I could always tell when that little booger Brownie had bucked her off between lessons.
Karisa would ride Valentine for her lesson. Valentine would help Karisa regain her confidence. I'd show Karisa a few things she could try doing with Brownie and off she'd go. She loved that naughty little pony and was determined to succeed.
Fast forward to 2015. Karisa and Brownie joined my 4-H club, Ghost Riders. At the county level, they qualified for the Eastern Idaho State Fair and went on to take grand champion in the bareback event and reserve champion in equation. Brownie has come a long way! Quite a change from a pony that supposedly (per the previous owners) couldn't be ridden around other horses because he would misbehave too badly!
As if that wasn't enough, Karisa also participated in the East Idaho 4-H and BLM Wild Horse Program. This is the same program Kid 3 did with Xoe last summer-- where the
4-H kids take home an untouched mustang weanling or yearling and spend 2-3 months halter-breaking and gentling these wild animals.
The program was formatted a little differently this year. Not only did the kids compete against each other at the Madison County Fair; they also spent a week at the Eastern Idaho State Fair showing off their horses, promoting the BLM mustangs, and competing in a final trail challenge.
Karisa and Chance aced the in-hand EISF Mustang Trail Competition, taking overall Grand Champion. She has done a fabulous job of training both of these animals. All her hard work and effort really paid off. I'm very proud of her...someday, when she's rich and famous, I can say she got her start right here at West View Horsemanship!