Alright, so just about every horse person has an idol or two that they admire. An idol that not only rides with such gusto, but also has an unsurpassed communication with horses. As best said, “Horses messages are soft but clear, as if spoken in a whisper.” My top two favorite horse idols have not only put natural horsemanship training on a whole other level, but have forever made their mark in the horse world. They are Stacy Westfall and Charmayne James.
Stacy Westfall: What makes Stacy Westfall so great is not only was she the first and only woman to have ever won the national colt starting competition, but she also was the first to win a national title bareback and bridleless. For those who don’t know, bareback is with no saddle and bridleless is with no reins or bit to steer the horse, only leg pressure. Her method of training not only better opens up the communication between human and horse, but she also shows us how to feel the magic of being with horses. How horses not only light up your life, but also take you on this magical journey that you will never want to leave. What’s interesting about her is that when she was developing her method in her teen and college years, she did not use any influence from other top name trainers. In fact someone asked her at a competition once if she used the Parelli (another famous trainer.) method of training to train her horse. Her honest answer was “Parelli? Who’s that?” However the ride that she would be forever known for is one that is very dear to her heart. The ride for her dad. Posted on youtube.com by
BlueRoanMustang94, shows not only where good communation and practice can take you, but also heart. As best said by the announcer, “Thanks for teaching me to keep trying new things.”
Charmayne James: If there is one person that can truly prove that the underdogs are just as good, it is Charmayne James. Charmayne and her horse Gills Bay Boy, AKA Scamper, took the rodeo world by storm in the late 70’s to late 90’s. The most amazing part about this dynamic duo is when they first started Charmayne was only fourteen and she found then “wild” Scamper in a feedlot being prepared for slaughter. She didn’t care how much people told her how wild he was. She just knew that he was great. Scamper was the first horse that Charmayne broke herself. They entered their first barrel racing jackpot (name for lower grade competitions in the rodeo world.) in the late 70’s. This was just the start of their winning streak that would take them to win their first Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association world title. Her earnings throughout her career totaled over one million dollars, making her the first and only million dollar cowgirl. With all theses winnings, she is now one of the most sought after barrel racing trainers in the world. However, with every great idol, there is one thing that will always make them great. Charmayne’s was when Scamper lost his head stall and bit during a race. Posted on youtube.com by giogonsa, this video shows just how amazing this run was.
All in all, we all have idols that we view as great. Some as big as Charmayne and Stacy and others as small as a parent. The one thing that I think unifies all idols is that they teach us to reach for our dreams and to never quit trying. I can only hope that I become just as great as my idols someday.
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I dont know too much about horses, but I was drawn to the videos you had up. The first one was very interesting it was similar to figure skating, but it happened to be on horseback. It has to take a long time to perfect what she was doing and also to build a bond like that to a horse. The second video was pretty interesting also, the way Charmayne handled that horse was incredible. If I was a horse person and knew as much as you do, these to people might be my idols too. I really enjoyed how this isn't just about horses, its about chasing a dream and achieving success. Great post the and the videos made it that much better!
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