Call her a dreamer but for the last 15 years Road to the Horse Founder/Producer Tootie Bland has dedicated her life to uniting the equine industry. Bland has been a relentless advocate of the horse, sharing her message, that however diverse we may be as equestrians, the success of a young horse stems from a solid foundation.

This diversity has never been more apparent than at Road to the Horse 2018. With Wilson mounted in her English saddle, Dowers in his Western saddle, and James in his Australian saddle, all three Road to the Horse 2018 competitors displayed remarkable horsemanship, staying true to their roots and true to the horse. All different, but all undeniably successful.

“That’s what good horsemanship is” stated Road to the Horse 2018 judge Mike Kevil. “It has no boundaries, it has no gender. A good hand is a good hand, and that’s what you see here at Road to the Horse.”

Show jumping sensation and defending Road to the Horse 2017 World Champion Vicki Wilson proudly brought the Gist Silversmith’s Road to the Horse 2018 World Championship buckle back to her homeland of New Zealand. Wilson secured her place in Road to the Horse history as the only horsewoman to have captured two World Championship of Colt Starting titles.

Australian horseman, Dan James was honored with the Jack Brainard Horsemanship Award for his exceptional horsemanship skills which he portrayed throughout the entire event. A recognition that is hand-selected and awarded by legendary horseman Jack Brainard.

“When the greats of colt starting lay it on the line, any thought that you think you can predict the outcome should be thrown out the window! And so, it was on that given Sunday in Lexington, Kentucky” states Road to the Horse Founder/Producer Tootie Bland. “The only thing anyone can predict about Road to the Horse is that it is unpredictable until the last second!”

Plans are already well underway for Road to the Horse 2019, where the colorful Mardi Gras celebrations of 2018 will be traded for a little piece of the Wild Wild West.

Learn more about Road to the Horse at www.RoadtotheHorse.com.  Road to the Horse 2019 tickets are available online at www.RoadtotheHorse.com or by calling 800-514-3849. Follow Road to the Horse on Facebook for the latest information.

Colts selected at Road to the Horse 2018:

Vicki Wilson: #8 Wyoming Pick and #12 Crowns Lad

Nick Dowers: #5 Little River Tuf and #6 Boons Sixgun

Dan James: #2 Double Mountain Fork and #11 Rockin Latigo

Photos and videos from Road to the Horse 2018 can be found on our Facebook page here.

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Join us on Road to the Horse Facebook here.

Learn more about the Road to the Horse 2018 podcast at: http://www.horseradionetwork.com/roadtothehorse/

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The Road to the Horse 2014 World Champion, who was set to represent his homeland of Canada has withdrawn from the competition due to complications arising from a surgery in January, which has left Anderson with weakness and extreme fatigue. Despite a steady and hopeful recovery, encompassing multiple therapies, Anderson is disappointed he has not healed enough withstand the demands of the competition.

“It’s hard to bring a cowboy down and even harder to stop a World Champion in his quest and commitment to represent his country and his horsemanship” states Road to the Horse Founder/Producer Tootie Bland. “There will always be a spot for World Champion Jimmy Anderson at Road to the Horse and we wish him a speedy and complete recovery.”

Road to the Horse 2018 kicks off on Thursday March 22, at 5:30pm at the Alltech Arena at the Kentucky Horse Park, when the Remuda will be revealed to the public for the very first time from 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm by 6666 Ranch Horse Division Manager, Dr. Glenn Blodgett, and AQHA President, Dr. Jim Heird. This bonus Road to the Horse event is FREE to the public.

