WILD HEART MUSTANGS™ e-zine
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This original print of a white birch with moss, by Mary A. Lainhart is available for purchase in the SHOP.
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BUCKEYE THE DRESSAGE MULE
by Samantha Majors
Samantha Majors can be contacted at [email protected]
Samantha and Buckeye participating in a clinic with Barieter Florian Bacher from the Spanish Riding School
I knew we would never be able to buy him, but it was nice to dream and you can bet that I was excited to see him at the auction! A good friend of ours, who also has several horses in dressage training at our stable, Christina Gregory, was coming up to the sale as well. I texted her a picture of Mr. Spotty with the caption of, "I found your next dressage superstar!" She laughed and thought I was crazy, but Mr. Spotty's charm started working on her immediately. When we got to the sale, I was immediately on the search to find him. At some point, Christina asked me if I was serious about it, and I said well of course! His owner took him out and rode him for us, and after lots and lots of talking, he decided to let me ride him. I trotted him up and down the gravel road a couple of times and that was it. Once we walked away, the serious discussions started. Could he do dressage? Would be it worth it to buy him? He had the size and conformation to do it. Not spectacular movement, but nice enough and correct, and he had more suspension than any mule we had seen before. Christina still thought we were crazy. Shoot, I thought we were crazy. But my mom and I knew without a doubt that we were looking at a superstar.
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The journey with Buckeye has been nothing short of amazing! To provide a brief background, my mom and dad (David and Jenny Majors) met because of two leopard Appaloosa mules. My dad had bred these two mules, but due to injuries my father sustained, he had not been able to do any training with them. They were 4 and 5 years old, and barely halter broken. My mom was recommended to him, by a mutual friend, as a trainer. She had no previous mule experience, but they agreed he could bring one mule, for one month to see how it went. As my dad likes to tell the story, he paid for one month's worth of training and has been paying for it ever since! After years of breeding and showing mules, quite successfully, all of the mules had gotten sold and no more were bred on our farm.
Fast forward to November 2014. Going to the Dixie Draft Horse and Mule Sale in Troutman, NC is a yearly occurrence, I was browsing through the pictures of some of the consigned equines and came across "Mr. Spotty" (an Appaloosa/Mammoth Jack cross mule). He was standing in full western tack looking exceptionally handsome! I had been going through mule withdrawals for some time, and I just fell in love. I shared the picture with my parents, and they fell in love as well. 
"Mr. Spotty"'s picture from his consignment post, that Samantha first saw on the Dixie Draft Horse and Mule Sale page.
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This was on Friday, so we all had a night to go home and sleep on it. Saturday rolls around, the day he was going through the sale. He was about midway through the sale. We were all sitting there just waiting and waiting for him to come. Christina had decided that she would bid on him, and my mom had advised her as to what she thought the maximum bid would be. Well the time came for him to come into the sale pen. The bidding started and he had eventually gotten up to the maximum bid. I was shaking and my heart was racing 100 mph, as was everyone else's in our group. One thing about Christina is that she absolutely does not like to lose something she has her mind set on getting, so she kept bidding. As did a gentleman on the other side of the arena. The rider of Mr. Spotty put on quite a good show for everyone as the bidding was very slow since he price had gotten so high. In the end, Christina ended up winning with the highest bid, and once the gavel came down, the crowd went crazy. I was in shock...we were all in shock! But he was coming home with us! And that's how the journey of Buckeye started! None of us liked the name of Mr. Spotty, so we changed it to Buckeye, in honor of his home state of Ohio and in honor of his previous home, Buckeye Acres Farm.
