Circle C BarHorses & Training

Horse Training · Sage Valley, TX

Honest horses.Quiet hands.Real results.

Three generations of training built on listening before leading. From the first ride on a colt to the polish on a finished show horse — we build partners, not projects.

Schedule a visitOur story
Years on the ranch
40+
Horses started
600+
Repeat clients
92%

Est. 1984

Three generations of cowhands.

One way of working with horses.

Colt StartingReining & Cow WorkRanch VersatilityFinished Sale ProspectsProblem HorsesRider DevelopmentBoarding & LayupClinics on the RanchColt StartingReining & Cow WorkRanch VersatilityFinished Sale ProspectsProblem HorsesRider DevelopmentBoarding & LayupClinics on the Ranch

Our story

The barn isn't a brand. It's a family.

In 1984, Wade Calloway came home from the Cheyenne circuit with a bad knee, a thousand dollars, and a rope colt that nobody else wanted. He bought forty acres on the dry side of Sage Valley and started taking in horses one at a time.

Forty years later, his daughter Cody runs the program and his grandson Jesse starts the colts. The dust is the same. The way we work is the same. The horses leaving the trailer are calmer, braver, and better partners than the ones who arrived.

Read the full storyThree generations · One philosophy

Founder

Wade Calloway

1984 — present

Started Circle C with one borrowed trailer and a stubborn belief that you can't rush a horse into anything that lasts.

Head trainer

Cody Calloway-Reyes

20 yrs in the round pen

AQHA judge, cutting & reining background, and the steadiest hand a green colt could ask for.

Colt starter

Jesse Calloway

Class of 2018

Third generation. Starts every colt the same way: slow, soft, and on the horse's clock — not ours.

What stays the same

Listen first. Lead second.

  • Never the same drill twice
  • No spurs, no shortcuts
  • Walk-trot before flash
  • Owner stays in the loop

Disciplines

Programs built around the horse — not around our calendar.

We take a small number of horses each season so every animal gets hands-on time from a senior trainer. No assistants. No "barn hands" putting your colt's first rides on.

Colt Starting

60 daysFrom $1,800 / mo

We start two- and three-year-olds the slow way. Groundwork, sacking out, first saddle, first ride — and a horse you can actually take home.

  • Groundwork & desensitization
  • Saddle, bit, and bridle work
  • First 30 rides — walk, trot, lope
  • Trailer loading & farrier manners
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Most popular

Performance Training

90 – 180 daysFrom $2,200 / mo

For reiners, ranch versatility horses, and cutters who are ready to step up. We layer in finesse without losing the foundation.

  • Body control & collection
  • Pattern work — show prep
  • Cattle exposure & cow work
  • Haul-outs to local shows included
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Problem Horse Program

30 – 90 daysEvaluated per horse

Buckers, bolters, rearers, and the just-plain-checked-out. We don't 'fix' horses — we figure out what they're telling us and start from there.

  • Honest written intake assessment
  • Daily journal & weekly video
  • No shortcuts, no force
  • Owner re-onboarding before send-home
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Rider Development

Weekly or intensive$95 / lesson

Private lessons for adult amateurs and serious juniors. We don't put you on a push-button horse — we make you a better partner to the one you have.

  • Seat, feel, and quiet hands
  • Show ring strategy & nerves
  • Trail confidence & ground manners
  • Bring your horse or use ours
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Boarding & Layup

MonthlyFrom $650 / mo

Full-care board on 80 acres of dry-lot, pasture, and shade. Rehab pens, hand-walking, and a vet on standing call.

  • Full or pasture board
  • Stall layup for surgery recovery
  • Twice-daily turnout
  • Owner-friendly visiting hours
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Finished Sale Horses

Available year-roundInventory varies

We sell what we'd ride. Every Circle C sale horse comes with a video, an honest letter, and a 7-day trial at our facility.

  • Sound, well-broke, registered
  • Pre-purchase exam supported
  • Honest age & history letter
  • Buy-back program at fair value
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The Circle C approach

Four steps. No surprises. Ever.

