Sandy Collier
"Platinum: Champion Rider and Professional Trainer Sandy Collier Never Leaves Home Without it."
Sandy Collier, a professional horse trainer who lives in Santa Ynez Valley, California describes her equine affinity as naturally "inborn." She says horses have held a place in her heart since her cells started to divide. Growing up in Rye, New York, she started showing them when she was a mere 6 years old.
While developing her professional training business, Collier also pent six years working as an emergency medical response medic. Besides working with horses, she’s also loves to fly and is an avid instrument-rated pilot.
Typically, at any given time, Collier works with approximately 25 horses. All of the performance horses under her care get Platinum Performance Equine granular formula. It’s all part of her effort to get a jump on joint degeneration and other health problems. Platinum, she says, is an ideal preventative and interventional for the horses as well as for her.
"I feel that the key to maximum performance — no matter what equine discipline is being pursued — showing, cutting, reining etc. — is to help the horse be healthy and free of pain," says Collier. "Platinum does a great job of meeting those objectives, which is why it’s my product of choice. I’ve seen excellent results with the horses I have worked with and with myself. This is the reason I am such a big fan."
Collier has had her eye on the Platinum Performance line of nutritional supplements since the equine formula was first developed. "I used to nibble on the Equine granular straight from the horse buckets way before the human version was even formulated. I could see why the horses loved the taste, but I had no idea all of the ways it helped humans and animals until very recently when I learned about the results of some of the research being done."
Collier, who is 50, says she uses Platinum to keep herself in tip-top shape. "I’ve been an athlete all my life and a pro horse trainer for more than half of it. Both these activities cause tremendous strain, wear and tear to many joints. I’ve suffered many traumatic injuries to numerous body parts over the years. That’s why I need Platinum, It’s really helps me get through the day."
Collier was the first and only woman to win the prestigious NRCHA World Champ Snaffle Bit Futurity. Two years ago, she was the Open Snaffle Bit Futurity Reserve Co-Champion at the annual GMC Sierra World Championship Snaffle Bit Futurity and had two horses in the finals. That same year she was ranked among the year's top five reined cow horse all-ages, all-divisions riders. She was Split Limit Open Champ at the NRHA reining futurity is ranked in the top 10 for NRHA earnings. She’s a regular finalist at NRCHA futurity and has won NRCHA stallion stakes. She also was a regular finalist in the cutting futurities back when she showed cutters. In November 2002, she won the AQHA Jr. Working Cow Horse championship.
Collier says she went injury-free for years and then last year experienced two serious injuries within the span of a month. In one incident, she was bucked off a horse and dragged, tearing her meniscus (the shock-absorbing cartilage in the middle of the knee). In another, a horse fell on her, which resulted in a separated shoulder.
At the time, she was getting ready to compete in another NRCHA futurity event. Despite the fact that she was hobbling around with her arm taped to her side, she made it to the finals and nearly won. She was in the lead after showing in the go-rounds, and barely missed claiming the championship.
In November, she had knee surgery. Ten days later — with help getting on the horse — she won the AQHA Worlds Jr. Working Cowhorse championship. Then in December, she underwent an unsuccessful shoulder reconstruction to address the separated shoulder injury.
Throughout it all, Platinum helped speed her recovery from surgeries and sustained her strength and energy.
A typical day for Collier starts at 7 a.m. After a breakfast of cereal sprinkled with Platinum Wellness formula, she rides her first horse for the day. In total, she spends about six to seven hours on horseback. She also gives several lessons during this period. Around noon, she eats a Platinum bar (she says it helps her from becoming cranky).
Platinum Blueberry Crisp Bars are her favorite: "If I’m lucky enough to have them on hand, I might even eat two and skip lunch," Collier adds. Otherwise, she eats lunch at 2 p.m.
After that, she starts chores for the day, including needed repairs and general maintenance around the ranch, feeding horses, grounds keeping, hefting hay bales, bookkeeping, returning phone calls, nailing on a stray shoe, and everything else that needs done. She hits the gym around 5 or 6 p.m. and then run a few errands. Back home, she treats herself to a bowl of ice cream and the television show "Friends." Sometimes, she’s back on the phone taking care of business until 9 p.m., but she always tries to hit the sack by 10. Horse shows and clinics take up many of her weekends each year.
With work demands like these, Collier says she has plenty of potential for injury. She says that with all the work they do that impacts their back and joints, professional horse trainers and exhibitors are prone to problems. So Platinum Ortho Chon plays a big role in her health maintenance program.
She also tries to stay in the best possible shape. Her typical daily fitness program consists of 30 minutes of rehab exercises for her knee and shoulder. Another 30 minutes is dedicated to cardio work on an elliptical trainer, and then she concentrates on crunches and squats for core and gluteus strength.
"Being fit gives me more endurance and makes me less apt to hurt myself. When you work around horses, there are a number of heavy, potentially dangerous jobs. Being fit enables you to use your leg and abdominal muscles to lift properly and otherwise avoid injury." For fun and when she has time outside work, Collier likes to golf, play tennis, ski and train in martial arts.
But conditioning and peak performance are only part of Collier’s health strategy. She says optimum mental conditioning is important for the work she does as well: "You have to be able to handle the stress, and you won’t if your and mind and body aren’t in good shape. The same goes for the horses. There’s no way they can handle the stress, physically and mentally if they aren’t being fed and cared for properly.
Collier is convinced that Platinum nutrition has made a huge difference in the way she feels mentally and physically. "I’ve never felt better since I went on a twice-a-day program of Platinum," she says. "The granular and bars have become like a sixth food group to me. I have considerably less pain in my knees, and my other joints seem more stable. My blood sugar is more consistent, as is my energy level. And I don’t crave sweets like I used to. I always pack Platinum bars with me whenever I’m traveling. In fact, I never leave home without them.”
Collier says her discovery of Platinum nutrition is akin to sun protection: "We just didn't know how important these things — like omega 3 fatty acids and nutrition overall — were when we were young. Some of us are paying for it now, but there’s no reason that we can't learn from our mistakes and protect our young (children and horses), before the damage and degeneration occurs.
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