The main ticketed event kicks off on Friday March 23, 2018, as Road to the Horse celebrates its fifteenth anniversary and in true Road to the Horse fashion, it is guaranteed to be spectacular. All past World Champions, the Road to the Horse 2018 international competitor lineup is a collection of the world’s best colt starting talent. Our lady competitor, from the beautiful islands of New Zealand, is an international showjumper and our defending Road to the Horse 2017 World Champion, Vicki Wilson. Downunder horseman and Road to the Horse 2012 World Champion Dan James will return to the Road to the Horse round pen for the first time since 2013. Red, white, and blue, American-made Nick Dowers is both a NRCHA Snaffle Bit Open Futurity and Road to the Horse World Champion. Fans watched Nick Dowers win his World Championship of Colt Starting title in 2016. All past World Champions who have captured one Road to the Horse World Championship buckle, all looking for their second.

Learn more about Road to the Horse at www.RoadtotheHorse.com.  Road to the Horse 2018 tickets are available online at www.RoadtotheHorse.com or by calling 877-772-5425. Follow Road to the Horse on Facebook for the latest information.

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In a pursuit to reach its own exceptionally high standards, Road to the Horse has created a cutting-edge digital judging system where each professional lends their experience and expertise, as they judge every step taken from beginning to end. Their reputations will be on the line, when they determine who will walk away with the world’s most coveted horsemanship title.

The Road to the Horse 2018 Judges Panel consists of these talented individuals:  Yvonna Barteau, Jack Brainard, Dr. Jim Heird, Mike Kevil, Cody Lambert, and Jeff Williams. For a complete biography on each individual judge, click here.

Yvonne Barteau: Yvonne Barteau is one of this nation’s most celebrated riders and a lifelong horse trainer. She has earned her USDF Gold, Silver and Bronze medals as well as her Gold, Silver and Bronze freestyle bars. Her Business KYB Dressage has trained over a dozen horses to the Grand Prix Level and over 50 to Prix St George. In 2015, her Holsteiner stallion GP Raymeister, was named Most Winning Horse in USDF history. Yvonne Barteau has published two award-winning books. Her recent release The Dressage Horse Manifesto is the second of two books she has authored on horses. Ride the Right Horse, examines the impact of human and horse personalities and how they work together. Yvonne and her husband Kim are based out of Maple Park, Illinois.

Jack Brainard: Trainer, Breeder, Judge, Leader, Teacher, Author, Mentor and Friend are all accurate labels of Jack Brainard of Tioga, Texas, long known for his contributions to the equine industry and his lifelong commitment to horses and the people who enjoy them. Jack Brainard has bred and trained horses for over 54 years and judged for a variety of national horse associations for over 40 years. A true veteran judge of colt staring, Jack Brainard has never missed a year at Road to the Horse. He has judged every competitor, at every event.

Dr. Jim Heird:  Dr. Jim Heird is Executive Professor and Coordinator of the Equine Initiative and holder of the Glenn Blodgett Equine Chair at Texas A&M University. Dr. Heird has an international reputation in the field of equine sciences. He has lectured on numerous topics both nationally and internationally. He has been a successful judging team coach, teacher, researcher, and extension specialist. In 2017, Dr. Jim Heird was inducted into the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame. In March of 2018, Dr. Jim Heird will become President of the AQHA, the World’s Largest Breed Association.

Mike Kevil: For 40 years Mike has developed his own training practices that include patience, consistency and understanding the horse. Before the modern-day term “Horse Whisperer” Mike was a master of this art. Today, he has numerous horses in his training program and a full waiting list. Although he admits that he does not get hung up on terms such as “Horse Whisperer,” he continually strives to become a good hand. Mike is the noted author of “Starting Colts, a Western Horseman Book” and its DVD counterparts, “Starting Colts” volumes one and two available through Western Horseman. Road to the Horse 2018 will mark Kevil’s seventh year judging at Road to the Horse.

Cody Lambert: Cody Lambert is a Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame inductee and ten-time National Finals Rodeo qualifier in bull riding and saddle bronc riding. Cody started his professional rodeo career in 1980 and has earned numerous titles throughout his career.  Cody was a PBR Co-Founder and qualified for the first three PBR World Finals. After the 1996 PBR World Finals he retired from competition and was awarded the PBR Ring of Honor, making him one of the first recipients along with Ted Nuce, Jim Shoulders and Harry Tompkins. Cody currently serves as Vice President of The PBR Board of Directors, as well as the organization’s Livestock Director.

