Joshua 1:5b-6a, 9a "I will be with thee; I will not fail thee, nor forsake the. Be strong and of a good courage: be not
afraid;"
UPDATED AFTER THE COMPETITION! KEEP READING TO FIND OUT HOW WE DID!
God picked and named Joshua for me and this competition. Sitting in church one Sunday, right after I had applied for
this competition, the message was on trusting in the Lord and being courageous when facing adversity. I was sitting
there with my left leg staring back at me with a scar like no other and my right leg sending me constant reminders of
the possibility I might not be able to compete in the competition even if I got selected as one of the one hundred
trainers. I wasn't still using a walker to get around, but I was hobbling and not getting very far. Pain was shooting
through me and yet the Pastors words seemed to be just for me that day. If you read my story on how I got injured in
the first place you'll read how God healed my soul, but physically I had a long way to go. The Pastor spoke of
Joshua and how God had a great plan for him, to be "strong and courageous and that He would be with Joshua no
matter what Joshua's path had before him. Wow! As the Pastor went on about a trusting relationship with God and
how depending on Him to keep us safe would produce peace in our lives, it all came together. I would name my
mustang "Joshua", if it was God's will for me to be in the competition. I had a peace that God was going to make me
heal enough physically to do this. I prayed for God to pick for me the right horse and from that day on I have trusted
him to help me work hard, not only at training my mustang, but to get through the physical therapy and work to get my
legs back. When the call came to ask if I would accept the offer to be one of the trainers, we prayed and waited for a
MRI of my leg. The answer from the doctor came back that I would not have to have surgery, but that trying to train a
mustang and then compete would be out of the question. He did not know me. My physical therapist and my
chiropractor both said it was possible and that with hard work I could make it, maybe not at 100%, but make it
happen. God's plan is sometimes not the easy one, it is sometimes hard work and includes pain, but as we go
through life it is the hard times and the pain that help us grow and get stronger and more courageous to face what is
before us.
Then I met Joshua and God has been using him as a great tool of healing in my life. When I first saw him I was
overwhelmed with how beautiful he was. As I looked at him he looked right back at me, as if to say "here I am, I think
we are supposed to be friends, but you have to prove it first." He calmly walked out of his pen, into the shoot, and
into my trailer. He would come up and sniff our hands as long as we didn't reach in. He was already being brave and
courageous. Three days later Joshua had learned a "come to me" cue and discovered I was pretty nice. He gave his
heart to me that day, he decided, he made a choice to trust me. He is truly an amazing horse and has provided for
me a special healing to my soul from fear and a over worked life. After a bad horse wreck, it is hard to heal your sub
conscience from the natural instinct of fear. God has used Joshua to help heal my heart and soul and renew my joy
and confidence in horses.
Joshua is doing amazing. He is one of the easiest horses I have ever started under saddle, even though he has a
mind of his own, his heart and try is always on. He wants to please and find the right answer. He likes and wants to
be with me and enjoys our time together. He has gone on the rode with me and traveled to Colorado and Iowa. Trail
riding was a breeze and he loves being the Star at my demos. I think Oreo may even be a little jealous over the
attention he is getting. He is strong and courageous and faces obstacles with confidence and trust in me that even if
it is scary I will be there with him to get him through. He is an amazing partner and great to work with. God has a plan
for him and for me. I am not 100% healed, but with God's grace I have healed way faster than the Doc's said I should.
God has given me the strength and courage to work to get my legs back. I am still in a brace and will be for a long
time, but I am starting to be able to not only walk fine, but run a ways to. I have had to come up with ways to train a
little differently as my leg would not allow me to run or move to quickly, but it has just made me a better trainer. God
knew this was going to happen and will make me a better trainer and person through it. I look forward to the
competition and plan to go and have fun, doing the best Joshua and I can do with God's help.
THE COMPETITION!
Joshua did absolutely amazing at the competition. 20% of our score was for the condition of the horse, some what of
a before and after. Joshua did well scoring high on hair coat and a #5 for weight gain. However, being small we
started out the competition in 47 place. 30% of our score was the ground work portion, where Joshua and I had to
complete a pattern given by the judges. Joshua performed flawlessly on the pattern I asked him to do, however I
mixed up two of the obstacles out of order. Being that the judges judged the course as a Showmanship at halter
class, Joshua and I was given a 0 for the ground work portion due to human error, not horse performance. On to the
horse course, or ride portion of the event and Joshua and I knocked there socks off scoring in 2nd place over all for
the ride course. I could not be more proud of Joshua. He trusted me and was so completely courageous at the
entire event. If it was not for my human error we would of finished in the top five of horses and gone on to the finals.
God used Joshua to help me recover from the disappointment of being disqualified by staying calm and loving me
with his whole heart and soul. This event has truly changed my life and I was honored to be a part of it. I hope that
next year some of the kinks of putting on a new event will be changed as to showcase the horses ability to complete
the task set before them instead of focusing on the humans ability to remember a pattern. Sunday at the adoption
Joshua's adoption price exceeded the Champion of the event, of course Ryan and my friends and family bought him
for me! Thank you so much to all of you who came down and supported me! I encourage you ALL to consider a
Mustang for your next horse and come in 2008 for the next Extreme Mustang Makeover!
afraid;"
UPDATED AFTER THE COMPETITION! KEEP READING TO FIND OUT HOW WE DID!
