Summary: Careen Hammock reports on her experience participating.....and winning with "Taz" in the Extreme Mustang Makeover event in Fort Worth.
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Careen's Extreme Mustang Makeover
In her column, Brazos Valley trainer and born horse lover Careen Hammock talks about the Extreme Mustang Makeover event in Ft. Worth and chronicles her 100 days to do an extreme makeover with the Mustang selected for her, Taz. Chosen as only one of 200 trainers from across the nation, Careen is enjoying this immensely. It's a dream come true and in this column Careen shares that dream with you. Horse enthusiasts young an old will enjoy following this breaking story and supporting our only representative to event from the Brazos Valley.
Special Links: Wild Mustang in the Brazos, Extreme Mustang Makeover Slide Show, Equestrian Life in the Brazos, Extreme Mustang Makeover Event Web Site, Wild Horse and Burro Program
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Careen Hammock and "Taz"
Brazos Valley
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Update 9/22/2008 - Extreme Mustang Makeover Results
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Taz with the BLM prior to pickup in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma
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From wild to mild in less than 100 days.
Taz and I left for Fort Worth, Texas on Wednesday, September 17th to compete in the 2008 Extreme Mustang Makeover. After check in, we got settled and met up with other trainers from all over the country. I feel blessed to have met so many amazing people and to make new friends.
Thursday started the first day of competition with the Body Conditioning and the In-Hand Class. We fumbled a little in the In-Hand Class and ended up in 6th place overall when the standings were posted at the end of the day. The order for the Horse Course on Friday was posted and Taz and I were FIRST to go. SCAREY! Taz was pretty tired on Thursday so I let him rest for the remainder of the day.
Friday we started at 3:30AM. Taz and I practiced a routine that we wanted to perform, ate breakfast and took a break till 8 AM when the class was to start. In this class we ride a course determined by the judges with different maneuvers and obstacles. Once we complete the course, we have 2 minutes to show freestyle and do anything we want to show off our horse. Taz and I made it through the Horse Course well and for the freestyle we did simple maneuvers with spins, lead changes, circles, stops and trotting diagonal with him working off my legs. Even though we kept the pattern pretty simple, he did a flawless job and when we walked out of the arena everyone told us that we had just set the bar extremely high for everyone showing behind us. I could not have been prouder of Taz. He was so great!
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Wild Mustang "Taz" his first week in Texas |
Taz got a nice break for most of the day. I pulled him out later in the day to walk him around and talk to people. The results were posted and Taz and I placed 1st in the class. They announced the results that evening at 7 PM and rattled off the TOP 10 contestants that had made it back to the finals on Saturday. Taz made it!!! YEAH!!! Wow…now we have to plan something for the finals performance.
Saturday- the finals for my division did not start until 3PM so I had some time to think of a routine, write it down and practice it in my mind. Taz was extremely tired. He is not resting really well up here with so much activity around him and so much going on. Late morning I rode him and practiced a routine but we kept it pretty simple, I didn’t want him to be too tired for the finals. We have 4 minutes to perform in the Finals. We are riding to music and the song I picked out was David Cook “Time of my Life”. I drew up 6th to go in the finals performance and did not watch any of the performances before or after me. I was too nervous. While waiting to go, Taz and I walked around and focused on what I needed to do out there. Time to go. The music started, and we walked out. Taz was absolutely perfect. He nailed every stop, rollback, spin and was completely doing his best. It was a smooth routine and it felt great! Right after all of us had ridden, they called us back in and we lined up and waited for the results. As the countdown started rolling from 10th place down, Taz and I were frozen in place watching all of our friends and competitors walk up to receive their ribbons. When they called 2nd place and Taz and I were still standing in line everyone next to me almost pulled me off Taz trying to hug me. I couldn’t even cry I was in shock. I didn’t cry till I walked out of the arena and later that evening after the shock wore off. It was the most amazing feeling and I was so proud of how far I had come with Taz in less than 100 days. Taz and I are the 2008 Extreme Mustang Makeover Idols Champion!
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The auction was on Sunday and Taz sold. Although this was a very sad time for me, I could not be prouder of the family that purchased Taz. He is now living in Sequin, Texas with a young woman named Kirsten. She is about 15 years old and reminds me a lot of myself at that age…very horse crazy. They are such a wonderful family and I absolutely know in my heart that they are going to take great care of him, love him and appreciate him. I look forward to following their progress and seeing the bond between them.
I returned home to the Bryan/College Station area Sunday evening with an empty trailer and an empty stall where Taz used to be always waiting for me. This experience has been truly amazing and I do have thoughts of competing again next year. So this is to TAZ – the 2008 Extreme Mustang Makeover Idols Division Champion.
- Careen Hammock -
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Taz, August 3rd, 2008 |
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- Careen Hammock -
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