Jeff Williams: Jeff Williams has been starting colts for numerous long-time clients that include the Haythorn Ranch, King Ranch, Beggs Ranch, Matador Ranch, Espuela Ranch, and the Muleshoe Ranch for over 20 years. Not only does Jeff Williams have an in-depth and lifelong understanding of the elements that create a perfect foundation for a developing colt, this is a cowboy who lives every day in the saddle.

Learn more about Road to the Horse at www.RoadtotheHorse.com.  Road to the Horse 2018 tickets are available online at www.RoadtotheHorse.com or by calling 877-772-5425. Follow Road to the Horse on Facebook for the latest information.

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Thunderstruck. Every Road to the Horse fan knows that’s the song that scoots you to the edge of your seat. That song means the Road to the Horse Remuda is about to run into the Alltech Arena for the very first time. It’s one of the biggest highlights at every Road to the Horse event. It’s goosebumps time, it’s the tears welling up in your eyes time, it’s the time you realize that your entire lifetime of chasing your passion for the horse, was the right thing to do. Seeing the magnificent 6666 Ranch colts charge into the Alltech Arena will forever stay etched in your heart. Generations of the best American Quarter Horse bloodlines all come down to this moment.

True to their dedication to breeding the very best American Quarter Horses, the 6666 Ranch has compiled a selection of their finest for Road to the Horse 2018. One by one, the colts will be showcased to Road to the Horse fans launching in November, 2017.

Set for stardom, these colts will take one giant leap on a Road to the Horse journey that will change the course for rest of their lives. Decades of history, champions and legends are all exemplified in this one solitary Remuda. The sires of the Road to the Horse 2018 Remuda from the 6666 Ranch are:

• Boon San
• Playboys Buck Fever
• Rockin W
• Tuf Four
• WR This Cats Smart

The Road to the Horse 2018 Remuda from the 6666 Ranch will be presented for sale to the public during Road to the Horse 2018. For information visit the 6666 Ranch booth on the main concourse at Road to the Horse 2018.

All past World Champions, the Road to the Horse 2018 international competitor lineup is spectacular. Our lady competitor, from the beautiful islands of New Zealand, is international showjumper and defending Road to the Horse 2017 World Champion, Vicki Wilson. Representing our neighbors from north the border, Canadian Jim Anderson is both a Road to the Horse World Champion and our Wildcard Champion from 2014. Downunder horseman and Road to the Horse 2012 World Champion Dan James will return to the Road to the Horse round pen for the first time since 2013. Red, white and blue, American-made Nick Dowers is both a NRCHA Snaffle Bit Open Futurity and Road to the Horse World Champion. Fans watched Nick Dowers claim his World Championship of Colt Starting title in 2016. All past World Champions who have captured one Road to the Horse World Championship buckle, all looking for their second.

Learn more about Road to the Horse at www.RoadtotheHorse.com.  Road to the Horse 2018 tickets are available online at www.RoadtotheHorse.com or by calling 877-772-5425.

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There’s no denying, the galloping Remuda of 6666 Ranch bred colts are our Road to the Horse superstars but our entertainment lineup is running a very close second. Fans at Road to the Horse 2018 will have a chance to enjoy award winning performances throughout the event from these talented musicians.

Laura Green

I am a mother of three from Elizabethtown, KY.  I am a graduate of the University of Kentucky.  I worked in the country music industry in Nashville, TN, back in the 90’s but left to be a wife and a mother in Georgia.  I returned to Kentucky in 2005.  I ride and compete in Extreme Cowboy Racing with my three children, who are 18, 15 and 11.   I have been honored to sing the National Anthem for the Extreme Cowboy Association’s National and World Championships on several occasions.  I was honored as well to sing both the Canadian and American National Anthems at The Cowboy-Up Challenge at the 2014 Calgary Stampede in Calgary, Alberta.  As an American, a mother, and the former wife of a Marine and police officer, I have a great respect for our country and the servicemen and women who protect her.  I have not served in our country’s military, but when I sing our National Anthem, I sing it for those who have fought for her, who are currently fighting for her, and for those who will fight for her.  I sing it because I am proud and thankful to be an American.