God picked and named Joshua for me and this competition. Sitting in church one Sunday, right after I had applied for
this competition, the message was on trusting in the Lord and being courageous when facing adversity. I was sitting
there with my left leg staring back at me with a scar like no other and my right leg sending me constant reminders of
the possibility I might not be able to compete in the competition even if I got selected as one of the one hundred
trainers. I wasn't still using a walker to get around, but I was hobbling and not getting very far. Pain was shooting
through me and yet the Pastors words seemed to be just for me that day. If you read my story on how I got injured in
the first place you'll read how God healed my soul, but physically I had a long way to go. The Pastor spoke of
Joshua and how God had a great plan for him, to be "strong and courageous and that He would be with Joshua no
matter what Joshua's path had before him. Wow! As the Pastor went on about a trusting relationship with God and
how depending on Him to keep us safe would produce peace in our lives, it all came together. I would name my
mustang "Joshua", if it was God's will for me to be in the competition. I had a peace that God was going to make me
heal enough physically to do this. I prayed for God to pick for me the right horse and from that day on I have trusted
him to help me work hard, not only at training my mustang, but to get through the physical therapy and work to get my
legs back. When the call came to ask if I would accept the offer to be one of the trainers, we prayed and waited for a
MRI of my leg. The answer from the doctor came back that I would not have to have surgery, but that trying to train a
mustang and then compete would be out of the question. He did not know me. My physical therapist and my
chiropractor both said it was possible and that with hard work I could make it, maybe not at 100%, but make it
happen. God's plan is sometimes not the easy one, it is sometimes hard work and includes pain, but as we go
through life it is the hard times and the pain that help us grow and get stronger and more courageous to face what is
before us.
Then I met Joshua and God has been using him as a great tool of healing in my life. When I first saw him I was
overwhelmed with how beautiful he was. As I looked at him he looked right back at me, as if to say "here I am, I think
we are supposed to be friends, but you have to prove it first." He calmly walked out of his pen, into the shoot, and
into my trailer. He would come up and sniff our hands as long as we didn't reach in. He was already being brave and
courageous. Three days later Joshua had learned a "come to me" cue and discovered I was pretty nice. He gave his
heart to me that day, he decided, he made a choice to trust me. He is truly an amazing horse and has provided for
me a special healing to my soul from fear and a over worked life. After a bad horse wreck, it is hard to heal your sub
conscience from the natural instinct of fear. God has used Joshua to help heal my heart and soul and renew my joy
and confidence in horses.
Joshua is doing amazing. He is one of the easiest horses I have ever started under saddle, even though he has a
mind of his own, his heart and try is always on. He wants to please and find the right answer. He likes and wants to
be with me and enjoys our time together. He has gone on the rode with me and traveled to Colorado and Iowa. Trail
riding was a breeze and he loves being the Star at my demos. I think Oreo may even be a little jealous over the
attention he is getting. He is strong and courageous and faces obstacles with confidence and trust in me that even if
it is scary I will be there with him to get him through. He is an amazing partner and great to work with. God has a plan
for him and for me. I am not 100% healed, but with God's grace I have healed way faster than the Doc's said I should.
God has given me the strength and courage to work to get my legs back. I am still in a brace and will be for a long
time, but I am starting to be able to not only walk fine, but run a ways to. I have had to come up with ways to train a
little differently as my leg would not allow me to run or move to quickly, but it has just made me a better trainer. God
knew this was going to happen and will make me a better trainer and person through it. I look forward to the
competition and plan to go and have fun, doing the best Joshua and I can do with God's help.
THE COMPETITION!
Joshua did absolutely amazing at the competition. 20% of our score was for the condition of the horse, some what of
a before and after. Joshua did well scoring high on hair coat and a #5 for weight gain. However, being small we
started out the competition in 47 place. 30% of our score was the ground work portion, where Joshua and I had to
complete a pattern given by the judges. Joshua performed flawlessly on the pattern I asked him to do, however I
mixed up two of the obstacles out of order. Being that the judges judged the course as a Showmanship at halter
class, Joshua and I was given a 0 for the ground work portion due to human error, not horse performance. On to the
horse course, or ride portion of the event and Joshua and I knocked there socks off scoring in 2nd place over all for
the ride course. I could not be more proud of Joshua. He trusted me and was so completely courageous at the
entire event. If it was not for my human error we would of finished in the top five of horses and gone on to the finals.
God used Joshua to help me recover from the disappointment of being disqualified by staying calm and loving me
with his whole heart and soul. This event has truly changed my life and I was honored to be a part of it. I hope that
next year some of the kinks of putting on a new event will be changed as to showcase the horses ability to complete
the task set before them instead of focusing on the humans ability to remember a pattern. Sunday at the adoption
Joshua's adoption price exceeded the Champion of the event, of course Ryan and my friends and family bought him
for me! Thank you so much to all of you who came down and supported me! I encourage you ALL to consider a
Mustang for your next horse and come in 2008 for the next Extreme Mustang Makeover!
