On September 23, a BLM Mustang was sold at auction for a record $50 thousand. This was no ordinary branded wild thing - it was an Extreme Mustang!!


Taking a cue from the success of reality television, The Bureau of Land Management and its volunteer-run 501(c)3 promotional arm, the Mustang Heritage Foundation, designed an event to demonstrate and promote the versatility, intelligence and toughness of the horses that roam the BLM's Herd Management Areas.

This was new territory - but as the number of would-be adopters has dwindled, and the number of horses the BLM must feed and care for has increased, some creative thinking was neccessary.

THE CHALLENGE

A challenge was issued across the land:

Work with an untrained BLM mustang for 100 days and see how far you can take it.

220 trainers responded, from Washington State to Alaska, competing for 100 spots. Most were professionals, in disciplines ranging from dressage to reining, and had to demonstrate the had the facilities and experience to deal with a wild horse using “least resistance” training techniques.

The only common factor were their partners, all geldings 4-5 years old, bay or chestnut in color, typically the “least adoptable” of the horses held back from the BLM gathers on their Nevada HMA's. They would be randomly assigned to trainers.


THE PARTICIPANTS

When the spots were awarded, trainers from 30 of 50 states were represented. 7 were from the Northwest: Jamie Thomas of Auburn, WA; Susan Kirk of Rochester, WA; Kitty Lauman of Prineville, OR; Francis Steffan of Bend, Oregon; Angela Faulkner of Rochester, OR; Vixen Barney, from Enterprise, OR; and Rachel Thorp of Idaho Falls, ID.

Each trainer were given a small allowance to cover hauling costs and a chance at a prize of $25,000 to be awarded to the top performing horse eight weeks later at the Will Rogers Equestrian Center in Fort Worth, Texas.

For most trainers, the prize money was not the real incentive. The highly publicised event would be a chance to prove and promote their own skills, as well as helping a cause that many felt passionate about.

At the end of the contest, the mustangs would be auctioned off. The trainers would also receive ten percent of any amount realized over the BLM minimum adoption price of $125 - not a sum likely to make them rich, in most cases, but ann acknowledgment of the dedication it would take to follow through on the challenge.

In the end, 75 trainers made it to Fort Worth .. Some had to overcome major obstacles like physical injuries, a home and barn lost to a tornado, a mustang that got toxic poisoning and foundered -- and all had to contend with the normal challenges of their particular mustang.

THE RESULTS

On Saturday, September 22, participants were first evaluated on body condition, then scored on ground work and required to complete a "horse course" representing "maneuvers and obstacles found in trail and recreational riding situations. Missing the course or obstacles in the last two phases resulted in a zero score, knocking quite a few participants out of contention, including Jamie Thomas of Auburn. But Kitty Lauman of Oregon was in fourth place at the end of these three sessions.



Then the fun really began. Each of the top ten scorers completed a "freestyle" session where they could do whatever they thought would best showcase their horse's talents and training. They pulled out all the stops - whips were cracked, guns fired and balloons popped, obstacles leaped, reining patterns run and even a calf roped.


When the dust settled in the arena, it was Australian-born cutting horse trainer Guy Woods and Max who walked away with the prize. Kitty Lauman and Ranger finished a nice second, and won a $5,000 check from Fort Dodge Animal Health. Fourth place finisher Evija Aunina had never worked with a mustang before, but she jumped Wellington over four feet and demonstrated that mustangs are just as capable in the English disciplines.

Even in the midst of competition , at least one trainer remembered the real objective -- to make these "lost mustangs" marketable. Slim Jim and his rider Sharleen Begum carried a flag that said "Buy Me."

In the final phase, the auction, it was Ray Ariss and Hail Yeah who prevailed: $50,000 was bid by the town of Norco for Hail Yeah. Ariss was never able to demonstrate the mustang's dressage and driving training because they had been eliminated from contention by an error on the "horse course." The town was seeking publicity for their own campaign - Hail Yeah will be the mascot of "Horsetown USA."

Several other horses were bid on at rather inflated prices, but seventy-five mustangs found new homes for an average bid of over $3,000. Many trainers bid on their own horses at the auction - some because they wanted to complete the training. As they return home , I am sure they will be posting their thoughts and feelings on the multitude of blogs they created.


For now, the feedback from the event was a resounding "Hail Yeah," from winner Guy Woods, who said the event made him feel like a child again, to the organizers, who said it succeeded beyond their wildest dreams.

In fact, they are already planning next year's event, with the prize upped to $50,000. Anyone game?

Here are lots of pictures from the event from Nancy Kerson:

http://www.mustangs4us.com/extreme_mustang_makeover.htm

Here are links to some of the trainer blogs:

http://extrememustangmakeovermontana.blogspot.com/
Zane and Holly Davis, 3rd & 7th place finishers
with Algore & Chopper

http://www.dunthebarneyway.com/blog/
Vixen Barney and Chance

http://emm-jtjedi.blogspot.com/2007/09/going-home.html
Jamie Thomas and Patriot

http://clearviewranch.net/
Dave McClelland and Slick, all the way East in Pennsylvania