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Colts ‘Take Their First Trip to Town’ Under Guidance of Ft. Worth, Texas — Within 15 minutes of the first day of colt starting, several of the colt starters at Pat Parelli Presents Colt Starting Naturally were lithely climbing up on their colts’ backs bareback. It was clear however that some of the colts were not going to be won over so quickly. Such was the scene last weekend in Fort Worth, Texas for the first ever "Pat Parelli Presents" event. This one, dubbed Colt Starting Naturally, focused on the difference between town and performance raised horses with more handling versus ranch-raised colts with far less human interaction. The event was divided into a morning and an afternoon session – town horses in the morning and ranch ready colts from the legendary Pitchfork Ranch in the afternoon.
California’s Atwood Ranch, which utilizes what they call a Parelli Pre-School Program for their young horses, provided six two year-old colts in the morning session. Catherine Sapienza, who co-manages Atwood Ranch along with her husband Mike, said she couldn’t have been more pleased with how the colts took the excitement and educational development of the weekend. "We felt like proud grandparents watching the ‘kids’ in their first grade play! We were very proud of them, they all did a great job, as did the professionals that Pat had out there. The colts just took it in stride as the next stage of their education. It was one of the quietest colt starts I’ve ever been to," said Sapienza. Trevor Carter, one of the professionals Parelli invited to the event, may have begged to differ about the quiet part as he watched his colt earnestly bucking and cow kicking time and again throughout the weekend, but then, he was not riding an Atwood colt. Carter, who starts young horses for the illustrious Slate River Ranch in Weatherford, TX, took on the seemingly simple task of starting a young filly that his mother-in-law had brought to the event. The young horse was anything but an easy win for Carter however. With Parelli’s help, a lion’s share of good horsemanship and abundant ingenuity, over three days the pair won over the filly. She was a challenge well above what is generally seen in public colt startings
The well-respected Pitchfork Ranch provided eight good looking colts for the afternoon sessions of the event. Bred to cover ground and have cow sense, these colts presented an exciting challenge to the team of professionals. Instead of round penning the colts as is common in public colt startings, Parelli and team caught the colts out of the herd quietly and proceeded to work with them online. When it came time for the first ride, to the thrill of the crowd, all eight colts were ridden at once in a herd, with Parelli giving advice and directing traffic in the arena. Perhaps the most remarkable part of the event was the teamwork and support evident not only from Parelli to the professionals, but all the kindnesses, large and small the colt starters showed one another. If one of the horsemen was struggling to get a horse to move or accept, suddenly, quietly, there would be a helpful hand. A subtle assist, a step, a well-placed hand or intention all toward the greater good of seeing the group of young horses experience the best possible relationship imaginable. Brooks Hodges, manager for the Pitchfork Ranch perhaps said it best, "there’s a lot of patience in the arena. The horses are curious about what’s going on and it’s their first trip to town. It’s all gone smooth." Though there was plenty of rodeo worthy bucking, the event was not about the traditional NASCAR excitement of seeing who’d crash or how wild and wooly a colt starting can be. This event was about finesse. It would not be going too far to say the horsemen had a reverent regard for the important task that lay at hand- to see that young horses got the best possible start. The event was about truth and potential, a life gone right versus wrong, a helping hand extended, a triumph of horsemanship for the elite crowd of spectators who slowed down long enough to take in the value of an elegant and graceful approach. It was as far from the rock concert style of today’s star equine clinicians as one can possibly imagine. It was all about the horse. At the end of the weekend, the colts from the Pitchfork Ranch had apparently not had all the interaction they longed for, as they good naturedly swarmed the professionals as they were posing for photos and interviews. For Linda Parelli, this was the highlight of the weekend. "What I loved seeing was how those colts chose to be with the professionals. It was proof positive of what it means when we say "put the relationship first". It was tear-jerking to see colts that two days before would turn the other way when they saw a human come from the other side of the arena and nose in when the team was posing for photos!" she said. A second Pat Parelli Presents event is scheduled for July 29-31, 2011 in Reno, Nevada. This event will showcase a similar format to the Ft. Worth event, but the horses will be BLM gathered mustangs who have been unhandled by humans previously. For more information on that event, or to purchase tickets, visit www.parelli.com.
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About Parelli
The Parelli Program, founded in 1981 by lifelong horseman and teacher Pat Parelli, combines in-depth equine psychology and common sense communication techniques into the ultimate recipe for horse and rider success. The Parelli method allows horse owners at all levels of experience to achieve success without force, partnership without dominance and harmony without coercion. Pat and wife Linda are on a mission to make the world a better place for horses and humans, working to inspire, empower and educate through natural horsemanship. Their award-winning educational TV series can be seen on cable and satellite in the USA and UK. |
Parelli had invited some top hands to help him for the weekend; Berin MacFarlane, Kalley Krickeberg, John Baar, Ryan Rose, Jake Shoemark, Trevor Carter, Rhett Fincher and James Roberts. They came from as close as 30 minutes away and as far as a continent away on the invitation of their mentor to be part of the unusual event that Parelli promised would be "beautiful, exciting and educational."
"All horses need to move through the magic formula of Accepting the Human, Accepting the Saddle, Accepting the Rider and finally Accepting the Bit. If you ride roughshod over any of these steps you end up realizing only a fraction of the potential a horse is capable of," says Parelli.
