Zachary Leyden

Videos

By Roadtrip Nation

Milestones

My road in life took a while to figure out.

I grew up in a suburban environment and my whole family works in medicine—I didn’t have any exposure to horses when I was younger, but I always had a love for them.

After high school, I joined the U.S. Army, where I served in a long-range reconnaissance unit and learned valuable survival and land navigation skills.

After leaving the military, I attended Sierra College and earned my associate’s degree in mathematics.

Attended the University of Montana, where I earned my bachelor’s degree in engineering.

My first job out of college paid really well, so I started spending the majority of what I earned on horses and learning how to train them.

Eventually, I decided to quit my job to pursue my dream of working with horses full time—I cashed out my savings and started volunteering on different ranches to learn from them.

Went back to Sierra College to start learning about business and began running small pack trips and kids camps.

I am now the CEO of Trail Brothers at Gibson Ranch, where we rescue and train horses, teach horsemanship, and do other horse recreational activities like trail rides.

Keep following my journey

Education

GED

Associate's Degree
Mathematics, General
Sierra College

Bachelor
Electrical and Electronics Engineering
University of Montana

Career

CEO

I train horses and teach people horsemanship.

Career Roadmap

My work combines:

Environment & Nature

Business

Accomplishing Goals

Day to Day

I wake up early, check emails, and work on marketing campaigns. Then I make sure the horses are fed and medically taken care of, get the horses groomed and saddled, ride horses all day, unsaddle, wash and groom them. Later, I work on accounting, make phone calls, sleep, and then repeat.

Advice for Getting Started

Here's the first step for everyone

My career path is unusual. It is not impossible, you’ll have to ask a lot of questions and seek knowledge from everyone and anyone who’s willing to share with you. The horse industry is a hard one to break into, you just need to stay focused and driven. Be open to continually learning and going back to school if necessary.