Meeker Mustang Makeover 2023
MEEKER, Colo. (KREX) — The plains outside of Meeker, in Rio Blanco County, are home to more wild horses than you’d imagine.
120 days ago from Saturday, trainers captured and attempted to tame some of these wild horses to help with population control.
Kerry O’brien is one of the competitors taking on the training challenge.
But through the months of training already done, trainers can’t help but get attached.
Vice president Robyn Blackwood understands Kerry’s attachment but tells me that bond doesn’t always come as easy for some. It can take up to 40 days to create a genuine bond.
One of three judges Steve Mantle says he looks for how gentle each trainer has gotten their horse, as well as can it go to the next person. He adds a truly well-trained horse behave with others just as well as with their owner.
Which is important, considering at the end of the event, these horses will be auctioned off.
August 26th – the top horse sold for 6 thousand dollars.
More than four thousand watched the auction live online, some bidding remotely. Roughly a thousand people attended the Makeover in person, some casting their bids from the sidelines.
In the morning, audiences can watch both the youth and adult under-saddle compete in obstacle courses, and in the evening, freestyle starts, in which each competitor gets four minutes to do anything they want to blow the audience’s and judge’s socks off.
Clara Phillips and her horse Ruidoso from Nunn, Colorado won the under-saddle division, and Angelina Bouzaleros and horse Kermit from Centennial, Colorado won the youth division.
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