Every horse arrives differently. Every owner is at a different place. The framework stays the same — and you'll know exactly where we are in it at all times.

  1. 01

    First conversation

    We start on the phone or in the barn — your goals, your horse's history, what's worked, what hasn't. No fees, no commitment.

    Usually 30 – 45 minutes. We'll tell you straight if we think we're not the right fit.

  2. 02

    Intake & assessment

    Once the horse arrives, we spend the first week watching, handling, and riding. You get a written assessment before training begins.

    Includes a full health & soundness check with our vet before the first ride.

  3. 03

    Slow, deliberate work

    Sessions are short and varied. We build feel and try — never drill. Owners get a weekly video and a journal of what we did and why.

    5 days of training. 2 days of rest, turnout, and observation. No exceptions.

  4. 04

    Owner re-onboarding

    Before your horse goes home, you ride with us at the barn. We don't send a horse back unless you've ridden them and feel confident.

    Two paid lessons included. More are available at our normal rate.

In the stable

A few of the horses with us right now.

Honest letters. Real video. No "spirited" euphemisms. What you read here is what walks off the trailer.

In training

Cinder

CCB Smokin' Cinder

4 yr · gelding

Started by Jesse in 2024. Reining prospect with a head you can't rattle. Owner picks him up in October.

Sale prospect

Penny

Pretty Penny Hancock

6 yr · mare

90 days at Circle C. Ranch versatility, gentle in the box, soft on the bridle. Asking $18,500 OBO.

Resident

Buck

Buckshot Diego

9 yr · gelding

Our schooling horse for nervous beginners and tune-up lessons. Patient as the Sage Valley sun.

Just home

Ruby

Rubys Highbrow Cat

3 yr · mare

First 60 rides finished here. Headed back to her owner with a written ride-along plan for month 2.

From the owners

The trailer pulls in. The horse walks off different.

"We sent Cody a four-year-old that nobody else would put a saddle on. Ninety days later my wife is riding him on trails. That's not a 'tune-up.' That's a different horse."

Ramon V.

Owner, Trans-Pecos

Smokin' Cinder — 60-day colt start

"I've used four trainers in twenty years. Circle C is the only barn that sent weekly videos AND told me the truth about my own riding. The journal alone is worth the board."

Annette H.

AQHA exhibitor

Pretty Penny Hancock — Performance

"Jesse started both of our two-year-olds. Watching him work is like watching someone read a book the rest of us can't see. Quiet, slow, and the colts step off that trailer asking for more."

Bill & Donna T.

Bar 7 Quarter Horses

Two colts, back-to-back seasons

5.0 average across 47 verified reviews · Google & AQHA referrals

Common questions

What new owners always ask.

If your question isn't here, call the barn or write us — we'll answer straight, the same day.

  • Most years we have a 4 – 8 week wait for colt-starting slots and shorter waits for performance & problem-horse spots. Sale prospects and lesson slots usually open within two weeks. Call the barn — we'll tell you straight.

  • 30 days is our floor for any training horse. Less than a month and we can't honestly tell you what we've changed. Most owners stay 60 – 90 days; performance horses run longer.

  • Yes — and we ask that you do. Owners visit any time during barn hours, and we encourage at least two visits during a stay so the transition home isn't a surprise to anyone.

  • We'll tell you within the first week of intake. If we don't think we can help, we'll refund the unused board and recommend a trainer who can. We've sent horses to other barns. It happens. It's fine.

  • Yes, with the understanding that long-standing vices rarely 'disappear.' We can manage them and reduce their triggers, but we won't promise a cure that nobody can deliver.

  • Two or more horses from the same owner board at 10% off, and a fourth horse comes in at 20% off. We don't discount training rates — that's where the work is.

Ready when you are

Bring your horse to the barn.

Spend an hour walking the property with us. If we're a fit, we'll tell you what we'd work on first. If we're not, we'll point you somewhere good.

Schedule a barn visit(555) 214-7732

Tue – Sat · 8 a – 6 p · Sage Valley, TX

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