By Randy Parks
Burns Times-Herald

In just a few days, Harney County horse trainer Corinne Elser will load her 3-year-old filly, Dolly, into a trailer and head for Sacramento, Calif.

The trip will be the culmination of a project that began back in February when Elser was notified by the Mustang Heritage Foundation that she had been selected to compete in the Western States Horse Expo Mustang Challenge June 6-9 in Sacramento.

Elser and the other 34 select trainers from around the country were required to travel to Sacramento and pick up pre-selected wild mustangs. “It was a random draw for the horses,” Elser said. “I just backed the trailer up, and they loaded her on.”

After getting their horses, each trainer would then have 90 days to work with them before returning for the Mustang Challenge competition.

Now that those 90 days are almost up, Elser is excited and eager to show Dolly’s talents to an expected crowd of 50,000 people.

The competition

During the Mustang Challenge on Friday, June 6, each trainer will be judged on the condition of their horse, including body weight, muscle tone and weight.

Each trainer will also have to handle their horse “in-hand” through a series of maneuvers, including backing through an “L,” picking up the horse’s feet, loading it into a trailer and completing an obstacle course.

On Saturday, the competitors will complete a “horse course.” “It includes walk, trot and canter with both leads, ride in pattern, stop and back and walk over a bridge,” Elser said. “And there will be some surprises for us, too.”

The top 10 trainers will then be selected, and they will perform a four-minute freestyle routine set to music. The winner of the freestyle will then be named as the overall winner.

Background

Competing in the Mustang Challenge seems a natural progression for Elser who began riding at a very young age. “I’ve been riding since I was 2,” she smiled. “When I was 5, people used to get me to ride their ponies for them. The ponies needed to be ridden and the owners had gotten too big to do it, so I’d do it.”

After graduating from Grants Pass High School in 2003, Elser went to work as a volunteer at the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Wild Horse Corrals outside of Hines. About five months later, she began training horses professionally.

Elser is currently training 10 horses, including Dolly, and said her typical work day runs from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. “I work each horse for an hour to an hour-and-a-half each day,” she said. “They might get a day off once in a while if I have to go into town or something, but otherwise I’m out there with them every day.”

Training a wild horse is nothing new to Elser, who figures she has worked with more then 200 mustangs in the past five years.

She also tries to attend a few horse shows each year. Last year included three shows in Ontario, four with the Great Basin Saddle Club, and she showed at the Harney County Fair. “I’ve done horse shows, but none like this (Mustang Challenge).”

Dolly

Even though she didn’t get to hand-pick Dolly from the herd, Elser said she knew the filly was special from the start, which led to her moniker. “She was easy from the first day, and I kept telling her, ‘You’re such a doll,’ ” Elser said. “I know the name is kind of corny, but it fit.”

Dolly was gathered from the Coppersmith Herd Management Area, which includes land in both Nevada and California, but she seems right at home in Harney County. “She might get a little hyperactive at times, but for the most part, she’s a great horse,” Elser said.

Elser has already had Dolly at some recent brandings and other gatherings, as well as taking her to a horse show in Ontario a few weeks ago. “There were a lot of people there, clapping and making noise, but she did OK,” Elser said. “There’s going to be a much bigger crowd in Sacramento, and she might be a little nervous at first, but I think she’ll do OK.”

Mustang Challenge

Elser said that she and her mother attended a mustang show in Texas last September, and it looked like something she wanted to do. “I like challenges,” she laughed. “I’m always up for a challenge, and I feel like I’m ready for this one.”

Following the competition, the horses will be auctioned off and each trainer will get 20 percent of the winning bid. “We also get $500 for our work, but with fuel prices as high as they are, you’re really not making money,” Elser said. “But it’s not about the money. I do it for the fun of it.

Watching Elser ride Dolly around the practice ring, it’s obvious there is mutual respect and affection and that both are ready for the challenge.