Carley Piper of New London will compete in the Extreme Mustang Makeover, Aug. 22-23, in Shartlesville, Pennsylvania.
Piper will have 100 days to gentle a randomly assigned yearling, wild horse.
She has been riding horses since she was 2 years old. She broke out a pony for the first time at age 10.
She has worked with multiple trainers and has trained all her horses on her own. She started out riding miniature horses and once she outgrew them she rode ponies and has been riding ever since.
The yearlings competing in the Extreme Mustang Makeover challenge were virtually untouched prior to their May pick-up.
Youth, ages 8-17, and mustangs will compete in a series of classes that will showcase their new skills. The horses will compete in handling and conditioning, leading trail and a freestyle class.
The competition showcases the beauty, versatility and trainability of these rugged horses that roam freely on public lands throughout the West, where they are protected by the Bureau of Land Management under federal law.
The BLM periodically removes excess animals from the range to ensure herd health and protect rangeland resources. Thousands of the removed animals are then made available each year to the public for adoption.
More than 5,000 wild horses have been adopted through Mustang Heritage Foundation events and programs since 2007.