Wahl Clipper's famous wild mustang, "Nevada Joe", his current owner Diane Purcelli, and Equine Extremist Tommie Turvey at the Wahl Equestrian Center in Sterling, IL. (May 2005)

Here is "Nevada Joe" and Tommie relaxing in the sun.  

Here is Tommie with "Nevada Joe" at their home at the Wahl Equestrian Center in Sterling, IL. Before "Nevada Joe" went to work with theraputic riding kids in Montana, Tommie showed that even a wild mustang can have fun! With only a few days to work with him, Tommie got "Nevada Joe" to laydown and be comfortable enough to turn over on his back. It takes a lot of trust and knowledge from a trainer to get a horse to do this. "Nevada Joe's" current owner, Diane Purcelli, was amazed at what Tommie had accomplished with him in just 3 days. Tommie was confident enough with Diane that she could continue with "Nevada Joe" and get him to do the same. She said the last trainer who tried to lay him down ended up with each of them almost getting hurt, so she gave up on the idea until Wahl asked Tommie to put his techniques to the test with "Nevada Joe". I guess that's why Tommie is the resident trainer and director of the Wahl Equestrian Center. Tommie is really excited about the new mustangs and is looking forward to the new challange. (Photos by Dustin/Wahl Clippers)

Here are four of the wild mustangs that are the new residents of the Wahl Equestrian Center. BLM Wild Mustangs. The yearling Paint is on the lower left and the new Buckskin is in the center. Cindy and Connie from Double G are the adopters of the other two in the photo. 

Here is one of the new wild mustangs we adopted from the BLM. He is a 3 year old buckskin gelding. He is a true "spirit" of the wild mustangs.  

BLM Adoption this weekend

This weekend we have the BLM Horse and Burro Adoption at the training center. Wahl sponsored the event which will give up to 60 mustangs a new home. We looked over the horses and picked out a 1 year old Pinto, the same colors as Pokerjoe. We also found a nice 3 year old bucksin with black mane and hocks. He's very beautiful. It was amazing to watch these wild mustangs. They look and act like regular horses, but are much more protective and a lot more animated. They watch your every move and use their numbers as a pack to keep you at a distance. I wanted to take them all home. They were mostly underweight and had scars from life in the wild. Our Pinto came from the wilderness of Oregon. I didn't get a chance to see the brand on the Buckskin, so I'm not sure where he came from. You can tell these guys live a hard life. Not knowing where their next meal is coming from or if they are going to make it to tomorrow from the predators. Our family has owned many wild mustangs, so I understand the challange they possess. Most horses are bred for their temperment and look. Mustangs are the wildest form of a horse. You don't know what you are getting, where they came from, and what they had to go through since they were born to make it here today. They are also an incredible source of inspiration. Looking in their eyes gives a whole new meaning to caring for a horse. It is a big responsibility and with any horse takes a lot of patience, understanding, and time. With Mustangs it is that times 100. We have quite a challange ahead of us with these two new additions to our stables. I'll keep you posted on their progress. We're going to have a contest with WAHL on naming one of them, so that should be fun. Tommie was supposed to be updating this blog too, but he has been extremely busy. He is performing at a rodeo in Decora, IA this weekend with Three Hills Rodeo. The company has been growing by leaps and bounds. We have putting together the business plan and goals, editing training videos, scheduling training, talking with sponsors, and adding needed processes. Just trying to keep up with what is coming in is tough enough, then you have to plan for growth and target your energy to the most goal achieving parts of the business, even when it isn't as fun as riding or training. Tommie is an incredible entertainer and clinician, where I have been concentrating on the business and training. His appeal is amazing. Millions of people have seen his Absorbine commercial and are interested in his training. We are looking at a number of projects to target Tommie's talents. He hasn't had a week off this year, except for the week we went to Cancun. We get calls from shows we have never heard of to perform or give a clinic. Tommie's name is getting around and his popularity is skyrocketing. He will probably blush when he reads this, but he deserves all the recognition. He has been working horses and entertaining since I can remember. (...and I grew up with him.)
We head to Clinton Anderson's place to film for RFD TV, so keep you eyes open for that, and then head to the North East for a private clinic, Delaware State Fair, and PRCA Rodeos in Maryland. Time to go check on the mustangs. I'm sure they are fine, but I just want to let them know I'm here for them.
Email me at karen@equineextremist.net or reply with a comment here. JUST CLICK ON THE WORD COMMENT.
Ride Fast... Take Chances!
karen

Happy 4th of July!

Happy Independence Day to everyone. We're having a get together today with bunch of friends to play paintball, volleyball, listen to music and eat BBQ all day. We were watching videos of our Cavalia days yesterday, where we lived in Toronto at this nice little apartment and how safe it felt to walk around at night in the city, driving in the snow and freezing cold in Montreal over Christmas, taking walks along San Francisco Bay with our dogs in the spring, and the 4th of July in Seattle at the Park with all the fireworks and cast from the show there. We met a lot of incredible people along the way. Every city we would meet someone who was so generous and helpful. They would plan parties for us, or take us to dinner, give us directions to the best places to go, and help us with our new "home". So, now that we are really "home", we are putting on a party for the people we know here to kinda keep the circle going. We still keep in contact with most of them via email along with the cast members. A few of my friends from the show have left since I left in January 2005, and of course the show will go on. That's show business! I wish Fred Pignon and Magali Delgado, the equestrian directors of Cavalia, the best of success. They deserve a lot. It was such a joy working with them and riding their Lusitanos. As the quarter horse trainer, I worked all of the quarter horses and rode 3 in the show, but I also got to ride english on "Chucaro" during the "Carousel". You can still see me in the photo they use for the press with the other 5 riders. I convinced Ricky Suarez, who I worked with at Arabian Nights in Orlando, (and is still in the show) to come with me to Canada and be in this new and wonderful show back in May of 2003. It was a new adventure we embarked on, in a new country, and when we arrived to start training the horses it was in a small horse farm with horses that needed to be trained for the show. Only a couple had stage experience. The time table was to open the show in August. It seemed like an impossible task, but quite the challenge. What we did along with many talented craftsman, choreographers, musicians, photographers, designers, and artists was what you see today as Cavalia.
So, thanks to all of the well wishes and emails. I love to get mail, so keep them coming. I'll try and answer all of them whatever it may be. karen@equineextremist.net
So Happy 4th to Christine, Tony, Pat, Tim, June, Christiana, Karine, Deb, Diane, Dana, and Alex. Thanks for everything and making the world a better and nicer place.
Ride Fast... Take Chances!
karen