Vol. 11, July 2023
“Mikayla is a firm believer that being flexible with training methods so each horse or mule will have an individualized education.”
-Mikayla YoungBe Willing to Take Risks
-By Jeff Cook
Dreaming of a Makeover
-& MORE!
Featuring4 Up-and-Coming Trainers
-By Felicity Davis
-By Grace Landwehr Butternut Ponies
Going After Your Dreams
-By Natalie Fuller
Changing Things Up
-with Mikayla Young
Mikayla and her TIP gelding, River.RisingTalentHorsemanship seekstohighlightnewand establishedhorsetrainers.
Issue10,April2023
Anyviews,opinions,ortraining techniquesexpressedinRisingTalent Horsemanshiparenotnecessarily thoseoftheeditor,norcantheybe heldaccountable. RisingTalent Horsemanship,VanFleetMustangsor SamanthaVanFleetwillnotbeheld responsibleforanycopyright infringementormisrepresentationon thepartofadvertisersorhighlighted trainers. Anycorrespondenceto RisingTalentHorsemanship,itseditor, orpublisherareassumedfor publication. Allstories(verbalor printed),photos,newsitems,andany othersubmittedmaterials,solicitedby RisingStarHorsemanshipornotare assumedtobelegallyreleasedbythe submitterforpublication.
SarahBurgner
SamVanFleet
ContributingWriters
JeffCook
FelicityDavis
NatalieFuller
GraceLandwehr
MikaylaYoung
www.rthorsemanship.com
Hey there!
I’m Sarah, and I reside in Jonesborough, Tennessee. Like most little girls, I have been in love with all things equines since I was 6 years old. From pretending I was a horse myself, to starting my own colts, loving on mustangs, to jumping in the show ring, I have never been able to get enough of God’s most gorgeous creation, the horse. Now, twenty years later I have started my own natural horsemanship business and am elated at the opportunity to be a collaborator and editor of this magazine!
Hey guys,
I’m Sam, a 24-year-old trainer whose passion is gentling, training, and rehoming mustangs to get them out of holding. My other passion is helping other horse owners communicate with their horses better. Over the past few years I've developed my business through YouTube, clinics, training, taking and teaching lessons,
learning through internships, social media, etc. My goal is to help other young trainers grow their businesses as well and connect the equine community… which is why I began this magazine.
Sarah and I are so excited to bring you this magazine full of content. We hope you enjoy!
FelicityDavis Learn all about Felicity’s diverse horsemanship background.
pg5
Become inspired as Grace shares about her getting to fulfill her dream by participating in an EMM.
pg7
Find out how Mikayla “unstuck” herself and her training methods utilizing a TIP Challenge!
pg10
Be encouraged by Natalie’s drive to jump into the wild world of mustangs.
pg12
JeffCook
Join Jeff in reflecting on his makeover journey.
pg15
GraceLandwehr NatalieFuller
Summerishere! Enjoythestoriesand testimoniesfromallof thesetalented trainers.
Felicityandherhearthorse,Namine.
Poway, CA -
Age 26 -
Owner of ButterNut Ponies
Hello! My name is Felicity Anne Shirley Davis.
I was born in sunny San Diego, California where my love for horses began at the age of four and has been growing ever stronger since. Over the past 22 years I have ridden and competed in both English and Western. I’ve also participated in Rodeo Queen Pageants, cross country jumping, cowboy challenges, cattle sorting, barrel racing, and trail riding. Just to list a few! In 2016 I began my journey as a professional horse trainer. It was then that ButterNut Ponies was born. The business name was inspired by my first lesson pony Mr. Butters. My main focus is to teach riders, young and old, how to talk to horses with their body language and seat using natural horsemanship techniques.
