Whether or not Princess Buttercup has the blood of kings running through her veins, the five-year-old sorrel mare gave a royal performance during the March 21 finals of the Extreme Mustang Makeover in Albany, Ore., before an appreciative standing-room only crowd.

Trained by Jasmine Lechner of Seal Rock, Ore., Princess Buttercup was nonplussed by the roar of the crowd as she maneuvered through the course designed by Lechner to show off all her skills. In a freestyle routine that required competitors to show how well their horses were working with only 90 days training, Princess Buttercup proved she was a quick study, picking up leads when asked, performing smoothly in the bridle and taking barrel jumps with little hesitation.

Scoring a total of 78.5 out of possible 90, Princess Buttercup and Lechner bested a field of 24 riders to take home the championship Gist buckle and $2,500. Princess Buttercup was placed for adoption for $950.

Barely a half point behind was another mare, Tuff E Nuff, and her rider, Vanessa Hansen of Dairy, Ore. A fan favorite contender, Hansen, riding to bring awareness to breast cancer, thrilled the audience with her energetic ride and brought laughter when she passed Tuff E Nuff off to her dog to be led away. Tuff E Nuff was adopted for $1,000.

The high-adopting horse, Sierra Silver, grabbed the crowd’s attention with her natural single-foot gait and her quiet temperament under the hand of Erin Gray, voted fan favorite after she cart-wheeled her way across the arena. Sierra Silver was placed for adoption for $2,650. All horses were adopted for an average of $750 per head.

For complete placings, click http://www.extrememustangmakeover.com/forms/scores/10_oregon/finals.pdf and for adoption results, click http://www.extrememustangmakeover.com/forms/scores/10_oregon/adoptions.pdf .

The MHF in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management created the Extreme Mustang Makeover event to highlight the recognized value of mustangs through a national training competition. The event will give the public a unique opportunity to see the results of wild horses becoming trained mounts and then participate in a competitive bidding process to adopt one of these treasured animals.

The purpose of the competition is to showcase the beauty, versatility, and trainability of these rugged horses that roam freely on public lands throughout the West, where the Bureau of Land Management protects them under Federal law. The BLM periodically removes excess animals from the range to ensure heard health and protect rangeland resources. Thousands of removed animals are then made available each year to the public for adoption.