Kirstin rides Taz

Careen Hammock, Taz's trainer, lives only a couple of hours from us so she came out Sunday to teach Kirstin all of Taz's cues. What an amazing horse. I had to work Sunday so I didn't get to watch while Kirstin learned all of the different cues. But, she talked my head off when I got home. She was able to spin him, make him sidepass, of course, walk, trot, lope and stop on a dime. She learned that Taz will come up to you after lunging him, just by making a kissing noise and wriggling her fingers in a come here motion.
What did we as her parents learn? That Taz is the best investment that we have made for our family. She rode him last night and I can say without a shadow of a doubt I was 100% comfortable with her riding him without any supervision. She started out in the round pen and I think she was a little surprised when her dad said, OK now take him out of the round pen and have some fun. She rode until I called them in for supper. She loves practicing all of the cues-she's never had a horse that could sidepass or spin or stop the way he does. As a matter of fact, we are so comfortable with Taz that Kirstin will be riding him this weekend in the Parade that she has to go to . I will definitely post pictures of that so check back sometime next week. I took pictures of Kirstin riding last night but I forgot my flashdrive at home, so I can't load them today, but they will be up tomorrow.

Kirstin & Taz

Here he is-Taz at his new home. What an exciting time for Kirstin. First of all she has never ridden a horse with this much training. Her Palomino that she rides is well broke, but only rides by reining-no leg training what so ever. Taz on the other hand she can ride him completely by legs-look mom no hands comes to mind. I'm sure that before long I will see her out in the middle of the pasture riding him without a halter or bridle on. She sits on the other horses back out in the middle of the field, so why not ride him? Obviously, he is already loved. Kirstin spends every spare minute with him.

These two make quite a pair. She is eager to ride him out in public to show him off. She has a lot of parades coming up and she is hoping to ride him in those very soon. The one comment that she made to me sums it up: Mom, I have a Mustang I can ride!

Wow what an experience. My entire family had the time of our life there. My little guys didn't fare so well. They were great in the warm-up arenas but once they were in the spotlight they freaked. Traveller did the best of the three-no surprise, then Halona and then came Mia. Mia spotted something at the opposite end of the arena that she didn't like and she wanted nothing more than to leave. But, I am proud of all three. Saturday was a very difficult day for me, seeing my 3 babies go to new homes. I was fortunate and I got to meet all of the families that are adopting them and I am certain that they are going to good people who will love them as much as I do. My parents surprised me with a new horse while we were there. Here's a picture of him. Meet Taz, my new riding horse. Yes, he is the champion of the Idols division. He is fantastic, so calm and easy going. Careen if you ever read this, just know that I will take the best care of him and he will never be short of love. Everyone in my family already loves him. It helped knowing that I wasn't going home with an empty trailer.

To the trainers that I met; you all are amazing. I will treasure my time that I got to share with each of you. Karen C I cried when I saw you get Tripp back. Christina I am so sorry that Nine didn't get to go home with you-I know how heartbroken you are. Robert, thanks for spending some time with Mia in the warm up arena. Matt-Johnny Landers was absolutely amazing. Lauren & Caitlyn what are the chances that we would be stable neighbors-it was nice getting to know both of you-hope you enjoy the 2 yearlings and Pardon.

We leave today

We are leaving for Ft. Worth this afternoon. I probably won't be able to update this until sometime next week. This is definitely a bittersweet time for me. Part of me is looking forward to what lies in store for me next and part of me is dreading Saturday when my 3 guys go to their new homes. My wish for them is a loving home that will continue to train them and bring the best out in them. All three are going to make someone a fantastic horse. They are all so willing to learn and they love people. I am going to miss their hello neighs whenever I go outside. I can't say that I'm going to miss the amount of time I spent training them, but I take so much out of this experience and I wouldn't trade it for the world. Not many 14 years old can say they've done what I did-train a wild mustang, 3 wild mustangs. My family has been an incredible source of support, providing help and advice when needed. I can't thank them enough. The other Mustang trainers have been so supportive, offering advice and support as well. What an opportunity I have had and I guarantee that it is one that I won't ever forget. Until after the competition...

Too cool for words

What can I say, Traveller is just a sweetheart. I hope whoever adopts knows that they are getting the sweetest horse I have ever seen. He loves attention and does just about anything you ask of him. I'm going to miss him soooo much.