Right after Christina Gregory (left), Jenny Majors (riding Buckeye), and Samantha Majors (right) won the bid at the Dixie Draft Horse and Mule Sale, Troutman, NC
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We got him home, and that's when the fun really started! That winter and spring we worked very hard to teach Buckeye the ropes of being a dressage mule. As his training progressed, he changed. The way he moved improved and became much more free and supple, and his neck and top line completely changed for the better, and so did his dressage training. Overall, he was taking to it very well, but there were certainly days where he decided he would be the mule he is. He had done lots of driving previously, and just a little bit of riding in western tack on the trails. When we finally decided he was ready to go to a dressage show, the next one on our calendar was at the one and only Tryon International Equestrian Center. To make it even better, it was the very first dressage show they were hosting at TIEC. If you're going to start showing dressage with a very loudly colored mule, might as well start with a bang! We arrived with Buckeye and another horse of Christina's, her FEI Friesian Stallion. Talk about two totally different animals! We parked the trailer and started unloading and setting up the stalls, and Buckeye was announcing his arrival while still in the trailer. A man walked by on his very fancy warmblood and Buckeye let out a big bray. And he exclaims, "Oh my gosh there is a DONKEY in that trailer!" We were just laughing as we were unloading and we could hear people in the neighboring isles talking about what in the world was on our trailer! People were coming by and asking questions, and they were quite shocked to find out that I was actually competing him and he was not just a travel companion.
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Just like with all things, word traveled fast. People would stop and watch when I had him out schooling him, and when he was competing, he was drawing a larger crowd doing Intro level tests than any of the other horses! The employees from the shops would come out to watch, other dressage competitors the H/J trainers, exercise riders, grooms, etc would all come out to watch what this MULE could do! It was great! The judge even stopped us before our first test so she could take pictures of him! Luckily, he was very much welcomed by everyone. And even better yet, he did not completely embarrass us as his trainer, rider, and owners.
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He went to several more dressage shows that summer and fall, and with each show we went to, he was gaining more and more attention and fans! People thought he was just great! Anytime he was out of the stall, people were asking lots of questions about him, what training a mule was like, was it different than a horse, etc. My answer to those questions was always the same. Training a mule is no different than training a very smart horse. You cannot drill the same exercise over and over because they will get bored and they will decide that they do not want to play your game anymore. I believe that is where mules often get the bad wrap of being stubborn, but honestly they are just smarter than their humans. He has made me a better trainer because I am constantly having to think of new exercises to accomplish a certain goal, because if I do not, we do not get anywhere in our training. This helps me in training my horses as well, because the same exercises do not always work on all of the horses. He has also taught me a lot of patience...because one day he will be great, and the next day he might decide that he does not want to trot nicely on the bit. So I have to be very patient and convince him that he actually can do something as simple as that. With mules, you very much have to convince them that everything is their idea, not yours. That is how you accomplish things. Losing your patience or "man handling" a mule certainly does not get you very far, except probably dumped on the ground.
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Plenty of pats and big smiles after Buckeye completed his first ever dressage test at TIEC, scoring 67%
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Hunter Hack at the North Carolina State Fair Mule and Donkey Show 2015. This was only Buckeye's fifth time jumping!
Victory pass from Buckeye's single pleasure driving class at the North Carolina State Fair.
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As the 2015 show season was winding down, we decided to take Buckeye to the NC State Fair Mule and Donkey show. Up until this point, he had only ever shown dressage. At the state fair, there are no dressage tests or anything like that. Because dressage has such great basics for everything, and because Buckeye has such a great mind, attitude, and so much talent, I was able to easily change his way of going a little to be competitive in the hunt seat classes. With my jumping background, I obviously wanted to do the hunter hack class with him as well. He absolutely LOVED jumping when we introduced it to him! He was a complete natural from the first time we jumped. The day of the mule show was only his 5th time jumping, but he acted like he had been jumping his entire life! He is so scopey and just carries me directly to the jumps. It's a great feeling! Of course we did some driving classes as well at the state fair since that was where he first training was before we got him.
