Eighteen-year-old phenomenon Obbie Schlom of Silverado, California, took the Norco, California Extreme Mustang Makeover by storm. Schlom showed two Mustang mares at the event and walked away with champion and reserve champion honors. Schlom and her Mustang mare Rosamay received 354 points in the finals to win, while Schlom and her Mustang mare Crazy Mary received 352 points.

Rosamay and Crazy Mary are both 3-year-old bay mares that were gathered from outside a herd management area in Nevada. At the Norco competition, trainers were offered the opportunity to train and compete with two Mustangs. The trainer scoring the most points on both Mustangs in the preliminaries was named the Double Down Champion and received a new Martin Saddlery Mustang Series Saddle. Schlom earned the saddle and received $3,000 for winning the event and $2,500 for her second-place finish. Rosamay was adopted for $1,900, and Crazy Mary was adopted for $1,450.

Joe Misner of Twenty-Nine Palms, California, trained Reata and finished third. Reata is a 3-year-old mare that was born in the Ridgecrest Corrals in California. The highest adopted horse at the event was Debbie Doneyson’s Isabella, who was adopted for $5,000. Isabella is a 3-year-old bay mare gathered from Clover Mountain Herd Management Area in Nevada. Doneyson, who is from West Haven, Utah, and Isabella placed fifth in the finals.

The 31 Mustangs competing in the Extreme Mustang Makeover challenge were mares, who were virtually untouched prior to the February pick-up. The horses were judged on their body condition and new skills. The trainers and Mustangs competed in a series of classes that incorporates Norco’s unique equine-friendly landscape such as a rural trail course up to Pumpkin Rock and an urban trail course that took horses and riders through the city of Norco’s bridle paths. The horses also competed in a trail course and pattern class in the arena

Complete class results and adoption information for the Norco Extreme Mustang Makeover are available at www.extrememustangmakeover.com/emmcalifornia.php.

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 they are protected by the BLM under federal law. The BLM periodically removes excess animals from the range to ensure herd health and protect rangeland resources. Thousands of the removed animals are then made available each year to the public for adoption. More than 3,300 wild horses have been adopted through Mustang Heritage Foundation events and programs since 2007.

The Extreme Mustang Makeovers are made possible through our partnership with the Bureau of Land Management and the generosity of our sponsors Ram Trucks, Western Horseman, Pfizer, Vetericyn, Roper Apparel & Footwear, Gist Silversmiths, Martin Saddlery and Smith Brothers.

About the Mustang Heritage Foundation

The mission of the Mustang Heritage Foundation and the goal of the Extreme Mustang Makeover events are to increase the adoption of Mustangs across the country. The Mustang Heritage Foundation created the Extreme Mustang Makeover events to showcase the recognized value of Mustangs through a national training competition. For more information, visit www.mustangheritagefoundation.org.

About the Bureau of Land Management

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is responsible for managing 258 million acres of public lands, located mostly in the West. Wild horses and burros roaming public rangelands are managed in a manner consistent with BLM’s overall multiple-use mission, as set forth in the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976. For more information, visit www.wildhorseandburro.blm.gov or call 866-468-7826.