Equine students at Montana State University and the University of Montana Western will be selling more than 30 young horses on Friday, April 10, and Saturday, April 11, as part of the Top of the West Horse Sale at the Copper Spring Ranch near Bozeman. Sponsored by the Equine Boosters of MSU, the annual sale features a colt sale and collegiate riding competition. A traveling bronze trophy created by sculptor Bob Burkhart and donated by Copper Spring Ranch will go to the winning team. The top collegiate horseman and the donor of the top-selling horse will receive belt buckles.
On Friday the 10th starting at 9:00 a.m., Northern Ag Network's Lane Nordlund will have the pleasure of announcing the UM western and MSU colt training competition showcasing the horses and students the day before the sale. The event will feature mostly three-year-old American Quarter Horse Association fillies and geldings that were donated to the two schools by more than a dozen quarter horse breeders. Bloodlines represented include some of the most popular in the quarter horse industry, such as Smart Chic Olena, Doc's Hickory, Doc O'Lena, Paddys Irish Whisky, Peptoboonsmal, Peppy San Badger, Bueno Chex and Dash for Cash.
[EasyDNNGallery|1636|Width|200|Height|200|position|left|resizecrop|False|lightbox|False|title|False|description|False|redirection|False|LinkText||]Nordlund interviewed the Montana State University Equine Program Director, Reata Brannaman, who is also a student at Montana State University. The daughter of world renowned horseman Buck Brannaman, Reata shared with Northern Ag that what she teaches at MSU is not just about training a quality horse, but developing a better quality of horse trainer.
The schedule for the ninth annual Top of the West sale and competition:
Friday, April 10
9 a.m. – Colt starting competition.
Saturday, April 11
10 a.m. – Sale preview, indoor arena.
1 p.m. – Top of the West Sale, indoor arena. Awards presented at start of sale.
The sale catalog and other details are available on the Equine Boosters of MSU website at http://www.equineboostersofmsu.com, the Coppers Spring Ranch website at http://www.copperspringranch.com and the Headwaters Livestock website at http://www.headwaterslivestock.com.
For more information, contact Diana Bailey, Equine Boosters of MSU, at (406)570-4101 or dianab@mfbf.org.
The sale is being held the same weekend as the 2015 MSU Spring Rodeo, April 9-12. For rodeo information or tickets, contact mtrue@montana.edu or call 994-2403.
Source: MSU News Service and Northern Ag Network
Images courtesy of Reata Brannaman
