ROCK SPRINGS, Wyo. - On Aug. 26-27, the public is invited to come see the next Trainer Incentive Program challenge, where participants will showcase their skills in training wild horses.
The event is co-hosted by the Bureau of Land Management and the Wyoming-based branch of the Mustang Heritage Foundation, “Mustangs - Branded at Heart", and will begin at 8 a.m. each day at the Sweetwater County Event Complex, Indoor Arena in Rock Springs. Lynn Huckaby, an approved TIP trainer, will be hosting and managing the event.
The TIP challenge is comprised of two competition categories, the youth class and the veteran and adult class. Each participant, from both challenge classes, selected a mustang approximately 90 days ago and has been training them for the event. The participants work with the horses to gentle them, preparing them to be adoptable equine companions.
The youth participants, ages 8-17, train and compete with a 12- to 24-month-old mustang. Youth trainers may compete in the following areas: conditioning, in-hand trail class, showmanship, costume, and freestyle. The veteran and adult challenge participants work with horses aged three and older. Participants in this class can compete in riding or in-hand classes.
After the event, the youth- and veteran-trained wild horses are either adopted by the participants or placed into a new home.
The veteran experiences the transformation from “wild to mild" within the horse while learning marketable vocational skills and gaining on-the-job training for a future occupation in the equine industry if they choose.
For more information, please contact Kathi Fine at 307-352-0292.
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management
