by Mark Parker
When Stacy Westfall made her dramatic bridleless bareback ride on a gleaming black mare at the 2006 AQHA Freestyle Reining competition, she rode off into the realm of legend.
Big-time reining wins and becoming the first woman to participate in—and win—the Road to the Horse colt starting challenge added even more shine to a sterling reputation. The beginnings of the nationally-known horsewoman’s equine experience, however, don’t have the glamour of “viral” YouTube videos, TV appearances and crowds clamoring for her insight.
It began when Stacy was six years old and crazy about her pony, Misty. Growing up in Maine, Stacy wasn’t exactly in the heart of the equine world but her mom, Sherri, encouraged Stacy to analyze why the pony did the things she did—to try to think like the pony. Somewhere along the line, Stacy became a teacher as well as a rider. Her first horse was a friend, transportation and recreation all rolled into one as she continued to take her mom’s advice.
And Stacy Westfall has been thinking like a horse ever since.
“Horses are always communicating to you,” she explains, “and once you’re fluent in reading their body language you can shape how they respond. It’s a thought process that goes beyond pulling on this rein or kicking that leg.”
Stacy will share her knowledge with equine enthusiasts at HorseFest, March 12, 13 and 14 at the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds in Springfield, Mo. In daily clinics—three on Friday, three on Saturday and two on Sunday—Stacy will not only help folks better understand their horses, she’ll demonstrate a bridleless ride.
“I’m excited about HorseFest,” she says. “I’d encourage everyone to especially come out on Friday. We’ll lay the foundation and then we’ll cover different material throughout the sessions.”
Friday through Sunday topics include:
•How Controlling the Hips and Shoulders Advances You (Fri.-Arena)
•Groundwork All Riding Horses Should Know (Fri.-Arena)
•Reading Your Horse’s Body Language/Colt Starting (Fri.-E-Plex)
•Improving Control: Horses Don’t Follow Their Noses (Sat.-Arena)
•Bridleless Riding: How, When and Why (Sat.-Arena)
•Reading Your Horse’s Body Language/Colt Starting (Sat. E-Plex)
•Teaching Whoa: Beginning to Bridleless (Sun.-Arena)
•All Questions Answered: Mounted Q&A; with Stacy (Sun.-Arena)
Stacy has shared her equine insight at clinics across the nation but the experiences for those presentations are still being built in the barn, pasture and arena. She and her husband, Jesse—who is a successful trainer and judge as well as Stacy’s coach—raise and train reining horses in addition to operating Westfall Horsemanship.
With multiple National Reining Horse Association and AQHA wins to her credit, Stacy loves just about everything involving horses but reining is a real passion for the Mt. Gilead, Ohio, horsewoman.
“I love the speed and precision of reining,” Stacy explains. “I love the degree of communication it requires between horse and rider and, for me, bridleless reining is the epitome of that. You can have the same relationship with your horse with a saddle and bridle but there’s something about it that touches people and I use it to demonstrate the kind of communication that’s possible.”
Bridleless rides have made her famous, particularly her 2006 championship run performed to Tim McGraw’s “Live Like You Were Dyin’” and dedicated to her father who had recently passed away. Hundreds of thousands of Internet video viewings and a television appearance on the Ellen Degeneres Show followed. But while that may be most folks’ first introduction to Stacy Westfall, it’s her practical approach to building horse-rider relationships that keeps them coming back.
“My challenge is to convey what I’ve learned to people who have different life experiences,” Stacy says. “Whether it’s a 12-year old girl with her first horse, a trail rider facing some problems or an accomplished horseperson who wants to get better, the basics are the same and I love those ‘light bulb moments’ when someone says, ‘Wow! I get it!’ It’s all about understanding what their horse is trying to tell them.”
For Stacy, that’s a big part of the enjoyment of horses and she says she can have just as much fun in the barn as she does competing. Recently in fact, she’s been participating in Cowboy Mounted Shooting just for the fun of it and, someday, she wants to ride a honest-to-goodness racehorse down the track. She and Jesse have three boys, Caleb, Joshua and Nathan. They have a stallion by the NRHA Hall of Fame Quarter Horse Topsail Whiz and out of Can Can Lena, the first mare Stacy rode bridleless in freestyle reining competition.
More information about Stacy and Westfall Horsemanship is available at www. westfallhorsemanship.com. For more about her appearance at HorseFest, as well as additional information about all of the equine happenings at this year’s event, log onto www.horsefest.net, contact Farm Talk at 620-421-9450 or the Ozark Empire Fair at 417-833-2660.
