For anyone who has ever dreamed of training a wild horse, the 2023 Meeker Mustang Makeover is the perfect opportunity and the application window for trainers is open until April 15.  

For the past four years, the Meeker Mustang Makeover has been hosted in Rio Blanco County, which exposes the public to the wild horses that roam the surrounding countryside. This year, local horses as well as horses from other areas of Colorado will be highlighted. 

The competition gives trainers around the region a chance to compete at training these wild horses. Both amateur and professional trainers are encouraged to apply. 

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While the Meeker Mustang Makeover provides clinics to help trainers through the process, applicants should have experience working with horses, as these horses are wild. 

Once they are selected, 25 trainers from all over Colorado will pick their Mustangs in Meeker on April 29 and attend a “Getting Started Clinic.” After the clinic, trainers have 120 days to work with their Mustangs, and then will perform and compete to show how far they have come. 

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Performances will be held at the Meeker Rodeo Fairgrounds on Aug. 26, followed by a live auction of the horses. Trainers will receive 50% of the proceeds from the sale of their horse, in addition to prize money and scholarship funds. 

Select trainers will have an opportunity to attend two free clinics by wild horse professional, Steve Mantle. There is also a youth division with yearlings for children ages ten to 17, and a saddle competition with three-year-old mustangs for anyone age 15 and older.

Interested trainers can apply at MeekerMustangMakeover.org, or call Robyn Blackwood at 760-774-6863.