2008 Event
 Cox is Two for Two
See photos from 2008
Defending champion Chris Cox (Mineral Wells, Texas) emerged victorious at his second Road to the Horse competition with his win Sunday, March 2, 2008, at the Tennessee Miller Coliseum, making him the only competitor other than Clinton Anderson to win back-to-back championships. Along with taking the title, Cox also received a $15,000 donation toward his charity, The Imus Cattle Ranch for Kids with Cancer from Quest and Fort Dodge Animal Health. The winning horse was WR Shinosmoke by Shining King Cody out of Alamosa.
The competition was neck-and-neck until the moment the winning envelope was opened. Top judges Robert M. Miller D.V.M., Jack Brainard, James Gholson, Terry Crofoot and Toni Warvell took in the action both days, and even into the last minutes of competition felt it was any man's game.
"None of us knew where it was going to go," said Warvell. "It was so close. The clinicians were spectacular in the short-go. I was just very impressed."
The Arkansas-bred Wood Ranch horses proved to be the challenge Boss Wrangler Thomas B. Saunders V was looking for. Competitors Tommy Garland, Ken McNabb, Mike Kevil and Cox tested their knowledge and horsemanship skills on four three-year-old American Quarter Horse geldings. The exhibitors and competitors enjoyed this year's selection of horses.Garland even bought his colt.
McNabb and Kevil, a former judge, had two of the most impressive turn-arounds going into day two, and both clinicians left the arena to standing ovations after the obstacle course round.
"It is absolutely amazing the feel that these gentlemen have developed over the years," said celebrity host Larry Mahan. "They are a great group of clinicians. It was a beautiful thing." According to host Rick Lamb one of the main aspects of Road to the Horse is learning to stay flexible and adjusting to fit the situation. This year learning to adjust played a big part in the clinician's tactics. When day two began Cox was the underdog and adjusted his program after the judges instilled a 10 minute time penalty at the beginning of the second round because he did not rest his horse for the required time during round one.
"The thing about horsemanship is that you have to learn how to adjust," Cox said during his obstacle course round. "This colt has come a long way."
Entertaining, exciting and educational are all words to describe the 2008 Road to the Horse competition. The American Cowgirl Chicks, the clinicians, the Extreme Mustang Makeover and the Rutherford County Sheriff's Department added a thrilling touch to opening ceremonies. One of the weekend's biggest surprises was the announcement of John Lyons, "America's Most Trusted Horseman," as a competitor in 2009.
2007 Event
Chris Cox Named Champion
Click here to see a photo gallery from the 2007 competition!
 MURFREESBORO , Tenn., March, 2007: Chris Cox (Mineral Wells, Texas) was named champion of the 2007 Road to the Horse Sunday March 4 at Murfreesboro's Tennessee Miller Coliseum. With Cox’s win, $15,000 will be donated to the national chapter of the Future Farmers of America (The Wahl Charity Challenge money) and Cox will head home with a memorial saddle, buckle, and model of his winning horse, Commander Otoe King, a 2004 AQHA sorrel by Paseo Pronto and out of Otoe Windy Commander.
As Rick Lamb said at the end of the event—“It’s now one for the history books. The judges' vote and the crowd vote went to Chris Cox.”
Chris Cox started the 2007 Road to the Horse with a goal to win, but also to educate the crowds. “It’s a great event and I’m privileged to be here,” Cox says. “The crowd was into it. It feels good. When I picked the horse and went in there, I was the last person to catch my horse. It’s constant work. I had to stick with it. I came here with the same plan I always use to work with a horse and I stuck with it."
At the end of the event that horse, number one in the remuda, locked onto Chris and followed him around in circles then out of the wide-open arena.
“I’m patient and I’m going wait on it,” Cox says. “He came around. There has to be a trust built there for that to happen.”
Fans and judges seemed to agree on the winner—but the competition was fierce. At the end of day one, any of the clinicians had progressed with their horses and had the opportunity to win.
