During the mid-nineties, Desormeaux gradually gained a reputation of not listening to trainers. "There is no doubt that I was on top of the world", Desormeaux said. "No one needed to tell me how to ride a horse. I became very irresponsible with rides. I was immature in a number of situations. I wasn't professional. I didn't pay attention to trainer's instructions, and I wasn't persevering to the wire." He never stopped competing, but his win percentage dropped from 23% in 1992 (364 wins in 1,594 starts) to 17% in 1996 (182 wins in 1,053 starts).