Holly Spears

Nashville Recording Artist, now based out of Northern, KY, Holly Spears is a small-town girl with big dreams. Her new single, Farm Girl recently reached #10 on New Music weekly’s Country Internet Chart and #10 on the NMW Main Country Chart. Spears has also reached #6 on the NMW Country Top 30 Indie Artists. Not bad for an Indie Artist who owns her own record label, Girl on a Mission Music, LLC.

Holly found her way into acting in a Western movie called Nail 32. She landed 5 songs in Nail 32. You can also find 5 of Holly’s songs in a movie called, Virtuous, that stars Erik Estrada. Holly has had 2 songs in TV commercials and several television music videos. You can also find many of her music videos on YouTube, including her John Denver cover of Country Roads, which is on its way to reaching 100,000 views. Make sure to check out her Farm Girl, Cowboy up, and Sunshine videos to see her horse, Pretty Girl.  Holly Spears loves sharing her industry knowledge with the music students she builds into via the web or in her studio in Northern Kentucky. You can find her albums Boots and Bling, Heartache to Hope, Audience of One, The Songs of Christmas and Redemption Road, as well as her new single, Farm Girl on iTunes, her website and at her live shows.  Keep up with Holly and her musical journey on www.hollyspears.com , Facebook @HollySpearsFanPage and Instagram under holly.spears.

Epp Mevin Walls

Epp Mevin Walls is an award winning Christian country Singer/Songwriter with NewStep Records and co-founder along with wife Kathleen Walls of EMW Music Ministries.

Epp’s style of music is a new country/country rock sound, upbeat with a positive uplifting message. Epp and Kathleen travel extensively throughout the year sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ through music and personal testimonies, at many different events and venues such as Church Worship Services, special events, benefit concerts, festivals, retreats, and revivals. Epp and Kathleen also conduct Cowboy Church Services for rodeos and horse shows, IBRA events (International Barrel Racers Association) and the PBR.

Epp loves to share his music at Celebrate Recovery programs using his own personal testimony to encourage and support those who have decided to take that step which can change their lives forever. Epp has written three full length CDs, one which was awarded CGM Country Gospel Music Album of the Year in 2013.  Epp has penned six #1 songs, as well as several top ten and top forty songs.

Epp and Kathleen live on a beautiful 130 Acre horse farm in Central Kentucky where they love living the country lifestyle and spending time with their horses and dogs as well as two very spoiled barn cats! Music is available on all the major music distributors online or go to eppmevinwalls.com.

View our complete Road to the Horse 2018 entertainment lineup including the One Arm Bandit and Whispery Pines Percherons here. 

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Sam and Kellie Rettinger, owners of Whispery Pines Percherons in Kingsville, OH, have been involved in the equine industry for their entire lives. The Rettingers bring their horses to several events each year to show in different hitch and riding classes. They also provide carriage rides with their Percherons for a variety of events including weddings, birthdays, hay rides, and winter sleigh rides. Percherons performing at Road to the Horse 2018 include Ace, Octane, Tony, Hawke, Candyman, and Super Sam. Learn more at www.WhisperyPines.com.

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Dowers joins the star-studded lineup which includes defending World Champion and New Zealand show jumper Vicki Wilson, gifted Australian horseman Dan James, and Canadian reining horse sensation, Jim Anderson.

As Road to the Horse 2016 World Champion Nick Dowers completes the lineup, fans wait patiently, counting the days to the most anticipated Road to the Horse event yet. Like admirers standing on the Mezzanine waiting for the magic to unfold, in the quiet before the storm.

