BRAVE HORSE

APRIL     2012

Welcome to the Extreme Cowboy Association   

We are excited about 2012 and the many fun filled and exciting Extreme Cowboy Racing events that are on the schedule.  The formation of EXCA has been an thrilling and challenging adventure! Many people have worked tirelessly to create an association that you will be proud to tell your friends about.

This is the latest issue of your monthly newsletter, The Brave Horse.

You will receive it each month electronically around the middle of the month.  The Brave Horse will be full of interesting stories, EXCA event results, point standings, human interest stories about EXCA members and Tips and Tales from our founder, Craig Cameron.  We encourage you to communicate your suggestions for stories and ideas that will make The Brave Horse fun, better and more informative.  The Brave Horse the best newsletter in the equine world.

Please forward your ideas and suggestions to Frank Turben at webmaster@extremecowboyassociation.com

Stories From Craig Cameron

Perseverance - Riding the Tough Ones (continued)

Sage got regular sessions in the round pen.  He was not the type of horse you'd ever want to miss working on. I worked with him afoot, and I worked with him from other horses.  I desensitized, sacked out and ponied him on a regular schedule, at least once a day and sometimes three sessions per day.  This horse truly tested my patience more than any horse and most mules could.  The way young Sage bucked with me the first saddling, I knew he was an outlaw; but more importantly, I could see that he was a great athlete.  That athleticism made me determined not to quit on this horse.  I knew if I could get that athletic ability to work positively, instead of negatively, he'd be a great horse.I had a young apprentice at the time named John Ross.  John was all "cowboy" and was working hard to become a horseman.  I think you needed to be both to deal with Sage.  John and I'd take turns topping him out.  He was the kind of horse that was no fun.  Sage was dangerous.  One of us would snub and the other would ride.  It was tough going.  If you could stay on Sage, your problems were not over.  He might settle down for a while, and then break in two again.  Nerve-wracking was the way I think John put it.  He was right, and these sessions were always long.

One more thing, getting off Sage was just hard and as dangerous as getting on.  If you have ever been on a horse you couldn't get off of, then you know what I'm talking about.  I'd lean over to get off and away Sage would go again.  We used the rodeo pickup-man style of get-off or the just-jump-and-onto-the-fence-to-save-your-life type exit.  On several occasions, we discussed, where Sage could hear us, of course, getting rid of that S.O.B.  Determination got the best of me, however, and I kept on.

Slowly, Sage improved.  First bridling, first circles, first pasture ride - the slow process began to show some progress.  It seemed Sage's job in life was to make everything hard.  I must say, though, he did have natural talent.  Great natural stoops, turns and spins seemed effortless to Sage.  In spite of the long, dark journey, a small light of hope began to break through.  A year and a half came and went, and Sage became quite the item and topic of conversation at the ranch.  Not totally trustworthy, by any means, Sage, in spite of himself, was getting good.

One afternoon one of the new apprentices spoke about Sage being hard-headed, hard-to-handle, ill-tempered and just plain old mean.  Laughingly, Dalene said, "That sounds like Craig." Everyone howled and got a good laugh, but from that moment on Sage became "Craig."

Throughout the training process, I kept Mark Chestnut, my good "friend," abreast of this interesting horse.  We had many good laughs and, needless to say, Mark pleaded innocent of any prior knowledge about Craig at the time of the sale.  He did, however, say he wanted to ride him for a while.

Craig spent a whole year with Mark.  In that time, Mark never sent even one bill. I kept telling him I'd come and pick up Craig, and he'd just laugh and say, "No." I'd ask how the horse was doing and he'd casually comment, "Oh, he's doing okay." I was never sure if he was riding him or what he was doing.  Finally, I insisted that I'd better come and get him. When I got to his ranch, Mark surprised me with an incredible horsemanship demonstration of roping, cutting and reining skills on the outlaw Craig.  What a great job Mark had done! Craig still snorted when approached, and Mark had to admit that he still could not get him shod.  In an unguarded moment, Craig had even bucked off Mark once.  But Craig was the athlete I knew he could be.

I now do colt-breaking, reining, and cutting demonstrations on this amazing horse.  The crowds love him.  Still, he has an unbelievable sense of self-preservation about him.  That's what makes him unique and, in some ways, I think that's what I like about him most.  I always say the toughest horses teach you the most.  It's raw horsemanship and that takes lots of desire, determination and dedication on the part of the horseman.

When last I talked to John Ross, he asked me if Craig was still tough.  I told him, "Yeah, he's still more than a little snorty."

Excerpt from:  RIDE SMART by Craig Cameron with Kathy Swan.  Page 156  & 157.  Published by Western Horseman.