Wayne County Life

Emma Minteer and Chinks, one of her Extreme Mustang Makeover horses. Minteer will be at Empire Farm Days on August 5.

Seneca Falls, NY; June 18, 2014 -  Mustangs, polo ponies, police and trail horses are all coming to the 2014 Empire Farm Days at Rodman Lott & Son Farms in Seneca Falls, NY. The Equine Center Round Pen Demonstrations at 11am and 2pm – different each day of the show -  have become an increasingly popular part of the largest outdoor agricultural trade show in the Northeastern U.S.

The complete 2014 Empire Farm Days Equine Center Round Pen Demonstrations schedule is:

Tuesday, August 5, 11am and 2pm: Just 100 Days for America’s Mustangs: From Wild to Mild with Emma and Jack Minteer

Wednesday, August 6, 11am and 2pm: Retraining Thoroughbreds for New Life as Polo Ponies and Western Trail Horses with WNY Girls Interscholastic Polo Team Manager Rob Donnan

Thursday, August 7: Developing Trust Mounted Police-Style with Joann K. Long at 11am and Ultimate Control Mounted Police-Style with Joann K. Long at 2pm.

Layden Fence and Livestock Systems and Empire Farm Days sponsor the Equine Center where visitors can register to win a new saddle.

Just 100 Days For America’s Mustangs

Emma and Jack Minteer have successfully taken just 100 days to transform a wild American Mustang into an Extreme Mustang Makeover competition horse.

In 11am and 2pm Round Pen presentations on Tuesday, August 5, Emma and Jack will demonstrate techniques for gentling the wild horses associated with the American West.

The Minteers will be working with Amazing Grace, a Mustang Emma entered in the 2014 Mustang Magic competition in January in Fort Worth, Texas and My Girl Annie with whom Jack competed in the 2013 Extreme Mustang Makeover, plus a newer horse still in training for the 2014 Extreme Mustang Makeover that starts 17 days after the Empire Farm Days presentation.

“We start with a horse that has essentially never been touched by people. We have 100 days to gain his trust and halter break and saddle train him for a competition meant to show the beauty and trainability of the Mustangs,” Emma says.

Emma and Jack own and operate Rose Hill Ranch in Naples, NY. Jack is a trainer for the Mustang Million competition in Fort Worth. After a 30-year bullriding career, Jack now competes in Reined Cow Horse events and starts colts for all equine disciplines. Together, they offer lessons, boarding, problem solving and clinics.

Kasandra Wohlschlegel and Molly Hickey are members of the Western NY Girls Interscholastic Polo Club who will be visiting the 2014 Empire Farm Days.

Northeast Polo Champs are 
Retrained Thoroughbreds

Two of the 14 NY-bred Thoroughbreds that helped the Western New York Girls Interscholastic Polo Club become Northeast Regional champions will be at the 2014 Empire Farm Days at Rodman Lott and Son Farms in Seneca Falls, NY on Wednesday, August 6. 

Horse trainer and Team Manager Rob Donnan, a Cornell University Polo Team alumnus, will demonstrate the story of how he retrained the ex-racehorses to find new life as polo ponies with four of the Western New York Girls Interscholastic Polo Club riders.

The 11am and 2pm Round Pen presentations will focus on reschooling the retired Thoroughbreds for a second career in a stop-and-go sport that features short bursts of speed and quick turns, or as Western trail horses.

The Western New York Girls Interscholastic Polo Club won the Northeast title with their NY-bred mounts; they rode horses provided at the US Polo Association National Interscholastic Championship tournament to 3^rd place honors in March of 2014.

The New York State Thoroughbred Breeding Fund sponsors the club that draw girls from Rochester, Buffalo, and WNY communities. Executive Director Tracy Egan says, “We are pleased to sponsor the Western New York Girls Interscholastic Polo Club which promotes the philosophy that Thoroughbreds should be respected at every stage of life and that after their competitive career on the track they can be readily reschooled and make perfect riding companions.”

Information on Thoroughbred rescue and adoption will be available at Empire Farm Days throughout the three-day show.

Joann K. Long will demonstrate mounted-police style horse training on Thursday, August 7 at Empire Farm Days.

Mounted Police-Style Training Showcase

Joann K. Long of Gentle Dove Farm, Bloomfield, NY, is the only mounted police volunteer to earn the North American Police Equestrian Championship Brigadier Memorial Award and multiple international grand championships.

On Thursday, August 7th at 11am, Joann will demonstrate ‘Developing Trust Mounted Police-Style’ techniques to develop horse-rider trust using basic obstacles and will perform a bridle-less demonstration.

In her 2pm ‘Ultimate Control Mounted Police-Style’ seminar, she and her mount will demonstrate a series of precision and control type obstacles as well as perform bridle-less maneuvers. 

Building block training methods will be introduced in both sessions to develop a partnership with the horse.

Joann is National Mounted Police and Toronto Police Services Certified.  Now retired from 12 years of successful competition, she has focused her efforts on providing educational horsemanship applicable to any equine discipline through mounted police-style Obstacle Clinics, workshops, lectures, demonstrations, international TV programs, and lessons presented by Gentle Dove Farm. She travels the Northeastern U.S. working with riders and their mounts in creative sensory and obstacle situations using proven police horse techniques.

More than 600 agricultural institutions and organizations offer exhibits, information seminars and educational workshops, live animal demonstrations, and farm safety and family life displays at Empire Farm Days. For more information, visit the website at www.empirefarmdays.com or call 877-697-7837.