Mustang Classic

The Wild Horse and Burro Program was created in 1971 by the Bureau of Land Management, part of the United States Department of the Interior. Its purpose was to manage the herds of feral horses and donkeys roaming lands in the Western US. This involves controlling the sizes of the herds so that they do not tax the natural resources too much and endanger themselves or other animals. Ideally the BLM tries to have the mustangs and burros that it removes from the wild adopted by individuals or organizations. This has become more challenging as the years have passed.{{cite web|url=https://www.blm.gov/programs/wild-horse-and-burro/about-the-program|title=About the Program|publisher=Bureau of Land Management|access-date=15 Sep 2024}}

File:Arizona_2004_Mustangs.jpg

In 2001, the non-profit Mustang Heritage Foundation was established aiming to help the BLM find homes for mustangs and burros collected from the wild and to minimize the number of time these animals have to remain in holding facilities. The organization has facilitated the adoption of thousands of animals.

In 2007, the MHF held its first Extreme Mustang Makeover event in Fort Worth. The Foundation arranged for 100 horse trainers to spend 100 days training 100 mustangs fresh from the wild. During the event, the trainers competed for prizes to demonstrate how domesticated their horses were and how ready for real-world use. The wildly successful event has since been held annually and similar events are now held across the country to promote interest in mustangs.{{cite web|url=https://mustangheritagefoundation.org/about|title=What we do|publisher=Mustang Heritage Foundation|access-date=15 Sep 2024}}

File:Extreme_Mustang_Makeover_(7497367202).jpg

To further advance the cause and promote acceptance of mustangs in the equestrian community, the Mustang Champions organization was founded. The organization established twin competitions for mustang trainers: the Mustang Challenge in Las Vegas featuring Western skills tournaments, and the Mustang Classic in Lexington featuring English eventing. The inaugural events were held in 2024.

File:Mustang_Classic_2024_Logo.jpg

The 2024 edition was inaugural event for the Mustang Classic. Sixty-one competitors registered to take part in the event, which took place September 13–15. It featured US$125,000 in cash and prizes, with $50,000 going to the grand champion.{{cite magazine|magazine=Practical Horseman|title=The Mustang Classic: A Celebration of Spirit and Skill|author=Buitenhuis, Julia|url=https://practicalhorsemanmag.com/competitions/the-mustang-classic-a-celebration-of-spirit-and-skill/|date=12 Sep 2024}} The presenting sponsor of the event was Practical Horseman magazine.

The top 10 heading into the finals were:

Contestants were given the option of doing the cross-country test or the working equitation test.

Because of scoring irregularities, the scores were republished more than once before being finalized. Also, Huber's withdrawal from the competition brought Phillips into the finals.

The following were the leaders for each of the classes:{{cite web | url=https://www.mustangclassic2024.com/results | title=Class Results | publisher=Mustang Champions | access-date=19 Sep 2024}}

After the freestyle finals competition, the winners were:{{cite magazine|url=https://practicalhorsemanmag.com/competitions/elissa-wallace-and-zephyr-win-inaugural-mustang-classic/|title=Elisa Wallace and Zephyr Win Inaugural Mustang Classic|magazine=Practical Horseman|author=Landwehr, Kathleen|date=16 Sep 2024}}

{{cite magazine|url=https://dressagetoday.com/news/mustangs-prove-their-dressage-prowess-at-the-2024-mustang-classic/|magazine=Dressage Today|author=Landwehr, Kathleen|date=15 Sep 2024|title=Mustangs Prove Their Dressage Prowess at the 2024 Mustang Classic }}

Elisa Wallace for her part was previously a top-10 finisher at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event in 2016, as well as an alternate for the U.S. Olympic Team.{{cite magazine | magazine=Horse Illustrated | title=Elisa Wallace: Off the Track and Off the Range | author=Jazynka, Kitson | date=27 Mar 2019 | url=https://www.horseillustrated.com/elisa-wallace-off-the-track-and-off-the-range}}

Chris Phillips and Samantha Rock were notable for having finished in the top 5 for both the Mustang Challenge and the Mustang Classic in 2024.{{cite magazine | magazine=American Horse Publications | title=Utah Resident Claims Victory and $50,000 Prize in Inaugural Mustang Challenge presented by Western Horseman and Bureau of Land Management Wild Horse and Burro Program | author=Sales, Amy | date=21 July 2024 | url=https://www.americanhorsepubs.org/newsgroup/utah-resident-claims-victory-and-50000-prize-in-inaugural-mustang-challenge-presented-by-western-horseman-and-bureau-of-land-management-wild-horse-and-burro-program/}}

The 2024 event was covered by the EQUUS television network in a livestream featuring journalist Diana de Rosa. The event was also covered by the Equestrian+ network and EventingNation.com via livestream.

Practical Horseman magazine, the chief sponsor, provided detailed written coverage. A number of other print sources covered the event including Horse Illustrated and Dressage Today.

• List of Bureau of Land Management Herd Management Areas

{{reflist}}

• [https://kyhorsepark.com/event/mustang-champions-classic/ Kentucky Horse Park: Events: Mustang Classic]
• [https://mustangchampions.org/ Mustang Champions]
• [https://equustelevision.com/watch/3606 Equus Events: On the Scene in Lexington, KY]
• [https://www.blm.gov/whb US BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program]

Category:Eventing

Category:Sports competitions in Lexington, Kentucky

Category:Equestrian sports in the United States

Category:Equestrian sports competitions

Category:Animal welfare