If you count the predecessor to Road to the Horse, Craig Cameron has competed in this World Championship of Colt Starting four times. 2010 is the year he'll remember best.
He picked horse number 10, a scruffy-looking palomino with a thicker-than-usual winter coat. Craig admitted that he didn't really have a reason for his choice. "You never know what you've got until you get in the pen," he said.
What he got was a tough colt, as stand-offish as they come, who refused to look at Craig for the first hour. Nothing Craig tried seemed to work. He seemed to be running out of ideas, and that's probably when the tide turned for him.
The strategy that seems to work best at RTTH is simple: Let the horse set the pace. Work on the relationship first and the training second, even when time is running short and 5,000 people are watching your every move. Whatever you do, don't scare the horse.
When Craig plugged into this plan, things started getting better. Come time to ride, Craig abandoned the snaffle bit he'd gotten the horse to accept in favor of a rope halter and rope reins.
The test went well - not great - but that counts for relatively little in the judging anyway. What counts most is what happens in the training pens. The judges - and this year the audience, who registered their votes with text messaging - liked what they saw there and gave Craig the nod. The sixty-year-old Texas cowboy has a way of lighting up a room with his smile. This time, the smile came with a few tears. In a life chock-full of memorable days, I suspect this one will always be special.
Rick
4 comments:
It is so great to see Craig win this year. He deserves it, he seems to work very hard with and for the horse and is a pleasure to watch.
I applaud his stamina, and try, he seems to keep going and it works. He is a inspiration to us older folks who are maybe just getting back into horsemanship after many year of being away. Who are probably wondering if we should be doing this at all, or for how long. I thank him for that and how he can make it so much fun!
I love Craig and he deserves to win, hes so honest and willing and gives all to the colts.
I was pleased to hear that Craig won this year. I met him and also you at an expo here in Jacksonville, Florida a few years back.
I was very pleased to know that Craig won this year. But I am not surprised as I always watch his show on RFTV. He is a very good trainer, instructor, and one of the greatest horsemen this country ever produced that is why he is in the Cowboy Hall of Fame.
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