California Riding Magazine • August, 2009

Letter to the Editor
Mustang Makeovers

My name is Saunya Bolton and I live in Reno, NV. I am formerly a resident of Woodland, CA, where I had a training facility for 20 plus years. I focused on training Quarter Horses for the AQHA approved shows. I have won many awards showing my own horses as well as client owned horses. I have shown at the AQHA World Show Level as a finalist in three events: Two Year Old Western Pleasure, Jr. Trail and Jr. Western Riding. I also am a member of the AQHA Professional Horseman’s Assn.

I moved to Nevada in 2005. A friend called me in March of 2008 and said “Have you ever thought of training a Mustang for the Extreme Mustang Makeover?” That is all it took to get me involved in what has turned out to be the most rewarding, emotional and wild ride of my horse training career.

I would like to give you my input into the Extreme Mustang Makeovers, my experience with the BLM and the Mustang Heritage Foundation, and into the article that was published in your magazine in July.

I was a competitor in the June 2008 Western States Mustang Challenge in Sacramento. It was the first to be held in conjunction with the Horse Expo. I felt it was an honor and privilege to be selected from applicants nationwide to participate in this event. I was assigned a little Mustang mare that I called Diva. She became a celebrity in Reno with our story being filmed weekly by KOLO8 News, with Terri Russell and her cameraman Scott Walker. Diva and I tied for 10th going into the finals and lost in a tie-breaker. That’s the way it goes when you show horses. My downfall was that the conditioning judge gave her a low score for being too fat. Yes, it was disappointing for me but it’s horse showing.

I have lived in the real world of showing and have learned that you better be able to take it as it comes. I believe that judging is one person’s opinion. They are paid for that opinion and we don’t always agree with that. So, my point is, take it as it comes, get over it and move on. That’s horse showing. It does not matter the breed, the time, the place, the event: There will always be politics.

I want to defend the Mustang Heritage Foundation and its staff, directors, etc.

Since 2007 and the Extreme Mustang Makeover in Fort Worth, TX, more than 2,000 wild horses have become well trained, well groomed, beautiful representatives of their breed. Had it not been for the BLM and the MHF, most of our human population would not have a clue as to what these beautiful wild horses can be or what they can do.

I feel bad for the trainer, Buzz Riebschlager. He did the best he could with the horse he was assigned in the time limit allowed. He didn’t have any information on his horse other than what is provided at the time of pick-up. Please give the man credit for what he has done. It’s one thing doing groundwork and a whole different thing, saddling, riding and everything else. I have been there and done it. These horses are difficult and time consuming. They come around but each has their unique problems, issues, etc. Had Buzz not won, this issue would have probably never come to light. It is unfortunate for him, for the previous adopter and for the MHF. I can see that it would be very difficult for them to keep track of 30,000 plus wild horses in captivity. It is an honest mistake. Things happen. No matter the breed, or the event. We are, afterall, humans, and mistakes are made.

I feel the negative publicity for the Extreme Mustang Makeover is wrong. I feel a few individuals are crying politics because of their own problems. If you have shown horses in the real world you will know to some extent there will be politics. Don’t take a great event and cause out of context.

I have been chosen as a competitor for the Extreme Mustang Makeover in Fort Worth this September and I am proud of it. I, as all trainers, basically donate my time and expertise. It isn’t about winning or losing, but about the fact that we are helping the MHF and BLM with a huge responsibility. They are trying to adopt out many wild Mustangs in an effort to save them, one by one. We are in difficult times. Most of what we have known in the past is gone and in the future it will be worse. Our wild horses are one of the last free things in our lifetime. We are all trying to preserve this heritage.

I would like all horse lovers to realize that the Makeover is being held for all the right reasons. It’s unfortunate that a few choose to give us bad publicity. Again, I emphasize, mistakes are made, we learn from them, it is a big job. Let’s be grateful for the leaders of this organization, let the mistakes be, learn from them, and go on.

I cannot wait to go to Fort Worth and I am proud to be a part of this great effort to save the Mustangs. They are brilliant, gorgeous, tough and deserve our attention. In addition, and most importantly, I believe, from my experience, they are grateful. My story with my new Mustang, whom I call IlDivo, will air as a 30-minute documentary here in Nevada in November. It will also run in parts in Reno until I leave next month for Texas. KOLO 8 News will film our performance there.

I hope my insight makes people see this competition in a positive way.

Sincerely,

Saunya Bolton, Reno