“Not only does each competitor carry with them their own hopes and dreams, they’re ambassadors” states Road to the Horse Owner/Producer Tootie Bland. “Ambassadors for their country, their gender, their discipline, their talent, their training program but most of all for the horse. We’ll be writing history as we celebrate our fifteenth anniversary!”

While many things set Nick Dowers apart from his peers, his unique training philosophy clearly tops the list. Humble beginnings in Nevada’s Fish Lake Valley taught the 33-year- old cowboy that hard work, patience and perseverance were the tools for success. Dowers began riding at a young age, using horses on his family’s Triple D Ranches in the Great Basin. This background instilled in him a sincere appreciation for the horse as his partner, as well as a belief that work outside of the arena is crucial. After studying under well-respected horsemen and women, Dowers pulled the best from each to develop his own training theories. Equipped with the knowledge he gleaned from mentors like Bryan Neubert, Joe Wolter, Andrea Fappani and Annie Reynolds, Dowers set out to establish a program with a balance of natural horsemanship and performance horse training techniques. His end goal is to build a partnership with each horse that results in a balanced and confident athlete. Winning is not everything – the more important measurement of success is the journey Dowers takes to unlocking each horse’s maximum potential.

Dowers took the cow horse world by storm in October 2013 when he piloted Time For The Diamond to the National Reined Cow Horse Association Snaffle Bit Futurity Open World Championship, but the paycheck that accompanied the win was far from the most valuable result of that success. With the performance horse industry’s attention, Dowers could prove to his fellow horsemen that taking one’s time and getting into a horse’s mind could still yield a champion in the show pen.

TIME FOR THE DIAMOND is the perfect example of a Nick Dowers graduate – he has carried Dowers pack hunting, helped with ranch tasks and dominated in the performance arena, where the stallion is still adding to his nearly $150,000 in lifetime earnings. Longevity is just one of the many positive results that come out of Dowers’ program, which emphasizes compassion and patience from starting a colt throughout that horse’s career. It truly is the best of both worlds.

In 2016, Dowers captured his first ever Road to the Horse World Championship of Colt Starting, riding the 6666 Ranch gelding SEVEN ATTRACTION, a reined cow horse trainer who was unknown to most Road to the Horse fans, became a household name. Learn more about Nick Dowers at www.NickDowers.com.

Road to the Horse 2018 tickets are available online at www.RoadtotheHorse.com or by calling 877-772-5425.  Follow Road to the Horse on Facebook for the latest information. For sponsorship opportunities at Road to the Horse 2018, contact Tammy Sronce at 940-859-6512 or email tammy@roadtothehorse.com.

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With the announcement of talented Canadian reining horse trainer Jim Anderson, Road to the Horse 2018 is shaping up to be an unprecedented worldwide showdown. Anderson joins the star-studded line-up which includes defending World Champion and New Zealand show jumper Vicki Wilson and gifted Australian horseman, Dan James.

As each competitor steps onto Road to the Horse dirt, they won’t just be representing their own talent, they’ll have the weight of their entire country resting on their shoulders. As the fifteenth anniversary of Road to the Horse is sculptured into an international clash of past World Champions, there’s no doubt it will be one of the most anticipated Road to the Horse events yet.

“These competitors are as talented and unique as they come! All from different cultures, all from different disciplines and the only thing they have in common, is they’re all battling for their second World Championship of Colt Starting title” states Road to the Horse Owner/Producer, Tootie Bland. “It’s the perfect equation. They’re patriots now, and each competitor carries with them the heart and soul of a nation.”

Cinderella, Cinderella. Ask any Road to the Horse fan who our Cinderella is and they’ll tell you, it’s Jim Anderson. Anderson is a Road to the Horse warrior. Not only did he have to battle six of the country’s best clinicians in the first ever Road to the Horse 2014 Wild Card Competition, he didn’t even have time to celebrate his win. His win put him directly into the Road to the Horse 2014 round pen, where he fearlessly captured the overall event title.

