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Mustang Smackdown Attracts Top Horsemen In what could be considered one of the most unconventional approaches to an equine competition, the Texas Classic, one of the nation's largest horse shows, is pitting five American Mustangs against some veteran domestically raised show horses in what's being billed as the "Extreme Mustang Smackdown."Read the full story. Extreme Mustang Makeover Vendor Spaces Standing room only crowds have witnessed the incredible feats of formerly wild horses become trainable and talented Mustangs during Extreme Mustang Makeover and Mustang Challenge events and you can take advantage of this audience as a vendor during the 2008 Extreme Mustang Makeover in Fort Worth, Texas, September 18-21. A very limited number of vendor spaces will be available during the event to be held at the Will Rogers Memorial Center and selections will be based on product type. Download the trade show contract. For more information, contact Julie Bryant at 817.443.0686 or email julie@golatigo.com Mission 007 Brings Focus to Yearling Mustangs The Mustang Heritage Foundation (MHF) has a new mission: to place for adoption more than 200 yearling Mustangs while at the same time providing educational funding to youth, as well as cash prizes to adults in...read the full story. Extreme Mustang Makeover Returns to Fort Worth Following an outstanding debut to standing room only crowds in September 2007, the Extreme Mustang Makeover will return to Fort Worth, Texas, September 18-21, 2008...read the full story. Wild horses learn a new life through training program The mustang stomped its hooves, pitched its body into the air and flared its nostrils in exasperation. Persuading the wild horse tostep into a trailer and make a long trek to Missouri wouldn't be easy. But four young girls were eager to bring the animal to its new home. More than 150 people went to an Elgin horse farm Saturday to pick up wild mustangs to be trained as part of the Extreme Mustang Makeover program...read full article here. Wild Mustangs Up for Adoption in Elgin More than 200 wild American mustangs are temporarily living in Central Texas. They were brought here from Nevada and are up for adoption at the Southwest Stallion Station. FOX 7's Photojournalist Josh Lippold takes us just outside of Elgin...read full article here. Extreme Mustang Makeover Returns to Fort Worth Bertram, Texas, October 8, 2007 - Following an outstanding debut to standing room only crowds in September 2007, the Extreme Mustang Makeover will return to Fort Worth, Texas, September 18-21, 2008. The 2008 Extreme Mustang Makeover will again feature 100 of America's best horse trainers working with 100 wild American Mustangs over 100 days. More than 220 horsemen and women from across the United States applied for the 2007 competition and even more are expected to apply for 2008. "The trainers involved in this year's competition were outstanding horsemen and women who impressed our judges and spectators in ways we never imagined," said Mustang Heritage Foundation (MHF) Executive Director Patti Colbert. "We plan to keep our standards just as high and trainer selection in 2008 will be very thorough as we work to ensure that each Mustang is being placed in experienced and responsible hands." Viewers can still catch the action of this year's Extreme Mustang on RFD Television's Wide World of Horses through December 2007. The show shares the stories of the mustangs and trainers as they learn to trust in one another and gain competitive confidence. The show will air coming episodes October 22, November 19, December 17 and December 31. Airtimes for the series will be Mondays at 10:30 p.m., with additional airings on Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. and Mondays at 4:30 p.m. All times are Eastern. RFD-TV can be found on Direct TV channel 379 and Dish Network channels 231 or 9049. The MHF in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management created the Extreme Mustang Makeover event to highlight the recognized value of mustangs through a national training competition. The event will give the public a unique opportunity to see the results of wild horses becoming trained mounts and then participate in a competitive bidding process to adopt one of these treasured animals. The purpose of the competition is to showcase the beauty, versatility, and trainability of these rugged horses that roam freely on public lands throughout the West, where they are protected by the Bureau of Land Management under Federal law. The BLM periodically removes excess animals from the range to ensure herd health and protect rangeland resources. Thousands of removed animals are then made available each year to the public for adoption. All of the animals involved in the "Makeover" competition will be available for adoption at the Fort Worth event in September. The mission of the Mustang Heritage Foundation and the goal of the Extreme Mustang Makeover is to increase the adoption of mustangs across the country. The Mustang Heritage Foundation created the Extreme Mustang Makeover event to showcase the recognized value of mustangs through a national training competition. