Everything Horses and Livestock® Magazine May 2018 Vol 3 Issue 2

Everything Horses and Livestock Magazine ®

became, “Saving One Mustang at a time”. During that time, I was also introduced to Dextor Hedricks the Director of the Hutchison Correctional Wild Horse and Burro Inmate horse training program. This program takes incarcerated men and teaches them how to gentle and train BLM Wild horses, which are then offered to the public to be adopted already gentled and trained to ride. I have spent time volunteering at the facility, teaching the inmate trainers and helping to find adopters to again, save one horse at a time. This has been a very rewarding part of my career, not only to see so many mustang’s lives changed, but to see the changes the experience of working with these horses had done to change these men’s lives for the better. Fast forward to 2018

The Mustang Beginnings Challenge. The Mission of The Mustang Beginnings Challenge is to give youth ages 8 – 18 the opportunity to take part in gentling a BLM wild horse and preparing the horse not only for the Mustang Beginning Challenge competition, but also for the rest of the horse’s life. We also want to promote building good character, responsibility and work ethic in our Youth Trainers also preparing them for their future as adults. The Mustang Beginnings Challenge is being produced with the support of the Bureau of Land Management’s Wild Horse & Burro Program providing Wild Horses for the competition. The Mustang Beginnings Challenge will have 2 trainer

Madison and Seven

the rough. Unknown to me at the time, that little black horse was chosen for me, ordained by God to completely change the direction of my entire life and career. What I found in that unwanted and worthless horse was a genuine spirit of survival. A heart that was seeking out someone to help ease the worries and fear in his life that had almost given him no hope in his future. Joshua the mustang is a lifelong partner that has blessed not only my life, but my daughter’s life as well. That first experience with an American BLM Mustang changed not only the direction of my career, but my whole training program. Joshua the Mustang renewed my hope that even though I was injured and now “worthless” in my mind to do my job and be successful, maybe, just maybe my future still held promise of success. Over the next several years many more mustangs influenced my life through more 100-day competitions. My motto

Alyssa and Chester

Continued on Page 31

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