“A big part of what makes this event so special is having the fans share those incredible moments of connection, when we’re able to gain our horse’s trust and confidence” testifies Jim Anderson. “I believe Road to the Horse has provided a venue that promotes natural horsemanship in its best form and I hope that we (the competitors), leave our fans inspired to do great things.”

Born with a rope in his hand and spurs on his boots, Jim has spent his entire life with horses. Growing up in southern Alberta, Canada, on the family ranch, his parents ensured that he was exposed to good horsemanship from a very early age. He took clinics with Tom Dorrance and Ray Hunt and upon finishing high school at age eighteen, spent a winter working with Bryan Neubert.

Jim has won over $130,000.00 in NRHA events and has LTE in excess of $200,000.00 He won both the 2000 European Cow Horse Futurity and Derby Championship as well as the 2000 Italian Reining Derby while working in Europe. After returning home, Jim became a three-time Canadian Supreme Reining Futurity Champion, in addition to bringing home buckles and bronzes from a multitude of other reining and cow events.

In 2011, Jim marked the first of three consecutive Calgary Stampede ‘Cowboy Up Challenge’ titles, with a Reserve Championship title and then Championship wins in 2012 and 2013. After another win at the Extreme Cowboy Association 2012 World Championship in Texas, Jim then applied and was selected as a Wild Card competitor for Road to the Horse 2014 by Tootie Bland.

Jim and his wife Andrea (who also trains, competes, and travels for clinics) live at Star Bar Ranch in Alberta, Canada, with their nine horses, two border collies and a small herd of sheep. Together, they’ve developed their Higher Horsemanship Program and share it with people all over the world, traveling for clinics, demonstrations and expos, as well as offering online coaching. Learn more about Jim Anderson at www.HigherHorsemanship.com.

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After winning his Road to the Horse World Championship title in 2012, as one half of Team Australia, James purchased his winning 6666 Ranch bred colt REMEMBER SUNSET and both have embarked on nothing short of an unbelievable journey. Thousands of horse lovers around the world have been left speechless by the unbelievable bond that has formed between Dan James and Swampy, obvious in their mesmerizing liberty demonstrations.

“For our Fifteenth Anniversary, we’re bringing fans the best of the best from around the globe” proudly states Road to the Horse Owner/Producer, Tootie Bland. “Road to the Horse has been privileged to witness Dan James grow as a horseman, husband and father, and as a past Road to the Horse World Champion, there’s no denying, Dan James is one of the greatest horseman of our time.”

“I can’t wait to be a part of such a milestone at Road to the Horse and help kick off the 15^th Anniversary celebrations” states Dan James. “Road to the Horse has always been such a special event for me and I couldn’t be more excited to return as a competitor in 2018.”

In 2008, James joined his good friend, Dan Steers, in Western Australia at El Caballo Spanish Horse Centre where they performed together each weekend in the ‘Dan and Dan Show’ developing their horsemanship techniques.  In 2009, Steers and James relocated to New South Wales and Double Dan Horsemanship was born.  After winning Road to the Horse 2012, James has continued to excel as a horseman, collecting multiple Kentucky Gold Cup and AQHA Congress Freestyle Reining Championships.

Now based in the United States, Dan James continues to perform, teach and inspire horse lovers continuing the legacy of Double Dan Horsemanship at the Australian Equine Performance Center, based in Midway, Kentucky. James is joined by his wife, Elizabeth and new-born daughter, Isabella.

Dan James will join the Road to the Horse 2018 line-up with Kiwi sensation Vicki Wilson, who will return to defend the title she courageously captured in 2017. International showjumper Vicki Wilson, was not only the first cowgirl to capture a Road to the Horse title from her homeland of New Zealand, she was also the first competitor from an English discipline.

Road to the Horse 2018 tickets are available online at www.RoadtotheHorse.com or by calling 877-772-5425.  Follow Road to the Horse on Facebook for the latest information. For sponsorship opportunities at Road to the Horse 2018, contact Tammy Sronce at 940-859-6512 or email tammy@roadtothehorse.com.

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