Trainer's Challenge
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Martin Black - Idaho
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Martin Black grew up working on the family ranch and after High School, left home to work on other Ranches with top Horseman in Idaho, Nevada and California. At age 24 he took a management position on a 1.25 million acre ranch running 400 horses and 15,000 head of cattle in Northeast Nevada. After more than 30 years of cattle being the primary source of income and horses being the secondary, Martin decided to make his living working with horses. With his reputation on the ranches and in the arena, it wasn't long before he was traveling coast to coast in the US, Australia, Europe, and Brazil.
Along with contract colt starting around 400 horses annually, Martin also does public and private clinics. Martin has worked with Hall of Fame and All Time Leading Trainers of cutting, reining and race horses. He started Pleasantly Perfect who went on to win in excess of $7 million, as well as Smart Little Scoot who is the All Time Leading money earning son of Smart Little Lena and numerous other champions in Cutting, Reining and Reined Cow Horse. Martin has earned over $75,000 in Stock Horse and NRCHA events, as well as roping, saddle-bronc and camp drafting competitions.
He has competed in the Worlds Greatest Horseman 3 yrs in a row, scoring in the top ten in Roping, Reining and Cow-working go-rounds. A multiple finalists at NRCHA World Show, RHAA National Champion Cowboy, winner of the Open Ranch Horse, Abilene, TX, World Finals Ranch Rodeo, Open Champion Ranch Horse two years in a row in Amarillo, TX.
Martin is no stranger to colt starting competitions as he was the 2009 Mane Event Trainer Challenge Champion and a participant in the 2006 Road to the Horse Colt Starting Competition in Tennessee.
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http://martinblack.net
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Mike Kevil - Arizona
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Trainer and author, Mike Kevil of Arizona, has over 30 years experience starting colts and changing the behavior of older horses. Kevil has started colts for top trainers including the likes of Don Dodge and Al Dunning. He has travelled all over the US and Europe working with all breeds of horses and all disciplines, including Arizona prisons where he teaches detainees the art of gentling Bureau of Land Management (BLM) mustangs.
The types of horses that Mike rides cover the spectrum. It’s not unusual for him to step off an Arabian park horse, then onto a rope horse to heel a few steers, then to a young cutter or reiner that some top trainer thinks has great enough potential to warrant being started by Mike.
Kevil has judged the colt starting competition Road to the Horse in Tennessee three times and even competed in the competition in 2008. Mike is author of two books and DVDs Starting Colts, Volume 1 and 2.
Mike was the 2010 Mane Event Trainers Challenege Champion.
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http://www.startingcolts.com/
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Kerry Kuhn - Kansas
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Kerry Kuhn is one of the brightest young clinicians in the industry today. Born and raised in south central Kansas, he has spent his entire life working, training and communicating with horses. With almost 30 years experience starting colts, working cattle, competing in rodeo and training race horses, Kerry’s diverse background has put him in almost every situation imaginable. This experience combined with a refreshingly unique style of communication with his students and audiences make a Kerry Kuhn seminar or demonstration both entertaining and informative.
Since the mid 90’s, Kerry has held horsemanship demonstrations and clinics at nationally recognized events around the country, has been the official clinician of a popular cable TV equine program and has won numerous colt starting competitions. He is currently a national ambassador for the Purina Mills’ Equine Influential Team and has been featured in several national equine publications, including most recently the September 2011 issue of The Western Horseman (pgs 66-72).
Kerry’s approach to horsemanship focuses on what is going on in the horses mind and revolves around being personal, practical and positive. Kerry also believes in training as much as possible outside of the arena using natural terrain and as such has set up his home base on 3,000 acres of rolling hills, creeks, cliffs, ledges and timber in south central Kansas, where he resides with his wife Misti and their three sons, Kauy, Kolt and Kody.
To learn more about Kerry Kuhn Horsemanship, please visit www.kerrykuhn.com
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http://www.kerrykuhn.com
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The Trainers Challenge is an unique opportunity to see 3 trainers put there skills to work to show the public
their abilities and methods of training an unbroke horse. This is NOT the way these trainers would normally
start a colt, what they do in the 3 days of the Challenge they might take 30 – 60 days or more to get the
horse really working well at all of the different skills they are training into the colts. This Challenge is
meant to be a venue to educate the public that there are more than one or two ways that you can start a colt
and succeed at getting a quiet broke horse.
The format will have 3 - Trainers, 3 - Horses and 3 - Judges. Keep in mind that these horses will have
just started their training to become that broke horse. The trainers are progressing far quicker than they
normally would always keeping the horses best interest at heart.
The judging at this challenge is based 10% on the horse, 60% on the trainer's ability to train the horse
and 30% on the trainer's ability to educate the attendees. So the trainer that gets his/her horse to do the
most or does a better presentation at the finals won't necessarily win. The winner of the challenge will be
the trainer that can achieve the highest success with both the horse & the Spectators.
We would like to take this time to thank Ace of Clubs Quarter Horses for supplying the horses that will be used in the Challenge.
You can visit their website at www.aceofclubsquarterhorses.com
Hugh McLennan "Voice" of The Mane Event Trainers Challenge
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Hugh's commentary and dialogue with the trainers
has been a big factor in
keeping the audience aware of the subtle but steady progress made by the
colts in every session. Using spontaneous humour and a savvy understanding
of the science of starting colts he makes the sessions highly entertaining
for the crowd and helps each trainer feel comfortable under the pressure of
the clock.
Combining years of experience as a working rancher and horse trainer with a
professional broadcasting background Hugh brings a level of comfort to his
sessions behind the microphone. His nationally syndicated weekly radio show
"The Spirit of the West" is heard across a large network of radio stations
in Canada and the U.S., and on demand at www.hugh-mclennan.com. As well as
still raising cattle and working with horses, Hugh is in demand as a speaker
and singer as a solo act or with his amazing band "The Western Spirit."
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