I wouldn’t have believed it if you had told me. In fact, In fact, didn’t believe the stories I heard about last year’s Extreme Mustang Makeover. So I headed to Fort Worth to see for myself the transformation I’d heard about — from wild to mild — (and to conduct a  “Horses in Ministry” workshop).

Let me tell you about the Makeover. Trainers (age 9 to 64 and from 38 states) received a wild Mustang 100 days prior to the event. Each took his or her Mustang home and conditioned and trained him, and brought him back to compete against the conditioning and training of the other Mustangs. Yearling fillies and geldings competed at halter, and three- and four-year-old geldings were shown in hand and under saddle. The purpose of the event was to showcase the beauty, versatility, and trainability of the Mustang horse.

All horses were rated on body condition and an in-hand course, which requires the trainer to lead the horse through an obstacle course, pick up his feet and load him into a trailer. Riding horses also complete a “horse course,” which requires the trainer to ride the horse through a series of obstacles and complete basic maneuvers, such as a walk, trot and lope, stop and back. There were three divisions, Stars, Idols and Legends, based on the ability of the handler and the mustang, with each division increasing in difficulty.

In the freestyle competition, trainers and were encouraged to use props, music and other theatrical methods to demonstrate the skills they have taught their Mustangs.

The people were great — from organizers to competitors to spectators. Everyone was friendly and helpful, cheering each other on.

The horses were amazing. I never heard a horse kick a stall, never saw a horse kick out. I was concerned that I’d see horses pulling away and hard to handle, but I didn’t see one like that. Instead, I saw teenagers leading their calm yearlings all over the showgrounds — down the road, into the buildings, around crowds and traffic. The horses were calm and pleasant — no crabbiness or pulling back.

The older horses were all the more amazing. As you might expect going into a huge arena with music playing and crowds, a few looked around and wanted to stay closer to the in gate than the other end of the arena — but they had much less reaction than ordinary domestic horses do attending a show. The vast majority performed as if they grew up at a show grounds — and that with only 100 days of training!

The finals blew everyone away. As in ice skating, contestants had to required maneuvers within their freestyle performance. They chose the music and incorporated walk, trot, lope each direction, lope a circle each direction, stop, and make clean flying lead changes into their choreography. Beyond the basics, we saw some incredible sights, especially in the finalists. One trainer came in with a dog riding behind his saddle and the rider carrying an umbrella. Another had bridleless spins, lead changes, and sliding stops (reminder: this after only 100 days of training). Another jumped through a fire ring — bridleless. And then there were mere feats such as carrying a flag, having the horse lie down, gallop around the arena wide open, work cattle, and on it goes. Several riders stood on their saddles while they cracked bull whips (definitely in the “don’t try this at home” category), but their horses never moved a muscle.

Ken McNabb (www.kenmcnabb.com) interviewed each of the finalists after their ride, and they each said this had been an amazing experience. Mark Lyon, the overall winner, said he was amazed at the magic God put into the horse, that he could learn that fast. We were amazed at Mark’s horse, too. Aside from the planned theatrics, as they zoomed around a corner, the saddle slipped and Mark ended up on the ground. The saddle was halfway down the horse’s side, but he merely turned around and looked at Mark, as if to ask why Mark left the act. No running off bucking because of a loose saddle.

Each of the Mustangs was available for adoption (at auction) the following day, so people could bid on the very horses they saw in competition. I’m pretty good at resisting the temptation to buy a horse, but it’s good we don’t live close to TX, or who knows what I’d be writing to you today.

Anyway, if you want a weekend of good, clean fun and good horsemanship go to the Extreme Mustang Makeover next year. ( http://www.extrememustangmakeover.com and http://www.mustangheritagefoundation.org) And be sure to say hi to me when you do, because I’m not about to miss it!