This past weekend, two old friends came to visit, and it was really a treat. Many years earlier — we figured out that it was 20 — we had worked together on a project, selling products at Rolex, the three-day-event in Kentucky. At that time, Gail and I lived in California and Pat in Minnesota, and we convened in Lexington for the show. We did that for several years — it was our tradition. Here we are so many years later, and they took time to come to North Carolina to visit me. We picked up as if we’d never been separated.

One of the most fun things we did was to go play with my horse, Calvin. We got him from the field, groomed and tacked him up as a team. You’d think he was a high-level competition horse getting ready for a big event. Pat even banged his tail (trimmed the bottom inch or so, so the tail looks straight across at the bottom.) Then we went out to the ring and took turns riding. Gail and I rode on Saturday, and Pat and Gail rode on Sunday. I was thrilled to see how well mannered Calvin was, and how hard he worked at understanding the signals these ladies gave him. Both are quite proficient riders but with different styles, and Calvin just one step up from pet-level activity since having been given the summer off. But he got serious and was a star, loved the attention, and went off bucking when we turned him back into the pasture.

Sunday, another friend took them riding, and they got to see some of the most beautiful scenery in the foothills of the mountains here. Then Sunday night, several other friends came over, and we all talked horses, of course. Each of us told one dog or horse story, and it was truly inspirational. We laughed at each other’s perseverance and the awkward situations we get into when you live with horses and horse lovers. We’d planned to make an early evening of it, but I finally had to nudge all these ladies out the door about 10. Old friends and new, now just friends — all because of the love of horses.

It began out of guilt, or should I say, concern, that my horse was gaining weight. We had a dry summer, then suddenly a lot of rain and sunshine, which meant a lot of grass. I came home from a trip to find that Calvin had gone from trim to looking pregnant. So I knew I had a responsibility to exercise him.

The thing about starting to ride again after a season off is that you don’t just pick up where you stopped. Everything takes longer than it used to — even catching the horse and tacking up.

Under the best of conditions, Calvin would rather be out grazing than to come into the barn. He’s last to come in at night, and doesn’t mind that the other horses have left him. But, convincing him to voluntarily leave his buddies is a different thing entirely.

His favorite thing is to play “invisible,”  as in, “I’m busy eating grass so you can’t see me.”  We’ve worked a lot on on the “come to me” cue but when he’s out of practice, it requires me walking to within about 15 feet of him. Then he suddenly discovers me, eats about six more mouthfuls of grass, and just when I’m about to swing my lead rope to make him move, he trots to me, as if he’d been planning to do so all the time. (I sometimes think it’s his game, designed to help build my character.)

I pet him and make a fuss, then walk about 15 feet away from him toward the barn. Then I call him again. This time when he walks to me, I’ll give him a piece of carrot. And so it goes, heading toward the barn in 15-feet increments (though I only pay off with a carrot piece randomly).

Now it would seem to be more efficient for me to walk up to him, put on the halter and just lead him out of the pasture. But I don’t want to have to walk all the way out to him every time, so I continue to make it his responsibility to come to me. Or at least that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.

This philosophy backfires, though, when we get nearly to the gate.  When I walk what he considers out of range to influence his decision, he turns around and merrily trots all the way back down the hill to his buddies, leaving me to trudge after him. Of course, the exception is that on the days when I’m just bringing him in to fly spray him, he’s right with me. But mind reader that he is, he can tell when I have work planned.

So last week, we worked on the “come to me” cue, and I got plenty of exercise in the process. After coming into the barn, grooming, then saddling, we headed out to the arena to the “I’d-rather-not-be-mounted block.” I don’t know what happened in Calvin’s former life, but saddling and standing for mounting are two of his least favorite activities. Even after all the training we’ve done, he’s tense when mounting time comes. I respect his anxiety, but I hold to the standard that he has to stand like a statue until I give the signal to move off. So we work through all of that until he’s comfortable standing, and I have the mounting block perfectly positioned for me.

