Ken McNabb Rides Filly to a Win at

"Mane Event Trainer's Challenge"

  Up against a three-time challenge winner and two colts, Ken McNabb of Cody, Wyoming rode his way to victory with a two-year-old filly from Douglas Lake Ranch at the Mane Event Trainer's Challenge competition in Canada on October 17-19.  Three competitors, including Doug Mills and Charles Wilhelm, and three two-year old horses were paired up in this colt starting competition which judges not only the trainer's ability to train a colt, but also his ability to educate the audience.

Two colts and one filly were chosen to participate, all of which were provided by Douglas Lake Ranch, and have the same sire. Douglas Lake Ranch was awarded the 2004 Best Remuda Award by the American Quarter Horse Association, and has a long history of ranch work. McNabb says he made sure to keep this in mind when training his filly.

"When it came time for the final performance I took the approach of treating it like a day on the ranch. I got my filly out there, saddled her and jumped on without a warm up. She was a little sticky walking around the arena at first, but she did great. She loped in both directions on the correct lead, stopped on two reins from a lope and did everything I asked her," said McNabb.

 Using the same techniques that he uses at home, McNabb says he trained his filly following a strict program and used the same process each time he handled her.

"She bucked quite a bit but got really tuned in to me. She was extremely athletic and was a horse that you could do a lot with, but would buck you off in a second if you didn't know what you were doing," said McNabb.

The finals were an awe-filled, emotionally charged display where even the judges were on the edges of their seats during McNabb's final performance with his filly. After the obstacle course, McNabb performed a freestyle and trailer loading demonstration. With time still left on the clock, he rested the reins on the horse's neck and she proceeded to followed him around the arena and across a bridge.

"I had a standing ovation and everyone got emotional. The judges of the event were all cow bosses for large Canadian ranches and were not too tough to share their feelings. One of the judges even came up to me after the competition and said that he teared up when my filly followed me over the bridge at the end of my freestyle. I was thrilled to work with this filly, and the audience really enjoyed it and showed their enthusiasm," said McNabb.

For more information about Ken McNabb Apprenticeships visit http://www.kenmcnabb.com/ or call (307)645-3149.

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