FG Reining Collection

When asked about the aspect of his legacy, Francois defers to the previous generation. “It started a long time ago. My father was the first Quarter horse breeder in Quebec around 1965 to ’70. My kids have always had an interest in training. I am very proud of that. The continuity of that is good to know. Let’s keep it going. All the Gauthiers will attest that their success in training and competing horses is based on establishing mutual trust and respect, building a relationship. This focus on relationship carries over into their product sponsorships and endorsements. The Metalab and Lami-Cell brands have a long and storied partnership with the Francois & Sylvain Gauthier as designer and the company has been an integral part of the continuing legacy of these champion reiners.  Sylvain  & Francois have been involved in product development at Metalab/Lami-Cell for nearly 20 years now. In the early days of professional reining, the supply of training equipment available to most riders was sparse and inefficient, especially in the selection of bits. As Francois relates, “Back then, it was limited, as far as the type of bit and the quality. Those early bits were for a specific type of horse and a specific rider. We wanted to develop a bit that would be good for everybody. We developed some that worked better and were made better. Some of them didn’t work but some of them worked very well. For some 20 years, we have done a lot of testing.”