Anderson trains wild horse ‘Loco Bueno’ in 100 days, ranks sixth

Nineteen-year-old Powellite Daria Anderson had only 100 days to train a wild horse for the Extreme Mustang Makeover competition.

Last spring, 31 trainers picked up mustangs for the competition, but only 18 showed up for it and 16 competed — so just getting there put Anderson ahead of nearly half the people with the grit to even attempt training a wild horse in such a short amount of time.

Then on July 30, she placed sixth at the competition in Nampa, Idaho.

The challenge is put on by the Mustang Heritage Foundation and Bureau of Land Management to show that not only can wild horses be trained, but they are also versatile and rugged.

All of the mustangs are selected at random for event participants and Anderson picked up her horse at the wild horse corral in Boise, Idaho, on April 8 and aptly named him Loco Bueno, after the famous Poco Bueno.

Loco was rounded up in October of last year and gelded in February at 5 years old.

Anderson pulled out the big guns when she brought Loco to Powell-area newcomer Tom Hagwood’s ranch. He and his wife, Arianne, are well known in the mustang community, having won major national competitions such as the Mustang Million and Mustang Magic.

Anderson brought a lifetime of horse experience to the table, on top of what she learned studying farrier science at Sheridan College. She now lives in Powell where she is the owner of D4 Performance Horses and Farrier Service.

Just two weeks into training, she was already riding Loco — and the ride was far from loco (crazy), it was purely bueno (good).

“I rode him all over the place ... wherever I needed to be,” she said.

Anderson estimated she spent at least half the day, everyday, doing something with Loco — whether it was ground work, riding him or hauling him around. She often took him to the rodeo in Cody to get him used to crowds and to work on tracking by following the roping calves out.

“It was a way cool experience and I learned so much, like when I first dallied off on a steer with him because he took it perfect and worked my rope great — he was real cowy and awesome,” Anderson said.

She also took him roping several times as they prepped for the competition.

“He would get excited about it and liked to do it, he would get all fired up,” Anderson said. “He loves attention now and knows people are his friends and wants to be a pleaser.”

Loco also learned to spin, pick up leads correctly, neck rein, slide-stop, track cattle, work a rope and was comfortable with Anderson shooting guns while riding him.

She took Loco to a mounted shooting clinic with the Wyoming Desperados Mounted Shooting Club and he “didn’t flinch an ear” when she fired her first shot.

“I was so impressed with him and thankful they called me to come to that clinic and everything, it helped me get him into a better broke horse,” Anderson said. “He was very, very broke.”

Between all the professionals and seasoned trainers she met along the way, Anderson said she learned “a tremendous amount” while training Loco in only 100 days.

“I learned a whole new way to go about everything ... it is crazy-valuable information,” Anderson said.

Among the things she learned from training Loco, Anderson pointed out her improved techniques in spinning faster and having more responsive stops where he would slide — on a good day, Loco could slide 3 feet in a stop.

“I rode 17 miles and there was some fine sand on Lane 5 and I sat down and really was like ‘woah’ and that was the longest track we ever did and I was like ‘what in the world, nobody is seeing this,’” Anderson said.

She didn’t have to wait long for people to see Loco in action though, as the duo hit the road for Idaho at the end of July to compete in the Extreme Mustang Makeover competition.

“I was so nervous — I had shown all my life growing up and didn’t think I was going to be nervous, but I wanted to do so well,” Anderson said.

Their first competition was the handling class, which had Anderson and her competition loading into trailers and picking up their feet.

From there, it was the trail class — opening gates, making side passes, turning in a box — where Anderson placed fifth.

“Honestly, I thought I was going to do a little better, but I psyched myself out and I was nervous and my horse felt some of that nervousness,” Anderson said. “I got my first one out of the way and know what to expect next year and will be able to show better, I can’t say enough great things about my horse, he is definitely a champion in my eyes.”

Up next was the maneuvers class where riders had to trot, lope and turn around. The scores from the first three classes were tallied up and only the top 10 competed in the freestyle class, and Anderson was the last name called out.

“I was so happy I made it, that was definitely a goal,” Anderson said. “I told myself when I was getting ready to just have fun, ‘you made it this far,’ and I settled down and in compulsories I did really well.”

Compulsories were the most complicated part of the competition — riders loped down, stopped and then rolled back, loped again, stopped, backed up six steps and turned around one-and-a-quarter times, then did some side passes, turns, and spins followed by more passes and then did a lead change.

The judges gave Anderson a 23.5 and a 19, placing her sixth in the compulsories.

Then it was on to the freestyle segment of the freestyle class, which is set to music with a time limit of 3 minutes and 30 seconds. Anderson drug a blue tarp behind Loco, then threw it on him and fired shots while on him, then went on to try to rope a calf.

“I had the fastest steer ever and had to hustle to rope it — and I didn’t get him roped,” Anderson said. “It was a really fast steer, but he tracked him perfectly. I was really having to ask him to get up there because he was running around like crazy.”

Her first loop got the steer by one horn, and the steer stopped and turned on her second throw.

“I was kind of running out of time,” Anderson said. “I didn’t get him roped like I would have liked, but Loco checked the steer just fine — so I was happy with that.”

Anderson scored an 18 and a 26.5 from the judges, sealing her position in sixth overall — good for a $1,000 cash prize.

Loco still belonged to the BLM and was auctioned off to eligible adopters along with the rest of the horses at the competition and the funds went to the non-profit Mustang Heritage Foundation.

In order to bid and adopt, an application had to be approved by the BLM to prove the aspiring owner was at least 18 years old, had no record of animal abuse and had suitable facilities for caring for a horse. Adoptions were limited to four horses per person.

Anderson said she picked up a bid number and thought about bidding on Loco Bueno, who was the first horse auctioned off.

“I was sitting there, waiting to put my hand up and I just didn’t,” Anderson said, noting he sold for $1,500 and she got paid half of it, about the same as the rest of the wild horses that were trained for the competition. “I cried and gave him a big hug and was happy he went to a great home on a ranch in southern Idaho — he will get to be around cows and lots of open spaces.”

Anderson noted that there are many wild horses in need of adoption and that the competition is a way to show what these animals are capable of doing.

Thousands of wild horses are required to be rounded up and placed into holding facilities so that the wild herds remain small enough that they can be managed to prevent over-grazing, habitat degradation and minimize the risks of starvation. This leaves many in holding facilities across the country, waiting for adoption.

Since 2007, over 6,200 wild horses have been adopted through the Mustang Heritage Foundation events and programs, according to the BLM.

Anderson said she plans on competing in Idaho again next year and possibly Fort Worth, Texas, the year after that.

“I am so hooked on it — it’s very rewarding and a good way to network and meet new trainers,” Anderson said. “That is my mission you know, to get nice broke horses anyone can ride.”