Inspiration Archives ⋆ Page 26 of 27 ⋆ The Whoa Podcast

Vaquero Heritage Trainer Challenge Podcast

November 4, 2014 by John Leave a Comment

Vaquero Heritage Trainer Challenge Podcast

You’ve heard the pre-show episode. You’ve seen the video. Now, you get to hear the in-depth interviews with the folks from the Vaquero Heritage Trainer Challenge. Each trainer had a horse in training for 3-4 months. Then, during the event, they had a young horse to work with.

We speak to Diana Palmer, care-taker of the Wild Horses of Oak Creek and learn more about the horses and their history – or what’s known about them.

Dave Lemley, rides with the Search and Rescue civilian side of the LAPD. As a trainer, we catch up it Dave right after leaving his young horse on Day 1. Dave talks about his goals in horse training and how he accomplished them. Next up is Amber McGee, a local gal new to horse training. Amber is involved in The Life Savers Wild Horse Rescue in Tehachapi. she talks about what is like learning her craft and working with feral horses. She also credits Whoa Podcast friend and trainer Matt Sheridan with helping her learn so much about horsemanship.

Monica Whitmer was not sure she would fit in. She is an English rider and performs Dressage. After consulting with the organizers, she decided to put her skills to the test. Monica loves these feral Oak Creek horses. She calls them Tehachapi Mountain Horses. Monica tells us her plans of training one or two of these horses every year.

Steve Perron works in the movie business but his heart is with the feral horse. Steve also volunteers with Life Savers Wild Horse Rescue. A tinkerer at heart, Steve builds horse carriages out of PVC and hooks up young horses. He feels it is important to get these horses used to whatever may come their way.

Dave Wratchford has been training horses for twenty years. Originally from the east coast, Dave now lives out west. Dave talks about the horse get a job and doing it right away. Dave came into the long side of the competition late. He quickly caught up and had his horse working on cattle.

We also have a conversation with judge Jeff Ohaco from Ojai. He offers some insight into how the event was judged. He also gives us his thoughts on this type of training.

Maryanne Murray came to watch the event. After sitting in the stands for three days watching the training, she could not resist. During the auction she bid on and won a Oak Creek horse.

Finally, we catch back up with Jeremy Dunn who gives some final thoughts on the trainers and the events.

This just in:

Trainer David Wratchford is holding a clinic. Check out DWClinic.com

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We have well over 60 episodes up now and you can find them all for free on iTunes, with our Android App in the Amazon store, and now Stitcher, or wherever podcasts are distributed. Get the Stitcher app and let us know how it works. It’s Free. You can also find every episode and more about the show at whoapodcast.com. Please join our email list. Get in on the conversation with Facebook and Twitter – just look for WhoaPodcast.

Please let us know your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions for the show. You can email us at: John@WhoaPodcast.com

Thanks for listening.

John & Ranae

Episode #037

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Vaquero Heritage Trainers Challenge

September 30, 2014 by John 3 Comments

Vaquero Heritage Trainers Challenge

Photo by Diana Palmer

The Vaquero Heritage Trainers Challenge is happening October 10th, 11th, and 12th at the Sterling Arena in Tehachapi. Using the feral horses of the Oak Creek Canyon Ranch, five trainers are working ten horses. The first horse each trainer will show is one they received from Oak Creek back in June. They have been able to work with the horse, create a bond, and will be showing off their talents.

The second horse they will be seeing for the first time at the Vaquero Heritage Trainers Challenge. They will have three days to build a relationship and put a start on the horse. The horses of Oak Creek Canyon are believed to be descended from Morgan horses that were turned loose or escaped from some early Morgan horse breeders in the area. With California in the midst of a severe drought, the feral herd has taken its toll on the land. In an effort to bring the land and the horses back in balance, efforts are being made to more effectively manage the herd. The horses are smart, sure-footed, and have a good disposition.

Photo by Diana Palmer

Jeremy Dunn of the JB Cattle Co. is the organizer of the Vaquero Heritage Trainers Challenge and joins us on the show to talk about the format of the event, the trainers up for the challenge and these very unique horses.

Contact Us

Please let us know your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions for the show. You can email us at: John@WhoaPodcast.com

Thanks for listening.

John & Ranae

Episode #036

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Reckless Korean War Horse Marine Hero

September 23, 2014 by John 3 Comments

Reckless Korean War Horse Marine Hero

Episode #035

Have you heard the story of Reckless Korean War Horse Marine hero? Janet Barrett has written a wonderful account of a Jeju pony “drafted” by the U.S. Marines Fifth Regiment’s Recoilless Rifle Platoon. From the racetrack of Korea, Reckless grew into a real-life hero of the Korean War. On today’s show Janet joins us to share some of the stories about this amazing little horse. We get to know about the background of the men who took a chance on Reckless. We also gain some insight into how Reckless returned that trust.

Janet’s has written the book, They Called Her Reckless – A True Story of War, Love and One Extraordinary Horse. It is a fascinating true story of how a horse bonded with her Marine “herd” to become an integral part in the Battle of Outpost Vegas of the Korean War.

Janet not only tells the story of Reckless’ war heroics, but she also paints a wonderful portrait of her personality that endeared her to generals, officers, and enlisted men alike. The book covers the life of Reckless based on extensive interviews with over 60 Korean War veterans. The book is a wonderful read. Janet is a great storyteller and wonderful interview. More importantly, Janet offers background on the Korean War, sometimes referred to as The Forgotten War.

Returning home to Camp Pendleton in California, Reckless attended ceremonies for the Marine Corp. She continued receiving promotions and reached the rank of Staff Sergeant before her retirement. A statue of Reckless charging up a hill stands at the National Museum of the Marine Corp in Virginia.

If you have a soft spot for heartwarming horse stories, you will love the story of Reckless Korean war horse Marine hero.

Links for this show:

Janet Barrett

Order Reckless from Amazon

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National Museum of the Marine Corp

Contact Us

Please let us know your thought, ideas, and suggestions for the show. You can email us at: John@WhoaPodcast.com

Thanks for listening.

John & Ranae

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Gaining Respect and Control On The Ground – Series I

December 17, 2012 by John Leave a Comment

Jessie and I work through the first eight exercises in Clinton Anderson’s Downunder Horsemanship Gaining Respect and Control on the Ground, Series I, DVD. This is the video that started it all back in 2007. I wanted to know if a regular guy like me, who had a limited knowledge of horses (and no knowledge of horse behavior) could utilize a learn-by-watching-dvd system to train a horse without killing himself. It turns out it can be done. We followed the methods described on the videos as closely as we could and Jessie became a solid, respectful, and safe trail horse. The Clinton Anderson Method is laid out simply in these dvd’s. We simply started at the beginning of Gaining Respect and Control on the Ground with exercise 1. Once we felt we had accomplished that we moved on to number 2. Before long I had a trusting quiet horse and learned a great deal in the process.

Jessie At Liberty -Nov 2008

December 17, 2012 by John Leave a Comment

Working at liberty is always a fun challenge. Jessie has improved a lot over the last few months. Looking back I didn’t really do a very good job of starting her off at liberty very well and had to come back and work really hard to have her “hook up” with me. We still have a long way to go. Compare to the first one seven months ago.