Imagine being given a number that corresponds to a feral or wild horse, then going to pick up a recently captured and gelded three-year-old mustang, knowing that you have only 100 days to break, train, and ride this gelding before competing with him in front of thousands of spectators. That's what trainers from across the country do every year in the Mustang Heritage Foundation's Extreme Mustang Makeover events held in Ft. Worth, Texas, Heber City, Utah, Albany, Oregon, Norco, California, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and Ft. Collins, Colorado. These competitions pit the trainers against one another for purses of up to $50,000. For the horses, it's a chance to prove the value of their breed and to be bought at auction at the end of the event and go to a new home and family.
History
The Extreme Mustang Makeover is the result of the co-operative efforts of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which is the branch of the U.S. government that is responsible for maintaining the mustangs in the wild, and The Mustang Heritage Foundation, a nonprofit group dedicated to the promotion of the BLM's National Wild Horse and Burro Program, thereby increasing the number of successful adoptions of these animals. Until the creation of the Makeover Event, the BLM relied on public auctions of untrained animals to find people willing to adopt the mustangs that had to be removed from public lands. With the creation of the Extreme Mustang Makeover, prospective adopters can bid on an already trained mustang, including the winners of the event!
Horse Selection
Mustangs are removed from public lands when the horse population exceeds the capacity of the land to support the herd. The number of horses removed from the land depends on the herd's size and the condition of the land. The BLM attempts to keep herd size and land condition in balance. For the competition, geldings of a similar age and coloration are chosen to ensure there is no favoritism toward a horse's color or coat pattern.
Trainer Selection
Trainers must apply for the competitions and are responsible for proving their eligibility and capability to handle wild horses. This includes a small contained area, such as a round pen or corral, with shelter from the weather, to start the training process in. It's never advisable to release a wild horse into a pasture as it may never be caught again.
Rules and Regulations
Trainers must be at least 18 years of age and complete an application for the BLM and the Extreme Mustang Makeover event. Training techniques must be humane, and no drugs may be used. Horses must be ridden in snaffle bits or other bits approved by the American Quarter Horse Association or the National Snaffle Bit Association. Horses may be shown Western, English, or other riding discipline, and they can either have shoes or not.
Judging
Trainers and horses are judged in two categories: conditioning and the Mustang Makeover Course. Conditioning comprises 20% of the score and the Course is 80%. For the conditioning score no points are deducted for short or rubbed tails or manes since some horses arrive that way. Conformation is not judged. Instead, judges are looking at the horse's weight, muscling, hair coat, and overall presentation in addition to how the trainer and horse work together.
On the Mustang Makeover Course, horses must demonstrate all three gaits (walk, trot, and canter or lope). In addition, the horse must demonstrate stops, turns, lead changes, backing, and turning to the left and the right. The Course also has obstacles, and the trainers are given three attempts or a specified time to get their horses to complete each obstacle. The horse can be led through the course with the trainer on foot or the trainer may ride, but whichever way the rider chooses to go, the entire course must be completed in that manner. Each rider is then given the opportunity to show the horse at its best with no designated obstacles or other requirements.
The top ten horses move onto the finals, but no scores from the earlier competitions are carried forward. The finals are a "free ride" portion. The trainers have a time limit of four minutes to show off their horses. Costumes, props (including guns, whips, fireworks, and obstacles), and music can be used, as can cows to demonstrate the horse's cutting ability. Each horse has to walk, trot, and canter, circle left and right at the canter to demonstrate lead changes, stop and back, and pivot 360 degrees to the left and right during the performance. Points are awarded on athletic ability as well as creative or artistic performance.
Sources
The Mustang Heritage Foundation
The Extreme Mustang Makeover
The Bureau of Land Management
Nevada Commission for the Preservation of Wild Horses
 |
 |
 |