Email: Felicityd1@gmail.com
Elizabeth, Colorado -
Age 14
My name is Grace Landwehr, and I am a 14 years old in live in Colorado. I grew up in a horse family, and my mom had me on the back of my pony Sadie since I was a toddler. I have competed in youth rodeos, recently expanding to riding reiners. I competed in my first Extreme Mustang Makeover in 2022 with my mustang Winnie. I will be competing in this years Extreme Mustang Makeover in Franklin, Tennessee with my yearling mustang Beach Boy. I have won numerous rodeos, and barrel races over the years. Last year I ended up 11th in the state of Colorado in barrel racing for Junior High Rodeo. In last years EMM I finished 5th in my freestyle and 15th overall. My mom has been my primary trainer, and I have had the privilege of riding and learning from several other professionals that have helped me in my horsemanship journey. I enjoy riding and working with all horses, and strive to bring out their best!
Contactinformation-
Instagram-@gl_horsemanship
Rodeogirlgrace@gmail.com
I grew up in the horse industry, having ridden my whole life. I competed in youth rodeos and also showed horses in other disciplines. I dreamed of competing in the Extreme Mustang Makeover. Last year, I applied and was accepted, and that started an amazing journey. I picked up my yearling and had one hundred days to train her. Even though I have ridden my entire life, this was an experience that really shaped me into the trainer I am today. My horsemanship skills were tested, and I learned a lot. The greatest piece of advice I have for people working with horses is to meet them where they’re at. By doing so, you develop trust and respect which will help your relationship grow, and actually help the horses progress faster. My yearling Winnie was amazing to work with, we did well at the Extreme Mustang Makeover, and our journey has continued from there. I was able to bring Winnie home after the competition, and continued to develop our relationship and work on skills through ground work. Now that Winnie is old enough, I have broke her to ride. This has been a seamless process because I have continued to meet her where she’s at, and that has only made our relationship stronger. Winnie trusts me, and knows I will only ask her for what she’s capable of. She always rises to the occasion and impresses me with her willing and trusting nature. Competing in the Extreme Mustang Makeover opened my eyes to the endless possibilities in the horse industry. I have enjoyed taking my riding background, and expanding my skills working with wild horses. I feel like I have found my calling helping and working with wild mustangs. It is rewarding to see them become so trusting and willing,
and ultimately become my partners. I look forward to a future of riding, training and helping both horses and people! It is important to me to meet these horses where they’re at and teach their owners to do that same. It is rewarding to watch my horses build a relationship with me, and watching others build a relationship with their horses that is built on trust.
Mikayla Young is the owner, trainer, and farrier at KJ Stables. She’s 23 years old and her training facility it based in Westfield, North Carolina. Mikayla trains using predominantly natural horsemanship techniques but continuously has an open mind to various training methods and loves to incorporate new things to her program. Mikayla grew up on a small farm, at age five her and her siblings shared their first pony. Of three children
Mikayla was the one that 100% caught the horse bug! In her early teens she began exercise riding
Arabians for her neighbor, learning farrier skills, and started riding in both endurance races and competitive trail on her gaited gelding. Eventually Mikayla had gotten into riding all different breeds and disciplines though she now still specializes in starting colts and producing quality trail mules and horses. In 2022 Mikayla decided to challenge her abilities by opening up to train for the public and with competing in her first Mustang TIP challenge. That first TIP challenge she won grand champion, which really helped grow her training business and fuel the passion to gentle mustangs. Currently she is training both a mustang and a burro in the Bluegrass TIP challenge.
Connect or follow Mikayla’s journey here.