As you can imagine, that doesn’t leave much time for riding. That’s okay for now. The first week back isn’t the season for riding. It’s the season for “fixin’ to ride.”  You might think that for all the inconveniences of getting this horse (and myself) out of mothballs I’d give up on him. But riding isn’t just about riding. It’s about the relationship and the process. So for now,  we’re having fun trying to get our act together, and in the process, enjoying each other’s friendship. Nothing like munching carrots together while easing into a new season.

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!

There’s something about the Mustang horse that resonates with horse lovers, especially American horse lovers. So when I was offered the opportunity to attend the Extreme Mustang Makeover in Fort Worth, Texas, I was really excited.

I am leading a workshop on “Horses In Ministry,” and am amazed at the emails I have already received from people asking about the workshop. (Unknown to most myhorse.com or Perfect Horse readers, my primary role is as a horse ministry advisor, helping people to develop ministries sharing the love of God). I am hearing about all kinds of outreach efforts, from therapeutic riding to work with at-risk children, to trail-riding fellowships to Cowboy church. It is great to hear of so many people finding their niche when it comes to partnering with horses for this purpose.

But don’t get the idea that this will be all work and no fun! I’ve packed my jeans and boots and am debating how dressed up or down I should be. In the end, I’m sure I’ll take what’s comfortable, because I hope to be able to watch a lot of horses and trainers. Imagine 150 formerly wild Mustangs and more than 150 trainers hoping to capture part of the $50,000 prize money! And that’s in addition to the 200 yearlings and trainers competing for $20,000. The three- and four-year-old horses will compete on the ground and in a riding competition (after only 100 days of training!), and the yearlings will be judged on conditioning, groundwork, and a “horse course” of obstacles. All the horses competing will be available for adoption, so that should be exciting, too.

Stay tuned, because I’ll let you know how it goes!

The Pioneer Horse Shows started in 1967 and they are still going strong every first Saturday of the summer months. There’s a $3 admission fee to the grounds, and a $3 entry fee per class. First place winners in each class have their choice of a trophy or 30% of the entry fees paid in that class. What could be better?

Better than winning was watching. Watching the little girl in the orange cowboy hat ride the pony with an orange nylon bridle, the 70-year-old men wearing ball caps zooming by on their racking horses, the perfectly turned out dressage horse amidst a sea of Tennessee Walker types, and a Western Pleasure Paint and rider looking like they were warming up for Congress. One man had a “Property of Jesus” T-shirt, another had a Bluetooth phone on his ear, and another answered a call on his cell phone during a class. There was the woman in a beautiful sequined top that color-coordinated with her horse’s purple breast collar and tack, and on it goes.

The show opened with an English halter or model class and then the Western equivalent. It was clearly an all-breed event, and went along quietly as you might expect, except for a giant horsefly livening up one of the entries.

The lead line class was next, with proud parents and grandparents leading little ones along. Show etiquette is important — the tradition is for the riders wave to the crowd as they go around, with everyone on the rail waving back. Then came the pleasure pony class, which was huge. The rule, of course, is 14.2 hands or under, but I’m sure that no one on the grounds had a measuring stick.

Many of the class descriptions included “favorite” gait, as in “Walk and favorite gait other than canter or lope.” I could see why they called it favorite gait, because it was hard to identify some in the pace-amble-walk-running walk-rack genre, but obviously they were the gaits most familiar to those particular horses. There was lots of kissing going on, with spectators trying to encourage horses who may have been just a shade slow.

Someone came by trying to find a home for a dog he had been fostering for a while. He said, “Five dollars.” As in, “If you take this dog, I’ll pay you $5.

The highlight was Intermission, when the owner of the property — 80 years young — rode his World Champion Tennesssee Walker. This man had bred and shown this horse — who was now 20 years young. There they were as a team, the horse moving around the ring like a power walker, big reaching strides in perfect rhythm, with his owner in perfect control.

Folks have been coming to that show for years. Generations of kids grew up at this fun show, and now bring their children or even grandchildren to compete. I can’t remember when I had such a good time. When we think about the “horse industry,” often big farms or major horse events come to mind. But the strength of our industry is the good people who make horses and good, clean fun a part of their everyday life — or at least their Saturday nights.