Reno, Nev.—A professional cutting horse trainer from Texas took first place in the inaugural Extreme Mustang Makeover event that showcased 100 Nevada mustangs and 100 horse trainers from around the nation with 100 days to demonstrate their ability to transform wild mustangs into horses suitable for ranch work or recreational riding.

Trainer Guy Woods, of Pilot Point, Tex., won $10,000 with the high score as his wild horse “Max” loped in smooth circles and performed a series of jumps over poles balanced on low barrels in the freestyle finals at the Will Rogers Center Watt Arena Sept. 22, in Fort Worth, Tex.

In addition to taking first place, Woods became the owner of a wild mustang when he adopted Max during the competitive bid adoption that followed the competition.  Many of the trainers adopted their wild horses.

Seventy-five of the horses were adopted for a total of $233,100. The high bid horse was "Hail Yeah,” for $50,000. Hail Yeah’s trainer, Ray Ariss, was sponsored by his hometown Norco, Calif. Ariss has trained Hail Yeah to perform at dressage, pull a cart and in mounted shooting. Hail Yeah will be the official mascot of the city of Norco, which is registered as Horsetown USA.

The Mustang Heritage Foundation developed the Extreme Mustang Makeover in partnership with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

“This event has brought positive attention to what the BLM has been saying about the American Mustang all along,” said Don Glenn, chief of the BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Division. “Wild horses are beautiful, versatile and trainable.”

Glenn credited Patti Colbert with the Mustang Heritage Foundation for the development and management of the event and the trainers for their work with the horses.

“This has been a stunning success,” said Glenn. “The BLM is truly grateful for all Patti has done with their wonderful idea. And a lot of credit goes to the trainers for taking these Mustangs and shaping them into marketable horses.”

People can watch the Extreme Mustang Makeover on RFD Television’s Wide World of Horses through December. The stories of the mustangs and trainers as they develop trust and gain competitive confidence will air Sept. 24, Oct. 22, Nov. 19, and Dec. 17 and 31. Airtimes for the series will be Mondays at 7:30 p.m. RFD-TV is available on Direct TV channel 379 and Dish Network channels 231 or 9049.

About 80 percent of the trainers made it to the competition. One of the Nevada trainers, Tom King of Winnemucca, competed and his horse was adopted.

Meanwhile, Patti Colbert and the Mustang Heritage Foundation are already thinking about how to make next year’s Extreme Mustang Makeover even greater.