Email- kjstables4173@gmail.com
Facebook- KJ Stables
Instagram- rackingupthemiles
Tiktok- rackingupthemiles
Youtube- Mikayla Young- KJ Stables
At KJ stables Mikayla is continuously looking to further her training skills and finds that it is incredibly important to keep an open mind when looking into other training methods. Growing up Mikayla never had formal riding lessons, so the majority of her skills are self taught. She learned through watching videos of various trainers, taking advice from more experienced horsemen and women, and a lot of trial and error just to see what would work with each individual horse or mule that she worked with. Being open minded and flexible to various training methods has helped her training business grow because each client and each horse are going to be different and may need to be worked with differently. Winter of 2021 Mikayla was feeling a bit stuck with the training methods she used while working under another trainer, while she learned tons of valuable skills she felt that she needed to go in a different direction to further grow. Timeline wise was during the same time Mikayla adopted her first mustang through the NC TIP Challenge, she lovingly named him River. This was her first time ever gentling an unhandled horse, while he was a soft eye and kind hearted horse in the beginning he did not respond well to the traditional training Mikayla was used to which gave her the opportunity to try out training with positive reinforcement. River opened up to Mikayla and his training moved along so smoothly by adding this new training method, he loved to work for Mikayla each training session. She chose to train River with positive reinforcement along side of pressure and release training so River would still know all the traditional cues and could still easily be handled by anyone. Mikayla is a firm believer that being flexible with training methods so each horse or mule will have an individualized education. Specifically Mikayla uses positive reinforcement training in addition to traditional methods in her training program because it can help so many horses grow with their confidence and learn to enjoy being worked during training sessions. The analogy that positive reinforcement training with animals is like paying a person a salary for working a job really stuck in Mikayla’s mind. Adding positive reinforcement to her training program not only helps the horses enjoy their jobs but it helps Mikayla too, when training with only pressure and release she would feel as if she was only seeing things that the horses were wrong instead of just focusing on what they were doing right when incorporating positive reinforcement it caused her to see more things on the positive side.
Hey guys! I’m Natalie Fuller and I am from a small town in Central Wisconsin. I grew up on a small dairy farm and was always fascinated with horses. So naturally, I was ecstatic when my family bought our first horse when I was six. I rode frequently for nine years before my parents bought me my own horse, Glory, a Mustang mare from Salt Wells Creek WY that had been a youth Extreme Mustang Makeover horse a few years prior. I fell in love with her and taught her tricks, liberty, and developed her undersaddle. I did research into Extreme Mustang Makeovers and convinced my parents to let me compete in one. Since then, I have competed in one other youth EMM, the burro division in a TIP Challenge, and am currently training a horse for an adult EMM. Additionally, I have gentled three other mustangs and burros as personal projects. My goal is to create a lasting relationship with the horses I work with and make them enjoy training.
Interested in Contacting Natalie?
Find her socials below:
Facebook: NF Equines
Instagram: nf.equines
YouTube: NF Equines
Gmail: nf.equines@gmail.com
Growing up on a dairy farm, I had big aspirations to do something with animals when I grew up, specifically horses. I was often told that animals are expensive and a lot of work, so I should find a more stable career path. As I entered high school, I had people telling me that I’m “too smart not to go to college” and that I should “choose a career that will make good use of my brain, like a lawyer”. I was frustrated and torn. Should I do what I want to do or should I fit into the standard society had set for me? For two years, I struggled with the idea that I would be wasting my brain if I followed a career in horses. But then, I applied for the 2021 Oklahoma Extreme Mustang Makeover in the youth division, with my parents’ cautious support. I had dreamed about this for too long to give it up because of what others said. I struggled my way through training my horse, Arrow, and was repeatedly told by people that I should give horses up and pursue a more reasonable career. And if I’m being honest, they almost convinced me. I was really discouraged by my lack of knowledge and my apparent failure with Arrow. But then I connected with a group of my fellow youth competitors and they were the most encouraging and supportive people I’ve ever met. They helped me problem solve with Arrow and shared their own struggles. I felt less alone and less like a failure. With their support, Arrow blossomed into a great horse and ended up placing in the top 10 at the makeover. School started up a couple of weeks after the makeover and I was hearing the same old thing about being too smart for horses. I found a couple of teachers that were interested in and supportive of my horse journey and blocked out what the others told me. This feeling of success was amazing and I wasn’t about to give it up. I continued to train Arrow and he became a great liberty and trick horse. I took him to school to educate about mustangs, did a liberty demonstration with him at a kids camp, started him under saddle completely bridleless, and turned him into the lead horse of my liberty team. I recently graduated from high school as the valedictorian of my class and, as I walked across the stage, knew that I would be pursuing a career as a horse trainer despite being told it would be a waste. I am now interning with a trainer and I couldn’t be happier with my decision. Don’t let others prevent you from following your dreams. It may be a lot of work, but you will never be happy unless you go for it. You will never be truly happy unless you take that chance and go for it.