Buckeye and Samantha competing in Huntseat Pleasure at the North Carolina State Fair
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I was a senior at NC State University during the 2015-2016 school year, and I was a member of the Intercollegiate Dressage Association Team there at State. We were hosting our home show that following weekend after the fair, and we were short on horses to use. The team hosting the show, provides all of the horses for the riders from all of the schools. I had offered several of the horses from our farm to be used by the team, one of which was Buckeye. My coach was somewhat skeptical at first, but I promised her that Buckeye would be a very good addition to the string of horses we were offering, so she agreed. In IDA shows, the riders draw the horses they will show. They are shown a warm-up of the horse, but the rider only gets 10 minutes on the horse (or mule) to figure them out before going into the show arena. Just like everywhere we go, everyone was shocked to see a mule. But the other teams were seriously doubting Buckeye and no one wanted to draw "The Mule". The first rider on Buckeye was actually a teammate of mine from NC State. They put in a stellar performance and ended up winning their division! The other rider on Buckeye put in a respectable test and placed pretty high as well. By the end of the day, everyone had fallen in love with Buckeye! At the last show of the year, they award a perpetual trophy to the IDA Horse of the Year. All the schools get to vote on who they think the winner is, and Buckeye won by a landslide!
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Buckeye and Bridget Callard from NC State University at the NC State University home IA show after winning their division!
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Due to life circumstances, we did not do much showing in the spring or summer of 2016, and then I was offered an opportunity riding in Europe that I absolutely could not turn down, so Buckeye did not make it out to many big shows this year. We did however go to several local schooling dressage and hunter shows and the NASMA Great Celebration Mule and Donkey Show. At the local schooling hunter and dressage shows, Buckeye was winning almost everything he was entered in! And what he wasn't winning, his mule partner in crime Buckeye's Charming was winning! Charming was sent to me on consignment from the man we bought Buckeye from. After just a week of dressage training, he went to a dressage show and scored very high and won his class! Two weeks later, he went to a hunter show, and was placing very well in those classes against the horses as well.
Buckeye in his western tack after having fun in gymkhana classes at the Great Celebration Mule and Donkey Show in 2016
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At the Great Celebration, we had just planned on showing Buckeye in halter classes, huntseat flat and over fences classes, and driving. On a last minute whim and just for fun, we entered several gymkhana classes. He had never done anything like that before. The first time I asked him to actually go fast, faster than a canter, he didn't quite believe me. I asked again, and he listened and started having an absolute blast! We certainly did not win any of the classes, but we had some decent placing, especially for him having never done it before! Next year, we plan on expanding our classes into the ranch classes and reining!
Having Buckeye in our barn has truly been a blessing and more fun than I can even describe. There have been highs and some lows, but he is a great example that mules can go out and be competitive in big, recognized shows against the horses. He is also an example of just how versatile mules can be. He started out with being a dressage prospect, but his resume has certainly expanded into other disciplines as well with driving, hunter, and western. I believe he has also been a good ambassador for mules. He, along with other mules across the country, are competing in dressage and other disciplines, and are showing the world just what mules can do! |
TALES FROM THE TRAIL - THE NEVADA DISCOVERY RIDE
by Samantha Szesciorka
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Samantha is a former U.S. Army journalist and television news producer. She now works as a museum curator and historian. Samantha moved to Nevada in 2008 and quickly fell in the love with the state's abundance of public land and wild horses. She adopted a wild horse in 2011 and the two completed the 1st Nevada Discovery Ride in 2013, riding nearly 500 miles across central Nevada to encourage wild horse adoption. Samantha is a member of the Long Riders' Guild and vice president of the Natural Horsemanship Association of Northern Nevada. When she's not working, Samantha can be found exploring the Nevada backcountry.
Click on the Nevada Discovery Ride logo , to be re-directed to their website to learn more about this incredible long ride.
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Ryan Powell (Samantha's husband), Samantha Szesciorka, Sage and Bella (front bottom left) after their completion of over 1,100 miles riding across Nevada to raise awareness and adoptions for the over 40,000 wild horses in BLM holding facilities.
Photo courtesy of Darice Holloway Massey |
The Long Ride
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I love trail riding, but have always wished I could just keep going. That desire to ride off into the sunset led me to discover the Long Riders’ Guild - an international association of equestrian explorers. Their members come from all over the world, but are only invited to join after completing an equestrian journey of at least 1,000 consecutive miles. I became enamored with the stories of their members crossing continents, overcoming challenges, and bonding with their equine companions. I decided to want to be a part of this exclusive club.