“I was absolutely thrilled with the entire competition,” says judge Mike Kevil. “Chris did a great job. I’ve never seen Chris work before and I enjoyed watching him. Chris made a lot of good decisions. He was smooth in applying his methods .He didn’t get hurried. He let his horse relax before he went to work again. It’s the demeanor of his horse we were watching most. He had a great, willing attitude. When Chris asked that horse to lope off, he loped off and loped until Chris asked him to slow down. When he did walk, he walked with his head down and was relaxed—he wasn’t still excited from running.”
Alternate judge Lindy Burch attended Road to the Horse for the first time this year. In the arena, she was in charge of tracking the clinicians’ break time (all were required to exit the pens for a break and could decide when to take those pauses). The award-winning cutting trainer was pleased with the event and the results.
“I came here to see what all the hoopla was about,” she says. “I had heard a lot about it, but wanted to see. This event is a great education. It really fills a niche that people need—teaching them about what can be done with horses. I think it fills a real need for the public—people that are interested in their horses’ welfare. As a professional horse trainer and competitor—my horses aren’t pasture pets—they can do a job. I appreciate a horse that can do a job, a horse that you can saddle up and go out for the day. I saw that take shape in the round pen.”
2006 Event
 Stacy Westfall First Woman Winner at Road to the Horse
The sell-out crowd erupted when they heard the results—Stacy Westfall is the 2006 winner of Road to the Horse, the colt-starting challenge held February 25-26, 2006 in Murfreesboro, Tenn. Westfall was the first female competitor, challenging well-known cowboy clinicians Martin Black, Craig Cameron and Van Hargis.
“This year was extraordinary,” says event producer Tootie Bland. “The horses were extremely challenging and each clinician was outstanding. I also think Stacy’s win is a great step forward—confirming that women can compete differently, but on the same level as men.”
Read more >
2005 Event
 Clinton Anderson Wins Second Consecutive
Road To The Horse Championship
Murfreesboro, TN - The competition was fierce, the horses were challenging and the 5,000 spectators who filled the Tennessee Miller Coliseum in Murfreesboro, TN March 5 and 6, 2005 loved every minute of it. Heralded as "The Greatest Horsemanship Event of the Year" those lucky enough to get a ticket to the sold out event had a ticket to horsemanship history. With a tough draw of horses, Clinton Anderson, Craig Cameron and Van Hargis worked for every training success and showed the appreciative crowd the depth of their skills. Ultimately, Australian clinician Clinton Anderson was crowned the winner of the event, but the true winners were the horses and the audience who were treated to the skills of all three clinicians.
Read more >
Photo by Heidi Nyland
Craig Cameron, Clinton Anderson and Van Hargis - the competition was
tough, but all three men excelled and showed not only great training
abilities but senses of humor as well.
2003 Event
View photos of the 2003 event in our Media Section
CLINTON ANDERSON AND COLT, HANCOCK SUG,
WIN EL CAMINO DEL CABALLO CHALLENGE IN FORT WORTH
Fort Worth, TEXAS, Dec. 15, 2003 It started with 10 wild colts. Three were chosen by the judges. And then there was one, Hancock Sug, who excelled under the guidance of renowned horse trainer Clinton Anderson.
Anderson and his colt were proclaimed the winners of El Camino del Caballo, a two-day challenge that featured Anderson, Curt Pate and Josh Lyons showcasing their skills in gentle horsemanship while entertaining the audience. Anderson won a silver belt buckle, and all three received El Camino del Caballo jackets and a gift package from Rio Vista Products.
Held in Fort Worth, Texas, Dec. 12-13, at Cowtown Coliseum in the Historic Stockyards,
El Camino del Caballo was produced by Ride the Remuda Production, and hosted by Rick Lamb, of "The Horse Show" national radio program. Judges were horse experts Robert Moorhouse, Michael B. Richardson, Jack Brainard, Buster McLaurey and Dr. Bob Miller.