Have you ever thought about using natural remedies and supplements for your equine partner? As a natural horsemanship and natural living mentor, I'm passionate about properly taking care of our equine partners.
Essential oils and holistic products are a great way to show your horse the love they deserve. From emotional support to gut health, sore muscles to cleaning up cuts and scrapes. No matter what you and your pony's goals are, I can help you understand and implement a regimen using safe, natural, and effective products from the inside out.
Interested in learning more?
Email inquiries to onehearthorsemanship@gmail.com
for a FREE virtual consultation to discuss the best products, aids, and supplements for you and your partner to have a thriving relationship.
I grew up with parents from suburban Illinois who had always dreamed of living in the West. They moved us to Colorado when my brother and I were pretty young. Although they dreamt of owning horses, I was the first in my family to acquire one. I had saved my allowance money and five dollar bills from Christmas cards and the tooth fairy. I finally had enough saved up to offer an old cowboy outfitter all I had for an old, one-eared paint mare named Bingo. It turns out he liked me, and so he gave her to me. I was in heaven! That old mare and I went everywhere to ether. I even rode her about ten miles to the county fair, where we won the 4 H horsemanship and showmanship against some pretty nice horses. In our small town, you rodeoed if you didn’t play football. I rode bareback broncs, saddle broncs, and a bull now and then, as long as Mom didn’t find out. Eventually, I won a rodeo scholarship to a small-town college in eastern Colorado, where I earned a degree in Horse Training and Management. From that point on, all I ever wanted to do was train horses. I got to work for some talented trainers and supplemented my income as a farrier. I showed Paints and Quarter Horses and had some success, but something needed to be added. My folks finally bought the dude ranch they always dreamed of, and that’s where I got my introduction to Mustangs. One day I watched an Extreme Mustang Makeover and thought. I can do that. And it was on! Since then, I’ve competed in ten makeovers. I have been in the top ten six times, the fan favorite, reserve champion, had the high-selling Mustang and won the 2021 Oklahoma Extreme Mustang Makeover. We were allowed to pick our horses from any Mustang holding facility or storefront for the Oklahoma show. I found a horse in the Ridgecrest holding corrals that I was so excited about. He was a big, fancy palomino gelding from Nevada wild horse range that was perfect. I showed him to my friend Annie MacDermaid who runs a fantastic storefront in Arizona. She said, “Wow! Nice horse. Too bad you can’t show him, he’s a three-year-old, and they must be four or older.” After begging, arguing, and trying bribery, I was told by the powers at be that I’d have to find another horse. Annie had twenty horses to pick from, but I would select number 16. Yikes…..
Well, I drove up to her place with low expectations. Most horses had been chosen, but a cute, little buckskin roan mare from Devil’s Garden had the biggest, softest eyes. I asked Annie why she hadn’t been selected, and she said, "Probably because she’s nine years old. Mares that old tend to be pretty set in their ways and can be challenging to train, especially in a hundred days. The mare and I hit it off immediately, so I gave her a go. I brought her home and named her Cactus Flower. The first few weeks were harrowing, and I thought maybe I bit off more than I could chew. She didn’t want me to touch her, and she showed me how hard she could buck about ride four. She wasn’t easy, but she was so bright and what a beautiful mover. Once we got going together, she was fearless! When we got her to the show in Oklahoma City, she had a bad fall and hurt her hip, and I thought we were finished, but my friend Dr. Tony Roberts performed his chiropractic magic and got her through with flying colors. Cactus Flower gave me all she had, and we won the show! She sold through the auction for a phenomenal price and went to a great home in the Midwest. The story is moral is something like don’t ever assume anything but believe in yourself and your horse and be willing to take risks.
