Iana Gonzalez grew up at her father’s racetrack, Agua Caliente, in Tijuana, Mexico. And when she was put on a horse at the age of 2, the story goes that she did not want to get off, grabbing the mane and protesting loudly when anyone tried to remove her. She went on to compete in show jumping, until a bad accident saw her in a wheelchair for a year. After multiple surgeries to her ankle, she qualified as legally handicapped. She switched disciplines and took up para-dressage. For 10 years she has run two almost neighboring barns at Palm Beach Point in Wellington, Florida, working with clients and competition horses for England’s Julia Harrison-Lee, who has Spencer Brittan as her professional showjumper.
A Barn Manager at the Age of 12
Gonzalez’s father moved to California and was breeding racehorses in Rancho Santa Fe. Gonzalez decided very early in life that she wanted to be in charge. “I told him I wanted to be the barn manager when I was 12, and he said yes,” she recalled. The affirmation came with conditions. Her father told her that she was going to have to work from the ground up. “He’s like, ‘You better start mucking stalls.’ And I’m like, ‘What?’ He’s like, ‘Yeah, if you want to be the manager you better know how to do everything.’”
This foundation in horsemanship has stayed with Gonzalez, and at the age of 54, she is aware of her fortune in finding longevity in a career running a barn and caring for horses. “I feel totally blessed to be here in Wellington. In California, right now, at least for what I can do at my age now, I wouldn’t find a comfortable job,” she said.
Early Years – A Raw Introduction to Horsemanship
Gonzalez’s cousin was very good friends with Mexican show jumper Jaime Azcarraga, who stabled at her father’s barn while competing at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics in 1984. “He let me sit on Chin Chin,” she said, referring to Azcarraga’s legendary stallion. “Ever since then, I was like a wild child. With my friends we would go on our ponies bareback, running around and jumping everything we could find,” she said. “I’m very blessed to have grown up in that era where we actually had to take care of our horses and it makes you a better horse person. Nowadays, I understand it’s become more of a business with liability and insurance. But when you’re not involved with the horse from when you first get to the barn, I think you really miss out on something big because they talk to you from when they see you. What you create when you’re with a horse all day long – it’s like nothing else.”
Dealing with the Problem Horses
Gonzalez studied psychology, which may or may not have helped her with the horses she worked with.
“I was always drawn to the problem horses, so I built a business in San Diego before coming here,” she said. “People would send me their horses, and I would rehab them. I used to spend like eight hours with a certain stallion. I would tie him in what I call a patience post, where I was watching him all the time, but he would be watching me too. It was until they learned to live in their own skin basically, is how I put it. And then they really change, and I feel really proud of the horses that I help to get a better life – from just not being understood.”
The Patience Post
The “patience post,” Gonzalez explained, is a large telephone pole, with an arm and a rope hanging down that you can tie a horse to – importantly, allowing the horse to walk around at will but not get tangled. She would gain their trust and reward with treats. “I do believe in that,” she said. “I know a lot of people are like, oh no. But I go crazy for a cookie – give me a cookie, and I will do whatever.”
Not every horse was a success story – a couple of stallions proved beyond repair, too dangerous, and Gonzalez would give the owners that assessment. But the vast majority would respond well to Gonzalez’s approach, which also included ponying the troubled horses around trails in the San Diego area and turning them out as much as possible.
“I feel like I’m one of the weird ones that leave the horses out 24/7 if I can,” she said. “They need to be horses. If I can turn out a couple of them that I know together, I do. And if I can’t at least they’re all in a herd environment.”
Values and Principles Align
Working with Harrison-Lee has seen a meeting of the minds, reflected in the decade-long working relationship. “Her values and principles are the same as mine,” said Gonzalez. “She cares if the horses are horses. And of course, when we go to shows, they look beautiful and everything. But between the shows, they can roll and be dirty and be horses, and she’s totally fine with that.”
During the 2023 Winter Equestrian Festival, Gonzalez won “Barn Manager of the Season,” sponsored by Omega Alpha products. “Knowing I was nominated for that anonymously and being picked the winner made my year,” she said.
Currently Gonzalez oversees 18 horses in two separate properties – on the same street. As well as a couple of foals, there is a 13-year-old clone.
”I’ve never worked with a clone before, and he is by far the smartest horse I’ve ever worked with,” she said. “If he could talk, he would talk to you all the time.” Romulos 16, aka Gerry, was Harrison-Lee’s jumper. His clone’s registered name is Romulos 17, also, aka Gary. He is the spitting image of the original, and they both shared a paddock in his early years. “They lived together in a pasture which I thought was very funny, so I always say he lived with himself for his first three years of life,” said Gonzalez.
Keeping It in the Family
Gonzalez has a solid, longstanding set up with her barn workers. Three sons of a father who worked for her for seven years himself, have been with her for four years. Not only do they work as grooms but also as grounds men. It is not all work and no play. “I do regular meetings every two weeks, and then we bring pizza every other week, or we go out and get tacos. Or we make carne asada, which is basically like a barbecue,” said Gonzalez.
She is also conscious of the grooms needing down time. “I give them two days off every other week, and I still pay them for their second day off,” she said. “Because they need to feel like they’re important, and everyone needs more time off. I think being kind is the most important thing and trying to understand – having respect and having honesty where they can feel comfortable telling me: ‘I’m really tired right now. Can I take a couple of hours off and make them up the next day?’ Of course – because we’re all human.”
Her staff turnover has been minimal with the exception of one month where she went through four people looking for someone to join the team. “I wasn’t going to be paying and not having a good person and giving them chances and giving them chances. So, at that time, I was like, ‘No, if I’m 50 years old and handicapped, and I could do this better than you, and you don’t care about it, goodbye.’”
Being Fair
With the right team in place Gonzalez is happy to give leeway when it’s due. When days are light, work can finish earlier. And if there is a need to attend to something else, she is understanding. “The guy that worked for me for seven years lived off property, had a family with young kids. I always said to him, as long as you are honest and tell me ahead of time and make sure that it’s fine with your coworkers, then you can leave early or take the day off or arrange whatever, because I understand you have to go pick up your kid or take the kid to the doctor. You have a life,” she said. “I think I’ve always been very fair because I would have always wanted that to be the same for me.”
Sarah Eakin has a long history of sports reporting and covering equestrian disciplines – particularly show jumping, polo, racing and dressage – for a range of international publications as writer and editor-in-chief. In 2024, Sarah launched Paper Horse – an online magazine with an eclectic mix of stories from the horse world at www.paperhorsemedia.com. Paper Horse is an official Media Partner of Wellington International. Sarah was born in England and came to the US in 1996 as Sidelines’ Polo Editor; at the time she was chief polo writer at the Horse and Hound and Polo Correspondent to The Daily Telegraph. She married US professional polo player Gary Eakin and stayed Stateside traveling throughout North America while covering equestrian events. She is also an author; Wed, White and Blue, her first novel is on Amazon.
