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Trainers Challenge at the Mane Event - Day One

May 25, 2008

Red Deer, AB --- Three top trainers had their first encounter with three unbroke two-year-old fillies as the crowd favourite Trainers Challenge got underway at the Mane Event at Westerner Park in Red Deer Friday.

Jon Ensign from Montana entered the round pen first with Jose, one of the registered Quarter Horse fillies supplied by Lukacs Farms of Olds, AB. The horse, which was assigned to Ensign through a draw, appeared to be soft minded and willing, but the more resistant of the three horses supplied by Lukacs Farms of Olds, AB.

Second up for the first of his four sessions was Craig Cameron, who was recently inducted into the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame. He drew the horse Remedy, who he managed to drive with one rein and then later mount.

The third trainer into the round pen was last year’s Trainers Challenge champion, Steve Rother of Oregon, who worked with Shay, and ended the hour session by briefly standing atop the saddled horse, a demonstration that his fans have come to expect, though not usually during a first training session.

Mel Hyland, a member of both the US and Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame, is one of the judges for the Challenge, which will declare a Champion after a finals on Sunday. He said he was totally impressed with what he saw in the first sessions. “There are three very qualified horsemen there,” he said. “Each of the three guys have their own way but they are all using extremely good horsemanship.”

“I think that they each presented their training styles very well to the audience,” said Bob Kaufman, who is judging a Trainers Challenge for the first time. “I think the information presented by all three is very valuable to the people attending here,” said Kaufman, a lifelong horseman and a working cowboy from Brooks, AB who has started thousands of colts. “It’s just a matter of people choosing what they can understand the best. If you switch the trainers with the horses you may get different responses but in the end I think that all three will be very well started.”

“I was very impressed with what they got done,” said Ron Hoffman of Vermilion, AB, who is an instructor in the Ranch and Stock Horse Rider program at Lakeland College.

Lukacs Farms’ owner John Lukacs said the fillies had only been halter broke and trimmed before being brought to the Mane Event. “We saved them specifically for the Trainers Challenge so we tried to do as little as possible with them,” he said. All were sired by Lukacs Farms’ stallion Josappy.

“The stallion has a good temperament and these fillies are all good quality,” said Lukacs. They’re athletic. They’re bred for performance.”

The Trainers Challenge continues Saturday with the trainers each having two sessions in the round pen.

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