Area youth to compete in the Wild Horse Youth Challenge at the Kansas State Fair
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NORMAN. Okla. – The Bureau of Land Management will co-host the Wild Horse Youth Challenge along with the Kansas State Fair and a group of volunteers, Sept. 14-15 at the Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson. The event will feature eighteen youth, ages 10-17, who began gentling and training a yearling wild horse last May. The youth will compete in three in-hand events, a showmanship class, a trail class around obstacles and a freestyle class at the fair.
After the show, on Sunday, Sept. 15, some of the trained yearlings will be available to qualified buyers via competitive bid. Any amount above $25 will be retained by the youth trainer. Some youth trainers have opted to keep their horses; therefore, those horses will not be available. Ten youth have decided to offer their trained yearling horses for competitive bid.
“This is the second year for this event. It’s amazing to see what the youth can accomplish in four months of training a yearling wild horse,” said Pat Williams, Wild Horse & Burro Program Manager for BLM. “The youth are developing their horsemanship skills while helping us place wild horses into private care.”
The animals offered at the event are yearling horses that once roamed free on public lands in the West. The BLM periodically removes excess animals from the range in order to maintain healthy herds and to protect other rangeland resources. The adoption and sale program is essential for achieving these important management goals. Since 1973, the BLM has placed more than 235,000 of these animals in approved homes across the country.
For more information, call 866-468-7826 or visit www.blm.gov.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.