Ready for ATFO 2023!

Zazu and Randy McStoots winning the Appalachian Trainer Face Off in 2019. Photo Credit: Jessie Collins Photography

There is an empty stall waiting in the barn tonight and I can’t keep myself from being just a little giddy.

I’m excited because I’m gearing up to participate in the Appalachian Trainer Face Off, a training competition organized by Heart of Phoenix Equine Rescue. Each year, rescued and often feral horses are paired with trainers from across the country. Trainers have 100 days to help horses go from being unadoptable to being ready to find their new partners.

This will be the 4th year that I’ve worked at the “ATFO” as it’s called, but my first year as a trainer. I’ve seen horses make wild transformations with their trainers, like Zazu, who went from a feral stallion, malnourished on an abandoned mine site, to being ridden by his trainer, Randy McStoots, bareback and bridleless. They won the competition in 2019. 

But, perhaps more moving to me than any one horse’s story is that so many horses- there are over 30 slated to participate this year- get a high level of care and training, allowing them to put trauma, neglect, and abuse behind them and start a new adventure as someone’s beloved partner.

Trainers choose our horses on May 2, and I can hardly wait. Stay tuned to see the horse I’ll be working with and what we’re able to accomplish in 100 days together.