In 2013, I set out with my adopted mustang to ride across Nevada. The nearly 500 mile journey took one month to complete. I learned a lot during that ride, but it certainly didn’t cure my wanderlust! Almost immediately after returning home I started planning my next adventure. In August of 2016, Sage and I set out once on the trail. Over 74 days we traveled more than 1,100 miles around some of northern Nevada’s toughest terrain. To say it was an adventure is an understatement. |
Long riding is the most intimate way to get to know a place. When you travel at 3mph you see everything! Each hoof fall brings a new nuance of the landscape into view. Without the distractions of civilization, time begins to feel different on the trail. You begin to feel different. And, there’s no better way to bond with your horse than to spend 24 hours a day for weeks on end together. I could write a novel on the things we experienced on the trail. For now, I’ll share some of the highlights with you.
The Team
A journey like this could not be made without a great team. My wonderfully supportive husband, Ryan, was the pack mule for the expedition. He hauled hay, water, and supplies in the truck, driving each day to rendezvous with me along the trail. He faced innumerable challenges to get to us and keep us (and the truck) going.
Since Ryan hauled supplies, I took one horse for this ride. My nine year old adopted mustang Sage was born in the wild in central Nevada. He was rounded up when he was two years old, and made his way to the prison program in Carson City, Nevada. There he was paired with an inmate for 90 days of gentling and training and then put up for adoption. I adopted him from the prison and we’ve been exploring trails together ever since.
Of course you have to have a good trail dog too. Bella is a ten year old Catahoula-Bulldog mix. I adopted her from the Humane Society as a puppy and she’s been trail riding with me ever since.
A journey like this could not be made without a great team. My wonderfully supportive husband, Ryan, was the pack mule for the expedition. He hauled hay, water, and supplies in the truck, driving each day to rendezvous with me along the trail. He faced innumerable challenges to get to us and keep us (and the truck) going.
Since Ryan hauled supplies, I took one horse for this ride. My nine year old adopted mustang Sage was born in the wild in central Nevada. He was rounded up when he was two years old, and made his way to the prison program in Carson City, Nevada. There he was paired with an inmate for 90 days of gentling and training and then put up for adoption. I adopted him from the prison and we’ve been exploring trails together ever since.
Of course you have to have a good trail dog too. Bella is a ten year old Catahoula-Bulldog mix. I adopted her from the Humane Society as a puppy and she’s been trail riding with me ever since.
The Route
The route we took for this ride is not an official trail. It is my own creation! I spent several years researching, scouting, and routing. Essentially I picked all my favorite places in northern Nevada, or the places that looked like they might be fun to ride, and figured out how to link them. We began at the geographic center of Nevada. From there we ventured east toward the Utah border, north to the Idaho border, west along the Oregon border, and south along the California border to end in Reno - making a counterclockwise loop around northern Nevada. The entire route took place on public land.
I intentionally routed us as backcountry as possible, to avoid civilization. Of course at times that was impossible, but for the most part we enjoyed unparalleled remoteness and solitude. Sometimes we traveled on nice graded, gravel roads, but more often than not we rode on old BLM and Forest Service roads. We also traveled along old emigrant trails, including the Applegate-Lassen trail, the Pony Express trail, Hasting’s Cutoff, the California trail, and others. The route really exposed the diversity of Nevada. We crossed more than 20 mountain ranges. We also rode by lakes and reservoirs, creeks and rivers, meadows and prairies - a far cry from the desert wasteland that most picture when they think of Nevada!
The Routine
It was pretty hot when we started in August, so we usually awoke around 4:00am. We had time to make a cup of coffee, eat a little breakfast, and start tacking up. I tried to be on the trail by 6:00am, so that we could get some miles in before the heat of the day arrived. Sage, Bella, and I traveled by ourselves. Usually we would meet up with Ryan mid-day for a feed and water break. If the terrain was too difficult for Ryan to get to us, then we would use whatever provisions we carried and continue on.
I tried to average about 20 miles a day, but was always flexible due to the weather, my mood, Sage’s mood, the terrain, etc. We usually traveled between six to ten hours a day. When we completed the day’s mileage, we would rendezvous with Ryan and get camp set up. We tent camped every night. Sage was contained in either an electric corral, on a picket line, or in old corrals we found on public land.
