St. Clair County, Michigan
St. Clair County is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan and bordering the west bank of the St. Clair River. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 160,383. It is the 13th-most populous county in the state. The county seat is Port ...
) is a
cutting horse
A cutting horse is a stock horse, typically an American Quarter Horse, bred and trained for cutting, a modern equestrian competition requiring a horse and rider to separate a single cow from a herd of cattle and prevent it from getting back to th ...
trainer, clinician, judge and competitor in the equestrian sport of cutting. He spent his early years riding and showing cutting horses with his late father M.L. Chartier at the family's Fairhaven Farm in Fairhaven, Michigan, where
Dry Doc
Dry Doc (1968-1997) was an AQHA registered American Quarter Horse stallion by Doc Bar and the second as well as the last foal of the champion cutting mare Poco Lena. Dry Doc was a cutting horse and sire of cutting horses.
Life
Foaled in 1968, D ...
once stood at stud.
At age 21, he earned the title of 1978 NCHA Non Pro Futurity Champion riding Miss Dry, and in 1979 earned multiple championship titles that led to his induction into the NCHA Non-Pro Rider Hall of Fame. Chartier eventually decided to not renew his Non-Pro status, and started training cutting horses, and judging NCHA events. He relocated to North Texas, and built a cutting horse training operation near Millsap in Parker County where he and his wife, Kelle, reside. In 2015, he was inducted into the Open Division of the NCHA Rider Hall of Fame. He ended 2021 as the NCHA Reserve World Champion Rider riding "Classic Is Cool". At the beginning of the
National Cutting Horse Association The National Cutting Horse Association (or NCHA) is a non-profit equestrian organization headquartered in the US. Their primary purpose is to promote and sponsor cutting events. Chartier is the father of champion R.L. Chartier.
Early years
Chartier began competing in cutting events as a youth under the guidance of his late father, M.L. Chartier. After graduating from youth competition, he competed in the Non-Pro Division riding cutting horses sired by the family's
stallion
A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded (castrated).
Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" nec ...
,
Dry Doc
Dry Doc (1968-1997) was an AQHA registered American Quarter Horse stallion by Doc Bar and the second as well as the last foal of the champion cutting mare Poco Lena. Dry Doc was a cutting horse and sire of cutting horses.
Life
Foaled in 1968, D ...
. He became well known as a Non-Pro competitor when, at age 21, he won the 1978 NCHA Non-Pro Futurity riding Miss Dry. The following year he rode De Doc and Bo Doc to win the 1979 NCHA Non-Pro National Championship, and the 1979 NCHA Non-Pro World Championship. Also in 1979, he was inducted into the NCHA Non-Pro Rider Hall of Fame.
Professional trainer
Chartier eventually relinquished his Non-Pro card, and started teaching cutting horse clinics, and training cutting horses. He was competing in NCHA aged events in the Open Division, as well as in weekend NCHA sanctioned events where they also offered novice classes, and AQHA events that offered Senior and Junior cutting classes, such as the
All American Quarter Horse Congress
The All American Quarter Horse Congress (AAQHC) is known as the largest single breed horse show in the world. The annual event is held at the 360 acre Ohio Expo Center and State Fairgrounds in Columbus, Ohio, and is hosted by the Ohio Quarter Ho ...