Extreme Mustang Makeover

kirstyhen

kirstyhen

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I saw this in Eventing magazine so had a nosey on YouTube and found this video.
Eliza Wallace is a Three Star eventer in the US and had 120 days to transform 'Fledge' from a unhandled Mustang, to this. The program is a way of reduc ing the numbers of wild mustangs, without resorting to culling and giving them a useful role in life. It allows trainers to showcase their skills and make a little bit of money into the bargain, as the horses are autioned off at the end of the championship... mind you, Eliza had the highest bid for fledge, so doubt she made anything ;)

It brought a tear to my eye anyway! :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icsV8M8sJuU&sns=em

And maybe it should be in NL, but the lady is a Competition Rider, so ner :p
 
The whole story is on their blog: http://teamwallace.org/blog

Didn't she end up buying him? At one point that was the plan but I didn't keep track.

Edited to add, yup, she did get to keep him. Apparently the other trainers were going to rig the auction for her but in the end he went cheaply enough they bought him themselves.
 
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To be fair, you might not think that about other colt starting contests! I think part of the reason this girl and Stacy Westfall have captured the imagination of many is that they are so different from the usual suspects.

Shows you what can be done!

Edited to add Stacy http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=4YCgsZmjsww&desktop_uri=/watch?v=4YCgsZmjsww

Sensitive souls might want to turn the sound down. ;)
 
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I was lucky enough to see Stacy Westfall's 2011 congress performance live and I have to say it absolutely took my breath away. Well worth the 5 hours in a car it took us to get there!! Also, one of the very first things I did when I got back home was YouTube it so I could watch it over and over again - absolutely amazing!
 
I've subscribed to a couple of American magazines for years now and this gets a lot of coverage. The things they achieve within such a short space of time with feral horses is even more amazing when you think of all the relatively simple things we struggle with on domesticated horses that have been in training for years!
 
There is a new contest for next year called something like Mustang Million. Either a person (trainer) can buy a mustang fresh off the range or someone can buy one for them. After a period of time there will be a similar competition. Not sure if the winner's prize is 1 Million dollars or if the total prize money comes to that much. Elisa Wallace has said that she plans to compete.

A number of penitentiary horse programs train mustangs and sell them as well broke horses for very cheap.
 
Impressive riding however I don't think he was all that 'wild' did you watch the first day? And day 4 she was off on a bare back trail ride!?

Stacy Westfall is amazing.
 
They are pretty wild. If you look at the vids of some of the other contestants some of them show the pick up days. Many make similar progress, although perhaps not quite as quickly.

The horses will have been assessed and pre selected before the trainers get their picks.
 
God I feel massively inferior now :o

That is incredibly impressive in four months. I can see why she wanted to keep him, she must have poured hours and hours into him!

ETS: I also love her for wearing a hard hat! lol
 
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