We typically traveled six days in a row and then rested for one or two days. Those rest days were important for me to have time to clean tack, for Ryan to go into the nearest town to resupply, and for Sage to rest.
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The Weather We experienced a little bit of every kind of weather that Nevada has to offer. In August when we started, daytime temps were often over one hundred. The heat was the hardest weather for me to endure, especially in low elevation valleys with no shade. The sun drains everyone of energy. Several times we stopped by mid-day to seek out a place to take a siesta and wait out the heat before continuing on in the evening. These were the days where having Ryan was crucial - Sage could never have carried the amount of water we needed to get through the summer heat, and water sources in Nevada are intermittent and unreliable. |
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The summer temperatures brought late afternoon thunderstorms early on in the ride. We were fortunate that they often hit when we were already done for the day and setting up camp. We were able to hide in the tent while the thunder raged overhead and short bursts of rain fell. Of course, later on in the ride as fall approached, we encountered quite a few rainstorms. These were cold and miserable, and they often lasted all day and night. Sage and I rode in the rain when we could, but we usually had to call it quits after a few hours. Not only were we uncomfortable, but the rain would turn the loamy soil into a muddy quagmire.
We also got a little taste of winter on the trail. In the high elevations of far northern Nevada, the temperatures plummeted to below freezing. We awoke several times to find everything frozen. It’s hard to convince yourself to get out of your warm sleeping bag when it’s that cold! It snowed on us as we crossed our final mountain range - a fitting reminder to get finished before winter really hit.
We also got a little taste of winter on the trail. In the high elevations of far northern Nevada, the temperatures plummeted to below freezing. We awoke several times to find everything frozen. It’s hard to convince yourself to get out of your warm sleeping bag when it’s that cold! It snowed on us as we crossed our final mountain range - a fitting reminder to get finished before winter really hit.
The Animals
Traveling on horseback allowed us to get much closer to Nevada’s wildlife than you would be able to on foot or in a vehicle. We saw pronghorn antelope, deer, coyotes, red fox, badgers, snakes, and more. None of those animals were of concern for me traveling through. They were never aggressive and Sage certainly didn’t mind seeing them. Ryan spotted a mountain lion and bighorn sheep during the journey, but unfortunately I missed them.
Sage did encounter some unfamiliar animals during our ride. I was shocked by the first bull elk we saw. They are massive and intimidating! Sage wasn’t too sure what to make of him either. Over the course of the ride we ran into a lot more elk and with each encounter Sage became more comfortable. They are incredible animals to see and I was amazed how close we were able to get to them. I think they’re used to seeing wild horses so they didn’t pay to much attention to us as we rode through. Sage also saw his first wild burros on the trail. He whinnyed at them, but was confused when they brayed back. The burros were curious but never aggressive.
Most of Nevada’s public land is open range so we also rode through a lot of cows. Sage discovered that his true passion in life is moving cows! We moved hundreds of cows during the ride, because they’re often blocking trails and roads. We learned in the past that some cows have a tendency to self-herd. If they’re used to being gathered up by cowboys on horseback then they’ll instinctively follow anyone who happens to ride through on a horse! It happened to us during this ride - We had to shoo away lots of cows that tried to follow us!
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The Challenges and the Rewards
Every day single day of our journey was a surprise. We never knew what to expect with the weather, terrain, animals, or anything else for that matter. Because there were so many unknowns, each day was also full of challenges to overcome. Nevada is tough country and long riding never easy. We got lost. Gear broke down. We lost gear. We had to cross very busy highways. We camped in a few less-than-ideal places. We had to make detours. We battled insects. Personal hygiene all but vanished. There were injuries. We got cranky. We got sick of camp food. There were boring sections. The reality is that living on the trail for 74 days is equal parts frustration and enjoyment. But the physical and mental challenges were all worth it. |
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We saw beautiful and remote places which reinforced my love of Nevada. We climbed mountains and crossed deserts. We saw incredible sunrises, sunsets, and starry skies. There were long periods where we never saw another human being, but when we did run into people they were always friendly and curious about the ride. Sage and I became a seamless being after a while. He seemed to enjoy traveling as much as I did. He took everything in stride, even the challenges.