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is responsible for managing 258 million acres of public lands, located mostly in the West. Wild horses and burros roaming public rangelands are managed in a manner consistent with BLM's overall multiple-use mission, as set forth in the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976. Since 1973, the BLM has placed more than 216,000 horses and burros into private care through adoption. For more information, visit wildhorseandburro.blm.gov or call 866-4MUSTANGS. The Save the Mustangs Fund, established in May 2005 by Ford Motor Company in collaboration with the BLM and Take Pride in America, builds public awareness and support for wild horses. In less than a year, the Fund generated more than $200,000 in contributions, including Ford's financial support for 2,000 horses, and has educated more than one million visitors through an informational website, (www.savethemustangs.org). Mustang Heritage Foundation (512) 355-3225 plcolbert@mustangheritagefoundation.org Bureau of Land Management Paul McGuire The Extreme Mustang Makeover and any marks or images are the copyrighted property of the Mustang Heritage Foundation and may not be reproduced without permission. Contents of this release may be reproduced and distributed. Mission 007 Brings Focus to Yearling Mustangs The Mustang Heritage Foundation (MHF) has a new mission: to place for adoption more than 200 yearling Mustangs while at the same time providing educational funding to youth, as well as cash prizes to adults in the program. Mission 007, aptly named for the foaling year of the Mustangs, is the yearling edition of the phenomenonally successful Extreme Mustang Makeover first held in September 2007. The 2008 competition, to be held September 18-20 in Fort Worth, Texas, will feature 200 of America's iconic Mustangs and their trainers competing for a purse of $50,000, with an additional $20,000 made available for the yearling edition. There will also be a yearling division held in conjunction with the Western States Wild Horse and Burro expo in Reno, Nev., August 15-17, with a purse of $5,000. "Our standing room only crowds in 2007 included hundreds of young people who were totally in awe of what these trainers were doing with these Mustangs," said MHF Executive Director Patti Colbert. "With this new program, youth will be able to receive a yearling Mustang that they will gentle to a halter. During the Extreme Mustang Makeover, they will compete for an educational funding purse of $10,000. We'll also have a $5,000 amateur handler division and a $5,000 professional handler division." Mustangs will be available for release from Reno, Nev., May 16 and 17, Elgin, Texas, May 23-24. Handlers will have until August 15 to gentle their Mustangs for the Reno competition and September 18 for the Fort Worth competition.. Applications and complete competition rules are available at www.mustangheritagefoundation.org or by calling 512-355-3225. The deadline for applications is April 30. During competition, handlers receiving scoring based on the body condition of their American Mustangs, as well as their ability to handle the horse "in hand" through a series of maneuvers which include picking up the horse's feet, maneuvering it through obstacles and loading it into a trailer. Three skilled horsemen will judge the competition. Handlers will also receive $500 in reimbursements as well as 20 percent of any adoption fee over $125. Yearling Mustangs will be available for adoption to the public following each competition. The Mustang Heritage Foundation (MHF), in partnership with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), created the Mustang Challenge event to highlight the recognized value of mustangs through a national training competition. The purpose of the Mustang competition series is to showcase the beauty, versatility, and trainability of these rugged horses that roam freely on public lands throughout the West, where they are protected by the BLM under Federal law. One hundred percent of the horses placed for adoption at the 2007 Extreme Mustang Makeover were adopted. About the Mustang Heritage Foundation The mission of the Mustang Heritage Foundation and the goal of the Extreme Mustang Makeover are to increase the adoption of mustangs across the country. The Mustang Heritage Foundation created the Extreme Mustang Makeover event to showcase the recognized value of mustangs through a national training competition. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is responsible for managing 258 million acres of public lands, located mostly in the West. Wild horses and burros roaming public rangelands are managed in a manner consistent with BLM's overall multiple-use mission, as set forth in the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976. Since 1973, the BLM has placed more than 219,000 horses and burros into private care through adoption. For more information, visit wildhorseandburro.blm.gov or call 866-4MUSTANGS. |
