Anouk Busch has done it all
by Victoria Howard
Netherlands native Anouk Busch has done it all.
She has driven, trained, groomed, shipped, and raced horses, while raising her daughter.
When she was in the Netherlands, she worked for trainers Andries van der Blonk, Ad Suykerbuyk, and Tom Kooyman.
After relocating to the States, Busch worked for Jim Campbell, Chuck Sylvester, Tony Alagna, and Chris Ryder.
Presently, she is employed by Joe Holloway, and said she’s really excited about it. She credits all of the above for teaching her because she learned from the best.
“A day in the horse business where you think you are done learning, you might as well retire,” Busch said.
“In the Netherlands I attended the equestrian college for drivers/trainers in a three-year program. It’s where I made my first starts racing in the bike, as well as under saddle. It’s much more hands on to get licensed with a more diverse training program there.
“Add my show jumping background [1.30-meter competitions] instructor’s diploma, and having ridden some thoroughbred racehorses as well, I believe makes me well-suited to adjust to all kinds of horses.
“I always loved both breeds, but made working with the standardbreds my profession, and to this day, I absolutely love the horses and sport.”
At some point, Busch tried to get her driver’s license transferred to the U.S. but found out she to start with qualifiers.
“As I believe our catch drivers are superior in the U.S., I didn’t want to waste the qualifiers when they should be racing, thus I never went for my license here,” she said. “I have driven some qualifiers when there was a shortage of drivers or whenever I had a problem horse and needed to see firsthand what they did in a race, so I could adjust accordingly.
“There are times when I wish I would have gone for my license when I was younger, yet I still believe I’m a better trainer than a driver.”
Busch said she believes she has worked for some of the best trainers in the business.
“But if I had to say who I learned the most from I would say Andries Van Der Blonk,” Busch said. “It was Andries who really got me started in the trotting world.
“As far as training methods, I would have to say my training methods aligned best with Tom Kooyman and Jim Campbell. But, as I said, I try to take away something from everyone as there is no one size that fits all. For example, when nothing helps a horse that has problems with tying up, I learned from Chris Ryder to go a slow trip every day to help build their acid lactose tolerance up.”
While training for others, Busch also trained her own.
“I had my own stable from 2003 until around 2019,” she said. “During that time, I had success with horses like Kaline, Paisley, Cool Cookie, and Pray for Lou.”
Busch said that there have been several standout horses she’s worked with over time.
“Cool Cookie has been my favorite for she was my first winner as a trainer as well,” Busch said. “While I enjoyed traveling the Grand Circuit with Niki Hill, Walner Payton, and Eternal Lee, amongst others, my other favorite was Shake That House.
“I truly adored that horse, and so did my daughter who loved to sit on him, brush him, and go for a ride with me and ‘Shake.’ I try to find something to like about every horse I work with.”
Busch currently works for trainer Joe Holloway.
“I only started working for Joe a few weeks ago, but I’m looking forward to learning more as we go along for, he is one of the best out there,” she said. “We have mostly babies now and are just getting started with them. Baby time is my favorite, and we have many Perfect Stings, a few Papi Robs, along with a Captain Corey colt.
“We have a lot of very well-bred babies, such as a Captaintreacherous brother to Perfect Sting, a Stay Hungry, Always B Miki, and a Downbytheseaside. I try to find something special in each horse I like.
“So far, I’ve taken a liking to Stingladysting, Landslide Hanover, and Big Daddy Cool, but honestly all of them are pretty nice. It’s a long way until July when hopefully we will still feel the same about them; it just helps to have a favorite here and there to get you through the cold, winter months.”
Even with such a busy schedule, Busch is also the founder of Horse Rescue United.
“In March 2010 I founded Horse Rescue United, a 501(c)(3) organization to try to re-home equines who are in need,” she said. “Over the years we have helped about 100 animals and are now an all-animal rescue, although we still mostly have standardbreds.
“Whether they are loving owner surrenders, used up Amish/Mennonite horses, SPCA or other neglect or abuse cases, we take on what we can. Its volunteer run and there are no salaries taken out.
Currently we have “Scout,” a rough collie available for adoption at HRU.
“Up until 2020 I was responsible for the daily care, besides my regular jobs. Unfortunately, I have long COVID, and was unable to do it all anymore, so we now rely on a great group of volunteers for the daily care.
“Of course, I still go over if there’s an issue or a health concern, like there is one mare who won’t let anybody near her but me, but other than that it’s our volunteers who do a great job day in and day out. We also have several elderly horses [in their 30s] who are permanent residents due to health issues which take more work to keep them healthy and happy.
“I’m preparing to take even more of a step back from HRU by having our vice president take over my job as president. I will stay involved, just on a smaller scale.”
Busch said she is so thankful that some of Chris Ryder’s owners support her rescue to this day.
“Thanks to Craig [Henderson] and Bob [Mondillo], who so deserve having the great world champion Miki And Minnie, as they support rehoming efforts.
“It’s also heartwarming when someone acknowledges and thanks you for the job you’ve done as Craig and Bob both did when I had to move to be closer to home for my daughter. That’s a rarity in our business.”
Busch acknowledged how busy her days can be between raising her daughter, her responsibilities, and jobs.
“I’m fortunate enough to have had the help from friends and her grandma,” Busch said. “Now that my daughter is growing up and becoming more independent it makes my life easier.
“My daughter is an animal lover. She likes to pet the horses, but absolutely loves dogs more than anything. She loves going to Canada or Lexington on my work trips where she finds every dog on the property. To her, it’s even better than going on real vacations. Wherever I work my first words are ‘my daughter comes first.’”
