Rusty Stewart
The atypical is typical for grand prix rider, trainer and breeder Rusty Stewart. Each day has similar goals but begins and ends in its own way for Rusty and his wife Kandi, who run Grey Fox Farm out of their own facility in Camarillo, California. 
Competing with a horse he raised himself from birth to the grand prix ring is a dream come true for Rusty. He most recently placed 6th in the $25,000 Red, White & Blue Grand Prix with Bristol, coming 8 years old, born, bred and trained at Grey Fox Farm since day one. In only four grand prix starts, the talented homebred Bristol has been in the money each time.
Bristol is one of the first of many young horses currently coming along at Grey Fox Farm. With their breeding program in full swing and the fabulous results they are accumulating, Rusty and Kandi have created a successful program from start to finish.
By 10:00am on a weekday morning, Rusty has already ridden three horses and is on his way back into the ring to work with Kandi and one of the young prospects. Certainly busy, Rusty is happy to take the time to talk about the horses and breeding program that fill his day.
Erin Gilmore: Can you try to describe a typical day at the farm?
Rusty Stewart: My day at home starts at 7:00am. I do a little bit of everything; I’m the maintenance man, the plumber, the carpenter and the trailer driver. I groom horses and muck stalls – essentially do whatever needs doing that day. If the truck breaks down I put on my coveralls and fix the truck. But on a “usual” day, if there’s nothing “unusual” going on, I ride first. Then in the afternoon I try to do all the odd jobs. Sometimes that means farm work, sometimes it means teaching lessons or helping my wife with the young horses.
EG: Seems like you and Kandi make a great team. How many young horses do you have at the farm?
RS: Let’s see, we’ve got about 30 babies on the ground right now, I think. Wait a minute, let me ask Kandi. Rusty is setting jumps in the ring as Kandi warms up one of their young horses along the rail.
He yells over to Kandi a few times during our conversation for confirmation on this or that. ‘Kandi, how many young horses do we have now? More like 20?’ That’s right, we’ve got about 20 young horses right now, including eight foals, and our last two broodmares will foal out soon, making that ten. We breed and raise all the babies. I’m also the baby delivery guy; when it’s time to foal I’m always out there with my rubber gloves trying to help. That’s kind of fun too!
EG: Where does your breeding stock come from? Do you have a resident stallion?
RS: We’ve got two stallions on the property. Our main guy is Du Gateau, a Selle Francis stallion. ‘He’s an approved French stallion, right, Kandi?’ Yes, that’s right. He’s 21 this year and has been with us since we started breeding eight years ago. He throws very nice babies with lots of white and great attitudes. They’re easy to break and nice to work with.
Right now I’m getting ready to help Kandi with one of the babies, his name is C-Scooter, he’s a super six year old. Kandi loves him and thinks he’s going to be the next big grand prix horse we’ve got coming along. Last year he was Zone 10 Horse of the Year in the 5-year-old division. And in the country, ‘Kandi, what was he, 4th in the country?’ That’s right, he was 4th in the USEF 5-year-old Horse of the Year standings.
EG: Between C-Scooter and Bristol it sounds like you’ve produced some pretty outstanding horses in a fairly short amount of time.
RS: That was our goal when we started this process eight years ago. We had a lot of nice mares at the time that were just ending their careers. We were tired of going to Europe and buying European horses. We knew we could get them started and get them to the show ring right here at home, so we started breeding.
EG: And the horses you’re breeding are almost exclusively trained for show jumping?
RS: That’s right. Behind Bristol we’ve got a few more coming up with just as much talent. We just sold a seven-year-old to Ashlee Bond [see the ad on pg 23 in the latest issue of ShowBiz]. Ashlee has taken the mare to Spruce Meadows and thinks she could be her next big grand prix horse. Breeding horses of that quality was our initial idea, and here we are today, rolling right along.
EG: Do have a favorite role, with all the things you do each day?
RS: Well you know, I have so many hats I have to wear it’s crazy. But I wouldn’t want to wear any one hat all the time. Sure it’s fun being in the grand prix ring, but I wouldn’t want to be on the road showing all the time.
And I enjoy our time here at the farm, but I wouldn’t want to stay here all the time. I have to say that I enjoy all the hats I wear. It’s a great balance.
EG: Before you have to go, can you tell me about your end of day routine?
RS: I think my end of day is a little more typical; I drag the ring, set the course for the next day, find out who’s coming to lessons and set the appropriate height. I make sure everything got done that day that was supposed to get done and prepare for the next day. I’m always looking forward to tomorrow!
Kandi and C-Scooter are finished warming up. It’s time for their school, and with that, our conversation ends and Rusty delves back into another busy day.
Thank you Rusty. We wish you and Kandi all the best and congratulate you on the wonderful horses and program that you’ve built from scratch.
For more information, visit: www.greyfoxfarmhorses.com.
