When Robert met Janet

“I often would tease Buck (Brannaman) about all the match-making that was going on because of his horse clinics,” says Robert. Still, he claims he wasn’t looking for a girlfriend the day he stopped to spend a little extra time helping a “gal from the Seattle area.”

He says, “We first met at our Dayton clinic. She had a nice, big yet somewhat bothered Thoroughbred gelding. We got to visit a little then and during several clinics after.”

A friend of Janet’s and Robert's also had some talent for matchmaking. The two women had met at a Greg Eliel clinic and traveled together to the Dayton clinic sponsored by Robert in 2000. “On our trip down she was telling me about this wonderful man Robert Phinney,” says Janet. “By the time I had first met him, I had already had a twinkle in my eye for him. I remember thinking, this is the one for me.”

After that first meeting, Robert and Janet “visited” for about five more years before they eloped in Taos, New Mexico in 2005. “I guess Buck got to add another to his matchmakers list,” says Robert.

The two now share a home in the Blue Mountains near Dayton, not far from where Robert grew up.

Robert says he doesn’t feel “bothered” anymore, perhaps because he’s finally figured out a way to merge the loves of his life: horses, teaching, and Janet.

“Things have changed for me now that Janet and I are together,” he says. “My desire is to be able to share with others that which has been shared with me. The horses truly can make us better people when we allow them to, and they are some of the best teachers out there. It’s little wonder why I was always looking out that window.”

As for Janet, who has always sought a harmonious partnership with her horse, marriage has proven to be a similar, rewarding journey. “I think Robert and I were meant to be together,” says Janet. “We both tried teaching separately, and something was missing for us to be successful, and it was our partnership. I have always been compassionate and dedicated, yet being with Robert has given me the courage to try things I wouldn't have on my own, and to be more grounded.”

“For me, the ideal is for it to seem like you and your horse are thinking the same thing. It’s not always that way
with Robert,” she says with a grin. “But we’re getting pretty good at it.”