To be honest, it was tough adjustment for all of us returning home. It’s a sort of culture shock returning to civilization. Too busy, too noisy, too claustrophobic. Riding off into the sunset was much harder than I thought it would be, but the trail is where I want to be.
To be honest, it was tough adjustment for all of us returning home. It’s a sort of culture shock returning to civilization. Too busy, too noisy, too claustrophobic. Riding off into the sunset was much harder than I thought it would be, but the trail is where I want to be.
Samantha, Sage and Bella ...planning the next ride?
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The Future
My goal with these long rides has been to have an adventure but also to help wild horse adoption. Sage is a phenomenal ambassador for wild horse adoption. Each of these rides has proven how trainable and reliable wild horses can be. As long as there are horses in holding facilities, then our work isn’t done. I love being able to use our long rides as a platform to get people talking about adoption and we’re going to keep going. In fact, I’m already working on plans for future rides! You can keep up with our adventures at www.NevadaDiscoveryRide.com. In the Next Issue: We saw thousands of wild horses during our 1,100 mile ride around Nevada. In the next issue I will share some of the incredible, scary, and heartbreaking encounters we had with them on the trail. |
Other articles written by Samantha for Wild Heart Mustangs™:
March Issue - "On the Trail with the Nevada Discovery Ride"
April Issue - "6 Tips for Long-Distance Riding"
June Issue - "Wild Horses Find New Lives Behind Bars"
July Issue - "6 Things That Happen on a Long Ride"
Aug Issue - "Happy Trails to You, Until We Meet Again"
March Issue - "On the Trail with the Nevada Discovery Ride"
April Issue - "6 Tips for Long-Distance Riding"
June Issue - "Wild Horses Find New Lives Behind Bars"
July Issue - "6 Things That Happen on a Long Ride"
Aug Issue - "Happy Trails to You, Until We Meet Again"
A GIRL AND HER MUSTANG: ANGELINE AND SAMSON'S STORY
by Kristina Saliceti
by Kristina Saliceti
You might think a six-year-old girl and a BLM Mustang an unlikely match, and in most cases I’d agree, but in this case we'd both be wrong. In August 2012 the military transferred our family from Virginia to Kansas, leaving behind the ocean and beaches for the flint hills and prairies. Our six year old, Angeline, was also leaving a wonderful Hunter-Jumper trainer and riding program. It was a very hard move for our kids, one of those proverbial “tough sells”. I immediately looked for opportunities to highlight the positive attributes of our new home region.
A few weeks after we settled in, I saw a flyer in a local store for a Bureau of Land Management adoption in Lawrence, Kansas. My husband and I decided to take our girls, ages 12 and 6, to go check out the sights and see the wild horses and burros. We only caught the last hour or two of the adoption, but it was long enough for the girls to become enamored with a young gelding, Andy. We were impressed with the helpfulness of the representatives from the Hutchinson Correctional Facility’s training program. In addition, we spoke with a trainer, Cindy Branham, who was doing a gentling demo at the adoption, and she answered the many questions we had about Mustangs. We weren’t new to horses, our whole family had experience, but we were new to Mustangs.
You might think a six-year-old girl and a BLM Mustang an unlikely match, and in most cases I’d agree, but in this case we'd both be wrong. In August 2012 the military transferred our family from Virginia to Kansas, leaving behind the ocean and beaches for the flint hills and prairies. Our six year old, Angeline, was also leaving a wonderful Hunter-Jumper trainer and riding program. It was a very hard move for our kids, one of those proverbial “tough sells”. I immediately looked for opportunities to highlight the positive attributes of our new home region.
