And the new horses shall be called....
Posted: Mon Oct 05, 2009 12:47 amFelio and El Campadre. Yes. You read that right. Remember you read it here first.
From The Hutchinson News Online:
DALLAS - They met at the Wild Mustang Extreme Makeover in Paul's Valley, Okla.
For horse trainer Scott Stinemetz, 28, of Great Bend, his friendship with the 3-year-old jet black wild Mustang began right away. He named the horse Felio, a Greek word for friend.
"When I loaded him in my trailer he was already showing the training ability and diversity of the Mustang," Stinemetz said.
Mustang Makeover, organized to save the wild horses, matches 100 trainers with 100 horses and gives them 100 days together.
Stinemetz, with a lifelong heart for horses, grew up on a farm near Hanston and works at Healing Hearts Ranch, of Great Bend, where he incorporates equine assisted psychotherapy as a tool to help clients.
Felio is the first wild horse he attempted to "gentle."
"When we got him he was completely wild, tried to jump out of the chute," Stinemetz said. "I put a halter on him and left the lead rope dragging. After a couple of hours he was leading like a broke horse. We were riding him within a week."
After the 100-day training period, Stinemetz and Felio headed to Fort Worth, Texas, for the competition.
"When we entered the arena, he tightened a little, started gawking around and didn't show his full ability," Stinemetz said. "We were both nervous."
Felio placed 16th in the competition and attracted the attention of Madeleine Pickens, who with her husband, T. Boone Pickens, supports a program for saving wild Mustangs. She purchased Felio and a second Mustang, El Campadre, who placed 10th in the contest.
The Pickens have since donated Felio and El Campadre to the Southern Methodist University equine program. The horses and their trainers will debut at halftime of the Oct. 17 SMU/Navy football game in Dallas, after which they could be named the SMU mascots.
Scott and Felio were easy targets, Pickens said.
"I had made a decision to get more than one horse," she said. "It's like football and having two quarterbacks in case you need a backup. Look what they've done, pulled it off in 100 days, it shows they're excellent trainers. It's lucky that our lives have crossed."
Stinemetz and El Campadre's trainer, Jesus Jauregui, of Wisconsin, were both in Texas this week in preparation for the event in front of a packed stadium.
"He doesn't know how famous he could be," Stinemetz said "He's on trial to see what he can do."
They'll be back in Texas twice more to work before game day.
Stinemetz agreed that 100 days isn't very long with a wild horse, but Felio is an extremely smart horse.
"If we've done things right, which we have, that's where the trust comes in, in a scary situation he trusts me," Stinemetz said.
Haley Schoolfield, SMU equestrian team head coach, has spent some time with Felio and has ridden him a couple of times - saying that he's lovely, willing and has a wonderful mind.
"He's a very cool guy," she said. "Scott has done a great job with him."
http://www.hutchnews.com/Localregional/ ... 4T20-53-44
From The Hutchinson News Online:
DALLAS - They met at the Wild Mustang Extreme Makeover in Paul's Valley, Okla.
For horse trainer Scott Stinemetz, 28, of Great Bend, his friendship with the 3-year-old jet black wild Mustang began right away. He named the horse Felio, a Greek word for friend.
"When I loaded him in my trailer he was already showing the training ability and diversity of the Mustang," Stinemetz said.
Mustang Makeover, organized to save the wild horses, matches 100 trainers with 100 horses and gives them 100 days together.
Stinemetz, with a lifelong heart for horses, grew up on a farm near Hanston and works at Healing Hearts Ranch, of Great Bend, where he incorporates equine assisted psychotherapy as a tool to help clients.
Felio is the first wild horse he attempted to "gentle."
"When we got him he was completely wild, tried to jump out of the chute," Stinemetz said. "I put a halter on him and left the lead rope dragging. After a couple of hours he was leading like a broke horse. We were riding him within a week."
After the 100-day training period, Stinemetz and Felio headed to Fort Worth, Texas, for the competition.
"When we entered the arena, he tightened a little, started gawking around and didn't show his full ability," Stinemetz said. "We were both nervous."
Felio placed 16th in the competition and attracted the attention of Madeleine Pickens, who with her husband, T. Boone Pickens, supports a program for saving wild Mustangs. She purchased Felio and a second Mustang, El Campadre, who placed 10th in the contest.
The Pickens have since donated Felio and El Campadre to the Southern Methodist University equine program. The horses and their trainers will debut at halftime of the Oct. 17 SMU/Navy football game in Dallas, after which they could be named the SMU mascots.
Scott and Felio were easy targets, Pickens said.
"I had made a decision to get more than one horse," she said. "It's like football and having two quarterbacks in case you need a backup. Look what they've done, pulled it off in 100 days, it shows they're excellent trainers. It's lucky that our lives have crossed."
Stinemetz and El Campadre's trainer, Jesus Jauregui, of Wisconsin, were both in Texas this week in preparation for the event in front of a packed stadium.
"He doesn't know how famous he could be," Stinemetz said "He's on trial to see what he can do."
They'll be back in Texas twice more to work before game day.
Stinemetz agreed that 100 days isn't very long with a wild horse, but Felio is an extremely smart horse.
"If we've done things right, which we have, that's where the trust comes in, in a scary situation he trusts me," Stinemetz said.
Haley Schoolfield, SMU equestrian team head coach, has spent some time with Felio and has ridden him a couple of times - saying that he's lovely, willing and has a wonderful mind.
"He's a very cool guy," she said. "Scott has done a great job with him."
http://www.hutchnews.com/Localregional/ ... 4T20-53-44
