Local Youth and Mustang are Reserve Champions at Extreme Mustang Makeover

Jasmine Boone, who rides and trains under the direction of Rebecca Bowman at North Atlanta Equestrian, was named Reserve Champion at the Extreme Mustang Makeover in Decatur, Alabama on August 8th, finishing only one point from the Championship status.

In April, Boone, who is a senior at Sequoyah High School in Cherokee County, was selected to gentle and ground train a wild 2.5 year old mustang that she adopted through the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in cooperation with the Mustang Heritage Foundation. She adopted a handsome, dark brown gelding was born in a BLM facility in Nevada after his mother was gathered by the BLM. She named him Reno.

The purpose of the competition was to showcase the beauty, versatility, and trainability of these rugged horses that roam freely on public lands throughout the West, where they are protected by the BLM under Federal law. The BLM periodically removes excess animals from the range to ensure herd health and protect rangeland resources. Thousands of removed animals are made available each year to the public for adoption.

The Mustang Heritage Foundation held its first ever Extreme Mustang Makeover in Decatur, Alabama this year at the Morgan County Celebration Arena, where Boone and her Mustang, Reno, competed with eight other youth trainers. The competition showcased their assigned Mustangs’ skills in the arena through trail, showmanship and handling and conditioning classes, culminating with the Youth Freestyle where Boone and Reno took 1st Place for their moving tribute to America’s freedom and beauty.

Reno and the other competing horses were virtually untouched before the training period that began in April. Reno was adopted at the BLM holding facility in Piney Woods, Mississippi and Jasmine trained him for 100 days prior to the competition. The equine-youth team from Cherokee County, spent their entire summer vacation training and bonding, and the special connection between Boone and Reno really showed at the competition freestyles, as they ran and galloped in unison, adorned in red, white and blue.

Boone went into the final freestyles with 2nd and 4th place standings in previously required classes before showcasing the special musical routine they had developed to Lee Greenwood’s

famous song, “God Bless the USA.” Boone said that she and Reno felt confident in their routine.

“It was an exciting and nerve wracking time going into the finals,” she said, “but I tried to concentrate on performing our routine in the three and a half minutes they allow, to really show them what Reno and I could do.”

Boone said that Reno was easy to work with from the beginning. “He had the attitude that he was willing to learn. I led and introduced him to so many new things, even in the first couple of days.” After her performance, Jasmine was heard saying “I want to do another one.”

About North Atlanta Equestrian at Old Mill Farm

North Atlanta Equestrian is a full service equine facility offering horse boarding and riding lessons for all ages. Located on 178 acres of gently rolling pastures, North Atlanta Equestrian is at the historic Old Mill Farm in Cartersville, Georgia. North Atlanta Equestrian was founded by and is managed by Rebecca Bowman, a well-known trainer with many years of experience training and caring for horses and teaching people how to ride.

About the Mustang Heritage Foundation

The mission of the Mustang Heritage Foundation and the goal of the Extreme Mustang Makeover events are to increase the adoption of Mustangs across the country. The Mustang Heritage Foundation created the Extreme Mustang Makeover events to showcase the recognized value of Mustangs through a national training competition. The nonprofit organization also created the Trainer Incentive Program and the Youth Employment Program to raise awareness about America’s Mustangs. For more information, visit www.mustangheritagefoundation.org.

The Extreme Mustang Makeovers are made possible through partnership with the Bureau of Land Management and the generosity of sponsors Ram Trucks, Western Horseman, Zoetis, Vetericyn, Gist Silversmiths, Martin Saddlery and Classic Equine, and Smith Brothers.

Since the first Extreme Mustang Makeover event was held in 2007, the Mustang Heritage Foundation has facilitated the adoptions of more than 5,000 gentled American Mustangs. In 2014, the Foundation in partnership with the Bureau of Land Management will continue to increase its efforts to raise awareness of adoptions of America’s Mustangs.

About the Bureau of Land Management

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is responsible for managing 258 million acres of public lands, located mostly in the West. Wild horses and burros roaming public rangelands are managed in a manner consistent with BLM’s overall multiple-use mission, as set forth in the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976. For more information, visit www.blm.gov or call 866-468-7826.