DAY ONE
The first day began with individual clinics by Pate, Lyons and Anderson, followed by a question and answer session with all three clinicians. Then there was the "running of the remuda," where a herd of 10 young colts entered the arena. Judges looked them over
and chose three for the challenge. The colts were then herded out of the arena, and the three chosen were herded back in and placed in separate round pens on the arena's dirt floor.
Anderson, Lyons and Pate drew to see with which pen/horse they would be working. Anderson worked in pen #1 with Hancock Sug. Pate worked in pen #2 with Mighty Boy Hancock. Lyons worked in pen #3 with Lowry Leo Hancock. The clinicians had one hour to work with their colts, judged on approach, degree of difficulty, quietness in mounting, degree of force used, and confidence, curiosity and sensitivity, for a total of 50 possible points.
DAY TWO
Day two continued with two hours of Round Pen work, which again took place in the three pens situated next to each other on the arena floor. The clinicians and their colts were judged on degree of difficulty; quietness in mounting; horse response to lateral handling, hind and neck movement; horse response to forward movement; and amount of respect, trust and understanding, again for a possible 50 total points.
Next, each clinician was given 25 minutes in the full arena for Rail Work and Obstacle Course for a possible 50 total points, and Freestyle for 10 points. Rail Work was judged on mount, dismount and picking up the colt's feet; walk, trot and lope in both directions; stop, turn and back in both directions; riding in a straight line for 40 feet; and overall demeanor.
The Obstacle Course consisted of four poles to be ridden through in a serpentine manner, a raised pole walk, stepping over a railroad tie, a bush jump, lariat circling over the colt's head, and dragging a log 10 feet.
Anderson drew to go first. He walked his colt around the arena before beginning his rail work, followed by the obstacle course and freestyle. Andersons' trust and partnership with
Hancock Sug culminated in an unbelievable conclusion where Anderson stood on his colt and cracked his whip for his freestyle.
"It was an amazing accomplishment, even for a older trained horse," said event producer Tootie Bailey-Bland, president of Ride the Remuda Productions. "It was just amazing what Clinton did with his colt. It might never be matched."
Lyons was next and his colt performed well through all requirements. He opted not to do freestyle, saying his colt had made a lot of progress but that rail work and the obstacle course were all he was going to ask of it.
Pate led his colt out unsaddled and saddled it on the arena floor, and then rode it through the rail work and obstacle course. His colt also performed well on all things except the bush jump. Pate, too, told the audience that his colt had done enough.
The judge's points were tallied as the three men came back into the arena with their unsaddled colts. All three received thunderous applause for their efforts. Lamb announced Anderson as the winner, and then the colts were set free to end the event as they came in.
"It was a wonderful moment to see these beautiful creatures calm and free," said Bailey-Bland.
"The event was a huge success," she continued. "People came from all over to see it, and they are still sending us accolades. For them, and for me, it was such an honor to see these three men together at the same time and to witness their incredible abilities to bring these colts to such a positive point in their lives on the road to the horse."
The event was videotaped, and discussion is underway on distribution. Those interested in a VHS or DVD of the event should watch the web site, www.roadtothehorse.com, for details.
EL CAMINO DEL CABALLO
December 12-13, 2003
Fort Worth, Texas
www.roadtothehorse.com
Producer Tootie Bailey- Bland, president,
Ride the Remuda Productions
Clinicians Clinton Anderson
Josh Lyons
Curt Pate
Announcer Rick Lamb,"The Horse Show"
national radio program
Judges Jack Brainard, horse judge for 39 years
Buster McLaury, 4th generation West Texas cowboy
Dr. Bob Miller, horse veterinarian
Bob Moorhouse, member of the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame
Michael B. Richardson, parapalegic horse trainer
Arena Boss Steven Bland, retired rodeo champion
Horse Wrangler Thomas Saunders, 6th generation cowboy
Horses The Sutton Ranch
Saunders chose the 10 colts from a large herd several months before the event. All were born April-August, 2001. The colts were chosen for superior quality and uniformity. They have had very little human contact since birth.
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