This gives you an idea of what he will do when you ask. Jumping seems to be something that he really enjoys, maybe someone will use him to jump. Trav has been such a joy to work with, everyone in my family loves him.

Hi everyone, Miakoda, Traveller, Halona & I leave tomorrow for Ft. Worth. This has been one of the most rewarding experiences I have ever had. I can't wait to meet all of the trainers that I have been talking with over the past couple of months.

See ya'll in Texas

Dad surprised me and moved my round pen and then he set up my obstacle course inside it. Not only does it look awesome, it is so much easier to train the yearlings in. He and my brother worked really hard to get this done while I was in town with my mom. It was a really great surprise.

OK, still working on the saddling of Mia. This was the first time I put a leather saddle on her. She is pretty accepting, but tries to chew on the stirrups. I wasn't brave enough to hook the flank strap.

Getting real brave here. I just wanted to see what she would do. It's too early to get on her back, but she seemed ok with a little bit of pressure in the stirrup.

Halona

This is Halona in the obstacle course. The idea here is to practice sharp pivots. She has to stay within the square. We walk straight in then do a 360 degree turn, stopping where we started. Halona is very good at sharp turns, who knows maybe she will make a good barrel prospect. She is especially good at turning around the barrels.


This was taken the same day as the picture above. I have made comments about Halona not forming a bond with me. But, now that we are just a week away from the show, she decides to let her guard down and bond with me. For those who don't know, Mustangs form an unbelievable bond with the person who trains them. They trust us and they look to us for protection, food, & love. Saturday; 9/20, is going to be the hardest day of my life when I give all 3 up for adoption. My parents have given me the option of keeping 1 of them, but recently when my only riding horse injured himself I realized that I really needed another riding horse. So, my decision was made for me, I plan on using whatever money I receive from this competition & adoption to purchase a riding horse. Who knows, maybe I will be able to adopt one of the Mustangs that have been trained to ride and will also be at this competition.

Miakoda

Mia still has some problems backing. Trying to back her sometimes is like pushing on a brick wall. We will continue to focus on issues like this until next week.

Considering Mia's size, esp. her length, turning this sharply is pretty good. I just started using the barrels as part of her training. She is really good at swinging her hindquarters around the barrels. We practice weaving in and out and then we practice complete turns around the barrel.
Saturday, I wanted to take Mia down to our tank(pond for some). She loves to play in her water trough, so I wanted to see what she would do in a huge tank. Bad mistake. Got about half down there-just to the point that she had wooded-almost forest like-areas on both sides. Then Halona started neighing and Mia freaked. She started rearing up and then she bolted. I was unable to hang on. I have never seen this horse in a full out run. Boy, is she fast. She has a beautiful smooth gallop. She scared me a little because the gate at the end of the lane was closed and I was afraid that she would bolt right through the fence. Luckily my dad was welding in a pen just to the left of the gate and he had left that gate open. She made a very sharp left turn into that pen and stopped. Thank goodness she didn't hurt herself.

TRAVELLER

Traveller has always been curious about these 4 legged creatures, but they would never let him get close enough to check them out. You see our other horses on the place chase the dogs around, so they naturally assume that he will also. This is mom's chocolate lab puppy(he's 7 months old), his name is Eli-he was born on Supper Bowl Sunday. Traveller finally gets to check out Eli, they both seem to like each other.

This is Traveller working on the obstacle course. He really likes getting on the podium. You can see how proud he is-just look at the expression on his face-almost screams look at what I did. He is really an amazing horse-not much seems to faze him.

Kirstin & Halona

Halona finally gets her first bath. She didn't like it to well. She still turns circles around me trying to get away from the horse eating water. I'll keep practicing this maybe by the time of the show she will realize that it won't eat her.


Some much deserved loving after a wonderful day of training. It has taken Halona(we call her Lona) awhile to bond we me, but it finally appears that she is letting her guard down. I'm not so bad after all.

Don't try this with just any horse!

What can I say, except wow! I couldn't believe that Traveller was actually OK with this. He actually seems to be enjoying the bonding time. I'm not sure who is more tired him or me? Can you believe that I've only been working with Traveller for 52 days(since 7/12)? He is quite amazing, I only wished I had more time with him. To be such an angry little guy to begin with and then to turn into this, someone will definitely have a wonderful horse when he gets completely trained.

The two sleeping beauties. I stayed here for a good 15 minutes just soaking in the sun.