A few weeks after we settled in, I saw a flyer in a local store for a Bureau of Land Management adoption in Lawrence, Kansas. My husband and I decided to take our girls, ages 12 and 6, to go check out the sights and see the wild horses and burros. We only caught the last hour or two of the adoption, but it was long enough for the girls to become enamored with a young gelding, Andy. We were impressed with the helpfulness of the representatives from the Hutchinson Correctional Facility’s training program. In addition, we spoke with a trainer, Cindy Branham, who was doing a gentling demo at the adoption, and she answered the many questions we had about Mustangs. We weren’t new to horses, our whole family had experience, but we were new to Mustangs.
Although our kids had asked for a horse of our own, after years of moving from duty station to duty station, we knew we didn’t want to buy a horse and move it from place to place. As I had already retired, and my husband was getting ready to retire, we actually began to contemplate taking that step. Through a series of events, we later visited the Hutchison correctional facility with Cindy and adopted Andy. While at the facility, there was a small black horse in a stall that followed our Angeline back and forth each time she passed by. My husband asked about the horse and was told he wasn’t really ready for adoption. We would find out later, it was an ornery horse who must have been picking his girl.
We got Andy back to the boarding facility and brought him into our fold. Although we could all ride him, it was clear that Andy was really bonding with my husband, and was a better match for him rather than the girls. And not only that, there were four of us and only one horse! Our six-year-old daughter, Angeline, began riding lessons with Cindy, and really progressed in her western riding skills.
We got Andy back to the boarding facility and brought him into our fold. Although we could all ride him, it was clear that Andy was really bonding with my husband, and was a better match for him rather than the girls. And not only that, there were four of us and only one horse! Our six-year-old daughter, Angeline, began riding lessons with Cindy, and really progressed in her western riding skills.
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That fall Cindy took a trip to the Hutchinson correctional facility to bring back a mustang with a client. Upon her return she approached me and said there was a Mustang there she really felt I should see. I was hesitant at first but I decided to make the trip with her and one of her clients, just to look. When we got there I had the opportunity to see this chunky, black Mustang pony as the TIPS trainers, inmates, worked with him. I spoke with Program Manager Dexter Hedrick, who had helped us through the process with Andy. This pony was absolutely beautiful and a very smooth mover. I had the chance to ride him and was amazed. Curious as to why he hadn’t been adopted, I was told his story.
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Angeline and Samson's first race 2013
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This pony was actually adopted once and returned. His adopter was given the information that he needed to be ridden often and didn't like to sit or be ignored. He really enjoyed working and playing. The adopter took the pony home, let him sit in the field for awhile then tried to ride him. He was bucked off and promptly returned the pony as unrideable and unwanted. Apparently, no one was interested in adopting a pony much less one that had given someone trouble already. In the interim, Hutchinson correctional facility used this gorgeous little pony to help train their new trainers. Cindy was certain this chubby guy was worth the chance, I thought he was special, so I adopted him that November to bring home to our daughter, Angeline. My husband immediately recognized him as the same pony that followed her along the stall.
Fate? Maybe. She named him Samson.
Fate? Maybe. She named him Samson.
Angeline and Samson EXCA Worlds 2013
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At the time Angeline was very involved in competitive tumbling and cheer several times a week, yet she would still ride 4 to 5 times a week and would go to the barn to see her pony Samson and ride every day she could. The road wasn’t always smooth, but they learned each other’s buttons and grew to genuinely trust one another. Each day we went to the barn, she would see people training for extreme cowboy races and trail races and became very interested in competing. By the time spring came around she decided that she was going to give up all her other activities so she could spend more time with Samson. She also asked to join the Ultimate Horsemen’s Challenge Association in Kansas and enter Extreme Cowboy Association racing with Samson.
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Angeline spent 5 to 6 days a week at the barn with Samson, and trained once a week with Cindy. She started racing that spring, and with every race by every week she and Samson progressed and grew together. It was her first year competing as well as Samson’s first year. They had a steep learning curve, but Hutchinson had given him a wonderful and solid foundation. Samson just needed that special someone that would love him and enjoy being with him. They were the perfect match: she loved to ride, he loved to be ridden, and they truly loved each other. By the end of their first racing season Angeline and Samson had accumulated enough points to qualify for Craig Cameron’s Extreme Cowboy Association’s World Championship in Texas. At seven years old she was the youngest competitor to qualify. After two days of racing, Angeline and Samson qualified for the top 10 to make finals, where they placed sixth overall. They had been together less than a year, which to us was astonishing!
