Double Dan, Double the horsepower

Dan James knew he wanted to work with horses after seeing Tonto, a gray pony that came over to Australia when he was 7 years old. 

“I said to my mom and dad at that time, ‘If we buy that pony, I’ll ride,’” James said.

James is the CEO of Double Dan Horsemanship, which originated in New South Wales, Australia, and now has a second headquarters located across the world in Lexington, Kentucky.

“I never had a plan B to do something outside of the equine world,” James said.

James said he grew up surrounded by horses and property and knew he wanted to stay connected to them for his entire life. 

Horsemanship was that solution for James. The best way to describe horsemanship, he said, is the art of riding, training and handling horses while focusing on communication skills and trust with horses.

“From the time I was a kid, I was fascinated by how people got to do things with horses and how they got them to do it. That kind of spurred the curiosity about it, and from that, I pursued the journey,” James said.

From Australia’s Got Talent to multiple FEI World Equestrian Games, James has experienced it all in his career as a horseman. 

James came to Kentucky for the first time in 2009, where he did some work with horses to prepare for the 2010 World Equestrian Games.

James said he was not impressed with the state during his first visit, as the infamous ice storm caused an abundance of chaos throughout Kentucky and surrounding states, but a year later, he returned for the games. 

Eventually, in 2011, James began doing clinics in Lexington as part of Double Dan Horsemanship. 

“At first, I was thinking, ‘Who would live in this God-forsaken place?’ And now I say, ‘God’s got a sense of humor,’” James said. 

Although he still splits his time between Kentucky and Australia, James said he considers 2012 to be the year he officially moved to Lexington, as he came over with two of his horses.

James said his years of growing up in Australia helped his horsemanship to be successful in Kentucky.

“In Australia, you are required to be more diverse in what you do to make a living. You deal with a broad range of horses. Over here, it’s a lot more specific,” James said.

This diversity in Australia led James to be more equipped to deal with a variety of horses, which he said has given him a leg up in horsemanship.

In Double Dan Horsemanship, a method called Liberty is the focus, a horse training technique where no tack is used. Tacks can be classified as ropes, halters and bridles.

This technique cannot go without mentioning James’ partner, Dan Steers, hence the name of the horsemanship. 

“One of the greatest accomplishments in what we’ve done is Dan Steers and myself successfully maintaining a partnership through the course of our careers,” James said.

James and Steers work together to teach others important nonverbal communication cues with their horses, focusing on body posture, demeanor and attitude. 

“Over the years of being able to watch both horses and people, it helps us personally to become better communicators,” James said. “And then try to pass some of those skillsets along.”

James said he has used his years of experience in horsemanship to his advantage, showing others how to feel satisfaction in their relationships with horses.

“To successfully have a horse compete at the highest levels and do it with a great moral integrity really does take a true artist,” James said.

Within his horsemanship, James said horse protection and maintaining good intentions with the people he works with is a priority. 

“One of the biggest parts in helping people is meeting them where they’re at,” James said.

James has also participated in over 1,000 live shows, where he competes against other riders in judged exhibitions, typically in front of an audience.

In 2011, a recruiting agency contacted James and offered him the opportunity to compete on Australia’s Got Talent. James and Steers showcased one of the first onstage live animal acts. 

“We knew it would be great exposure for us,” James said. 

James and his partner were able to make it past a few rounds, and their routines gained attention all throughout the world, attracting over 1 million views on platforms such as YouTube.

Recently, in March 2023, James and his partner were called to host the opening ceremonies for the American Performance Horseman, a showcase and celebration of the best athletes in the Western equine world at Globe Life Field in Texas.

Many of these opportunities come from the awards James has racked up throughout his career. 

In 2018, he won the James Brainard Award, which honors a horseman who uses observation and analysis to apply the best approach for a horse. He was also the Freestyle Reining champion at the Quarter Horse Congress in 2014 and made an appearance in the Gaucho Derby, an ultra-endurance and survival race in Patagonia, Argentina.

Despite the achievements throughout his career, James said he stays grounded in remembering where he started. 

“I always go back to thinking about the very first award I won back at pony club,” James said on his 1993 success in the Australian youth group for aspiring horsemen.

His favorite part of what he does, working with horses one-on-one, James said also stems from his childhood. 

“There are always those moments where you’re working on something new with your horse, whether it be a maneuver or whatever it might be, and often those moments happen firstly at home, when nobody’s in the arena,” James said. “That part has never gotten old.”