Hello, I'm Mike Brashear. My wife, Laura, and I live in Fort Lupton Colorado with our three kids Colten, Braidynne, and Aubrey. I didn't grow up a cowboy, but I always wanted to be one from the time that I was old enough to watch Westerns. I was drawn to this lifestyle. I got my start when I was about fourteen years old, riding with a lady who I helped around her place. To this day, she is like another mom to me. And I am forever grateful for that. Throughout high school, I had numerous opportunities to ride colts and team rope a bit.

When I came on to more of a natural horsemanship way of training, I knew that I wanted to pursue that as a career. I earned my Associates degree in equine management at Laramie County Community College. For the last twenty plus years, I've been a student of the horse and livestock. This has allowed me to present at numerous expos as well as present to people all over the western U.S. If I can encourage people to improve themselves and their horsemanship just one percent each day, in one hundred days they will be one hundred percent better than they are today. Just keep resetting goals at one percent per day and it all comes together. I get to live my dreams every day whether through cowboying, horse training, helping people at clinics, or giving a motivational speech on the therapeutic value of horses.

In 2014, I was diagnosed with Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia, a rare form of Leukemia that almost killed me. I don't think I was done with life yet. I'm still here. While in the hospital, my one constant was a palm leaf hat that a buddy picked up for me. I still have that straw hat covered with the names of all my doctors, nurses, friends, and most importantly, my family. I'm now four years in remission with no signs of it coming back and for that, I'm blessed. The reason that I believe in Greeley Hat Works' custom hats is the organic nature of them. In my horsemanship, I like to work with a horse through his mind with the least amount of resistance. I see a lot of horses that are mechanically made, forced to do their job, and overall not very happy. The thing about letting things happen organically is that there is a deeper connection being made.

Just like a custom hat, it's a part of you. I'm excited to be a part of this team for the coming year and I can't wait to introduce more people to the quality of a Greeley Hat Works hat. Mike concentrates on foundation to finished horses, using natural methods to create a relationship between horse and rider. Mike is a local and national clinician helping others with a variety of topics based on common sense horsemanship. Only second to horses, he has a passion to help people. He appreciates the “ah-ha” moments a student finds that allows them to move forward toward creating a better relationship with their horse.