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Riding for the Missouri State Championships
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Who would've imagined that a young mustang pony that had been returned and unwanted and his seven-year-old girl would place at a world championship race during their first year of competing? The following year, my husband received orders to headquarters in Washington D.C. and we were faced with the difficult decision of what to do as a family. We made the decision that the girls and I would stay in Kansas so our daughter entering high school could finish in one place, and so Angeline and Samson could continue training and racing. With our closest family living 10 hours away, I relied a lot on friends to help get our girls where they needed to be to succeed.
With her father gone, Angeline really immersed herself in her time with Samson. Every time he learned something new, she was learning it too, and they learned it together. I did not have the experience to train her horse for her, nor did we have the resources to send Samson off to someone to put the training on him. She knew that if she was going to do it, she had to do it through lessons and her own dedication. Most days I would have to tell her to take a break and take a day of rest, but she was happiest when riding. There were tears and moments of frustration, but there were even more moments of joy and pure elation when things finally clicked. And click they did! For the next two years, her drive coupled with the support and encouragement of our great UHCA and EXCA friends yielded some amazing results.
With her father gone, Angeline really immersed herself in her time with Samson. Every time he learned something new, she was learning it too, and they learned it together. I did not have the experience to train her horse for her, nor did we have the resources to send Samson off to someone to put the training on him. She knew that if she was going to do it, she had to do it through lessons and her own dedication. Most days I would have to tell her to take a break and take a day of rest, but she was happiest when riding. There were tears and moments of frustration, but there were even more moments of joy and pure elation when things finally clicked. And click they did! For the next two years, her drive coupled with the support and encouragement of our great UHCA and EXCA friends yielded some amazing results.
Angeline and Samson EXCA Worlds 2014
For the past 4 years, Angeline and Samson qualified for finals in the EXCA World Championships, and this past year under the coaching of Lee Hart, she earned the Young Guns Day 1 and Day 2 High Point World Champion, as well as the Young Gun EXCA World Finals Grand Champion! They have also accumulated the 2015 EXCA Kansas State Grand Champion, 2015 EXCA Missouri State Grand Champion, 2015 EXCA Mid Central Grand Champion, 2015 UHCA Buckaroo Grand Champion, 2015 4H Racing Grand Champion, 2015 4H Performance Grand Champion, 2016 EXCA Missouri State Grand Champion, 2016 EXCA Mid Central Grand Champion, 2016 UHCA Buckaroo Grand Champion, 2016 EXCA Cowboy Classic Grand Champion, 2016 EXCA Mid Central Horsemen Grand Champion, 2016 4H Racing Grand Champion, 2016 4H Performance Grand Champion, 2016 4H Western Performance Grand Champion, 2016 4H Master Showman. I thank the BLM, the Hutchinson Correctional facility and their program managers Dexter Hedrick and Dion Pope, the trainers, and Angeline’s trainers. They are all truly changing lives! I can’t wait to see what the future holds for this pair!
2016 EXCA Young Guns World Grand Champion
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Angeline, Samson (left) and Justice (right) at the BLM Expo in Salina, KS
The Saliceti's three mustangs: Samson, Justice and Andy
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For more information on adopting a wild horse or burro from the Bureau of Land Management click here
For information on adopting a wild horse or burro from the Bureau of Land Management internet adoption, click here
For a Bureau of Land Management wild horse and burro Adoption Schedule click here
For information on adopting a wild horse or burro from the Bureau of Land Management internet adoption, click here
For a Bureau of Land Management wild horse and burro Adoption Schedule click here
THERE ARE CURRENTLY OVER 50,000 WILD HORSES AND BURROS IN HOLDING FACILITIES. THAT NUMBER CONTINUES TO GROW. CONSIDER ADOPTING ONE OF THESE INTELLIGENT, ATHLETIC, VERSATILE ANIMALS.
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We would love to have them. |
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