Blake Heap is far from shy when it comes to his experience with horses. Not your average horses, either. He works with horses worth millions, training them to reach their highest potential alongside trainer Wesley Ward.

Heap was raised in Thayne, Wyoming, by his parents, Neoma Heap Soelberg and Lamont Heap. He was always surrounded by horses. His father, Lamont, was a champion cutter and would pick Blake up from school with his team of horses.

“We’d go back home, I’d change clothes, and he’d give the hookup a new team,” said Heap.

After racing in Afton, his father would stop for a drink and send Blake home to put the horses away.

Blake said his father would tell him, “‘You take the horses and go put them away.’ So me and my cousin Lisa would take them, drive them back home, and put them away, feed them, take care of them. So I’ve always been taking care of horses.”

Heap had his own horse to care for when he was 10 years old. The horse went on to win nine races.

Heap continued working with horses, meeting people along the way who helped lead him to international recognition. His career has included meeting the late Queen Elizabeth II and Queen Camilla.

One of the key moments in Heap’s career came when he was 33 years old. He was in Phoenix with his father when the owner of a horse they were training came down to watch a race. While driving a golf cart, Heap stopped to ask the owner if he needed a ride. He didn’t know who he was at the time.

The two struck up a conversation, which eventually led to Heap being given the opportunity to train a horse named Zaney Tactics and travel throughout the country, meeting prominent figures along the way.

Heap took Zaney Tactics to California for sprint races, where the horse’s success began opening doors to a world far beyond the racetrack.

“The first year, the race I went there, Lucille Ball gave me the trophy. And the next one, John Forsythe gave me the trophy. For me, this is a horse that took me everywhere in the world now.”

The horse went on to set a world record in December 1986 at Hollywood Park, recording a six-furlong turf time of 1:07.40.

Heap’s passion for the horses he works with is obvious when talking with him.

“You get to play with the best athletes in the world for racing. You know, horses, they’re the best athletes we have,” said Heap.

Heap and Ward are known for their ability to work with difficult horses. Bacio was one of their recent challenges.

After Bacio was unable to find a buyer, Heap and Ward ended up training him.

“He’s pretty hard to handle,” said Heap.

After consistent training, they began racing Bacio in New Jersey, where he won his first race. From there, Bacio continued to win, often finishing several lengths ahead of the competition.

“Every time you win, you have to step up and get a little better, a little better, a little better,” said Heap.

On August 21, 2026, Bacio raced in York, England, where he won the Group 1 Coolmore City of Troy Nunthorpe Stakes. Queen Camilla presented Heap with the trophy.

This wasn’t the first queen Heap had the honor of meeting. In 2015, Heap trained a horse named Undrafted, which won the Group 1 Diamond Jubilee Stakes (also referred to as the Golden Jubilee Stakes) at Royal Ascot despite 14-1 odds. The trophy was presented that time by Queen Elizabeth II.

Working with 150 horses around the world, Heap is currently in the United States, where he continues to train racehorses and prepare Bacio for a race on October 31 at Keeneland in Kentucky.

That race could give Bacio an opportunity to qualify for another race in Australia, where Heap and Ward hope to add another win to an already remarkable career.

Heap’s love for horses started in Thayne, where he grew up caring for them alongside his father. That passion has taken him around the world. Today, he works with some of the world’s top racehorses, trainers and jockeys while carrying with him the knowledge and experience he gained growing up in Star Valley.