Equine Extremist Tommie Turvey Talks Horse Tricks

Tommie Turvey, Equine Extremist, has arrived at the stables and is getting his horses ready to perform acts of daring and comedy. 

Turvey has trained horses for film and runs a horse entertainment business internship program for girls 18 and over (boys don’t apply as often, according to Turvey’s wife, Chantal).  

Describing his relationship with the horses, Turvey said he is not a horse whisperer.  “A horse whisperer is someone who takes a problem horse with major issues and very gently shows the horse a better path. I have had horses where I had to do that, and Chantal does that.  But I like to take good horses and make them better, and I do that with my students as well. I like to work with people who already have a good idea about horsemanship and then advance them to the next level.”

 “What we do is horse training and entertainment with horses. I work with horses that have been in movies so I wouldn’t want a problem horse in a movie.  These horses are not pets, they are professionals.” 

Turvey said that many of his tricks can be taught to anyone or any horse. “Some people may have physical limitations, like I may not be able to teach you to stand on two horses (and jump through rings of fire!)  but you can teach any horse to lay down or do some of the ground tricks that we do. We take it to the highest level for television and live shows, but you can do some of it in your backyard and have your friends watch.” 

Turvey has worked with horses his entire life.  “My dad was a rodeo cowboy and we had a paint horse farm, a breeding farm, where we broke, sold, traded horses outside of Sacramento, Ca.”

The couple travel and perform in as many as 40 events a year, from state fairs and rodeos to the show they will hold on Saturday at the Second Governor’s Horse Guard.

Years ago, Chantal attended one of Turvey’s events, hoping to get some tips on training for her own business.  “I was taking horses that had bad habits.  I would take them home, retrain the horse, then retrain the owner.”

She stole a pass to get back stage to talk to Turvey, and saw a man wearing sweat pants, sitting on a horse.  Finding the man attractive, she said to her friend, “Look at that guy!”

She went out to speak with him, and extended her hand.  He pulled her up to the back of the horse and they talked for a while. Later, during the show, they announced, “Here’s Tommie Turvey,” and Chantal said to her friend, “Look, that’s the guy backstage! Later in the show he put himself on fire, and after the show, I told him that’s my specialty. If you ever need someone to do that, let me now.  We exchanged numbers, and saw each other all week.” 

With a smile that lit her entire face, she said,  “And that was that.”

You can catch Tommie and his Amazing Team this coming Saturday, August 11th at the Horse Guard (Exit 11 off I-84)

There will be a free Marketplace Fair from 11am - 5pm followed by the Night Of Amazing Horses Show!  Tickets to the Performance can be purchased online at www.thehorseguard.org  or on the day of the show! Visit www.thehorseguard.org for details