about the horse. And he's been through our vetting process. So when someone's buying something and you say, hey, this horse has these quirks, can you live with that?

they're not going home without that information they're willing to make their own decision based on your information and it needs to be honest and straightforward and there's times that we've cost ourselves you know you might have a horse that's a $50,000 horse and you disclose something and say oh okay I'm not interested and that's fine that's the way it should be you don't want any surprises so and you know horse is a live animal so they can surprise you a lot

But once they've been through our process, we've pretty much seen most of everything that they have to offer and we're able to disclose that. And then the buyer gets to make an educated decision at that point. Well, what are some of your revenue streams? Like, do you all host, like, you know, off-sides for big corporate companies where they want to have, like, you know, something special, we done for. Yeah, no, absolutely. It's one of the things I love doing. We do have what we call, you know, kind of the bread and buttery. We have day rides for people that are just visiting the system.

Adona, Arizona era, and just, if you want to come visit, get on a horse for an hour and a half, we do that all day long. Great. But for larger, like, corporations and such, we really believe in creating an ultimate, authentic experience. Hell yeah. I really, really dove into what I felt was necessary to continue separating us from either the traditional ideology or even other local companies.

We're kind of known, the horseback running companies like us, trail running companies, are known for kind of being hokey-pokey, right? And to keep that authenticity, I felt like not only did it start with what I talked about earlier, the herd, but it starts with also who we are. And we are genuinely authentic stewards of the land, ranchers, cowboys, whoever we bring in on the team, you know, they truly have a background in ranching and, you know, cowcalf operations or horse training and things like that. And it's people that maybe wanted to, maybe they retired from that, but they want to keep in the horse industry. So when we take all of that and then we create the Western experience right outside of Sedona, you know, there's things that we love to do when we pair with the vineyards next to us. You know, we do cattle drives.

We just did one last week, which was amazing for the Air Force. You know, that was incredible. It gets a little wild. Literally a little wild. But what we like to do is more than just the activity. You know, even that other people do, right? But to me, what separates it even further is that we try to educate along the way ahead of time we took uh like with the air force group last week um we took the idea that they're all about

strategy right and execution and working as a team and we went over the whole plan ahead of time before they ever got on a horse and we broke it down we drew it out maps all of it and they love that it really helped them understand hey this is why we need to be in this position at this time you know here's the weak points of access when the cattle go by how we how do we how do we control them you know things like that and so we did that and then at the very end we also do uh like ranch demonstrations. So we want to educate about why we have to brand cattle, why we still have to use horses to actually gather cattle. People ask that all the time, why can't you just use a quad? There's so much out there to help bring an understanding and education to the world

because we are in an industry that's fizzling out. You know, in America is, you know, very fast-paced growth. And, you know, when you think about cowboys and you think about the Western industry, honestly, unless you're in and I feel like a lot of people still look at it, like it's wearing a costume. I'll be honest, I've had people do that. You know, I've shown up in my attire for a certain reason and to a different area that's not as well known for Western attire. Yeah.

Like, I like your costume. Oh, God. I appreciate it. It must be so much fun, though. It is. It is. It is. But it's real.

It's a very real thing and a very needed thing. And the first time he ever took me ranching when I first met him, I never wanted a steak more in my life. Oh, my God. Because I had a whole new appreciation or what it took to get that beef to that point, if that makes sense. There's a whole back end of everything that I actually had no idea coming from the English world. So it's been pretty eye-opening. It teaches you more about life than you'll ever, ever have a concept of when it comes to ranching and horses and training.

It's more than just a horse. It's very pragmatic. But it's also, you know, I feel like our business, you know, we make a living doing what we do. But there's a legacy in the industry that we want to pass on. For sure. You know, we have training sessions for youth, five days a week at my arena, a couple three hours a day. We got a lot of kids that are growing up in the industry that don't maybe have the opportunity to have the, it takes a lot of tools. You have to have an arena, a tractor, several head of cattle, horses.

And then you also have the ability, you have to be able to have the ability to pass that knowledge on. So our biggest idea with creating a legacy is to promote the Western industry and to show people that it is possible. When I was a kid growing up, you know, I had a lot of older guys go away. What are you going to do with your life? And I'm like, oh, you know, I was good in school and made good grades and went to college. But I didn't dream of anything but just doing the horse business. And, you know, those older guys were talking about. Oh, you'll never make a living in the horse business.

And maybe it was out of stubbornness or spite. I'm like, that's what I am going to do. And I could easily, you know, got out of college, got a regular job, maybe, you know, got into banking or whatever that might be. But it just, it wasn't what fueled me. So I had to prove to myself that it could be done. And it's, I'm still proving it to myself every day. So that, that's what drives us as well as passing that knowledge on to a younger generation.

that you know if you think about it everybody knew how to drive a wagon at the turn of the century nowadays there's hardly any people that know how to drive wagons so if that knowledge isn't passed down it gets lost and so that's been a big goal of ours is to pass on our legacy to a younger generation well how appropriate that you have been crowned legacy makers well i'm very eager to get to learn more about both of you on your episode we're literally going to walk that way make it right and film your episode. How can people discover you, find more about you, learn about you on the internet? Well, they can

find Horse Run Adventures on our website at Horse Run Adventures.com. And then our B-Cross Performance Horses, which is the training facility. Our website is under construction right now, but we do have a presence on Facebook and Instagram, just on B-Cross Performance Horses. And then we also have the art

business, which is tannerbrisonartstitio.com. That's amazing. The Trinity of Offen. Well, it was such a pleasure, y'all. I can't wait to learn more. With that, that concludes another episode of the Living Your Legacy podcast, the Red Life Edition. For Inside Success, I am Ray Gutierrez.