Training Tips
The 2008 Road to the Horse Mystery Competitor is well-known trainer and author Mike Kevil of Scottsdale, Arizona. Kevil has judged the event for three years and now moves inside the pen to train rather than judge. He’ll compete with returning champion Chris Cox (Mineral Wells, TX) March 1-2, 2008 in front of a packed house at Murfreesboro’s Tennessee Miller Coliseum. Trainers Tommy Garland (Powhatan, VA), Ken McNabb (Cody, WY) also join in the competition—a chance for bragging rights and prizes totaling over $15,000.
Kevil’s identity was secret until today, though a clue was released each month from June to February to help audience members make their best guesses. We sat down with Kevil to find out how he was preparing for the show and how being a competitor was different than his long-time stint as a judge for the competition.
About the Competition
Q: When did you first hear about Road to the Horse?
A: About five years ago. Owner/Producer Tootie Bland called me one day, introduced herself and told me about her competition. I love watching other people train, especially at this level. I couldn’t wait to be a part of it. As a judge, I got to watch top trainers work––and I had the best seat in the house.
Q: What makes you want to join in the competition?
A: This competition is fun, exciting and challenging. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of something like that? Every year I’ve judged I’ve stood outside those round pens dying to be inside. This year I get that chance. Win, lose or draw it’s going to be fun.
Q: What will you do to “study up” and prepare for this year’s show? Will you pay attention to your competitors’ shows or DVDs? Will you practice within the Road to the Horse time frame? Will you plan some jokes or crowd-pleasing moments? What little sneak peek can you offer?
A: Tootie asked me one day if I had watched these other guys’ shows. I told her I didn’t have cable TV. She chewed me out and told me to get it. I’m glad I did. Thank you Tootie. I’ve watched their shows and gotten a sense of who they are--but not exactly what they’re going to do in the Road to the Horse format. Of course––as a judge––I saw Chris Cox work last year for the first time and was very impressed. I’m wondering if I can slip something in his food the night before I have to compete with him—totally teasing.
As far as a sneak peek––I plan to use a teeter-totter in the free style. I’ll stand at one end and my horse will jump on the other, I’ll do two flips and land (hopefully facing forward) in the saddle and ride off. Of course––I could change my mind between now and then. At this point, it’s just a working plan.
Q: Is there something you’re looking forward to the most at the 2008 event?
A: Just being in that round pen with the clock ticking away––knowing that the very next thing I do could help me win or lose––the adrenalin rush from competition.
Q: What’s the most difficult part of competing in Road to the Horse?
A: For me, remembering everybody’s name. If you mean the actual competition, I think it’s just sticking to your game plan and not changing because of what somebody else is doing.
Q: What do you enjoy most about the Road to the Horse setting?
A: The people. They must only sell tickets to great people. The best crowds I’ve ever seen have been at Road to the Horse. I’ve met and visited with some of the nicest people at every one of these events I’ve judged.
Q: What’s the biggest difference in training a horse back at your ranch and training a horse at Road to the Horse? What will you do differently in the time and space allotted?
A: Well the time is the biggest factor. I don’t think I’ll do anything different at Road to the Horse, but if I were at home I’d spend more time at each step before moving on to the next. For this competition, you always have to keep two things in balance––the horses’ state of mind and how he’s doing compared to the other horses. Under normal training conditions, you have to wait until your horse is ready before you move on. Waiting on the horse with the Road to the Horse clock running is tough.
About You
Q: Did you ever want to be anything except a horse trainer? What was it?
A: I never had plans to be anything. I just took advantage of opportunities as they came along. At one point, I was broke and in between jobs. I’d ridden a lot of colts so to feed myself, I started one for a guy who liked the job I did and told his neighbor about me. When the neighbor gave me a couple to ride, I thought WOW all I have to do is ride horses for people and they give me money. So I put an ad in the paper, and I was in business. I told myself that if I was going to do this I’d better learn all I could. So I went to work for some trainers. The more I learned the more I wanted to learn. And that’s right where I am at today, still learning, still enjoying the job and the process.
Q: Who are your top mentors—from when you were young, high school age, young adult, and now?
A: I’ve had help from a lot of people, but the top five are:
Keith Hagler
Gene La Croix
Shorty Freeman
Don Dodge
Matlock Rose
Q: What did you learn from each?
A: Keith Hagler taught me how to get around a bad horse and pay attention to the little things. How to shoe, how to drive a team, pack a horse––just too may things to list. Without Keith and the foundation he gave me, I wouldn’t have
learned as much as I did from everyone else.
Gene La Croix taught me timing and feel and how important it is for a horse to go forward properly. Gene has the best hands I’ve ever seen––and I’ve seen a lot of good trainers.
From Shorty Freeman, I learned the art of waiting, and of how to let a horse learn from his own mistakes. Shorty taught me that doing less is more.
Don Dodge was a great horseman who excelled in a variety of disciplines. He was an excellent judge of horses and a smart man with a sound program. Don taught me to have a reason for everything I did on a horse. He used to say, “Training horses is a process that takes time. Just keep doing the right thing and wait for the process to unfold.”
Matlock Rose is another Top horseman who could read a cow and a horse as well as anyone. Matlock was a tough competitor who could most often find a way to win. He was a wealth of knowledge for me.
Q: As a professional trainer, what horse gave you the biggest challenge?
A: No single horse has been more challenging for me than all the rest. Over the years I’ve had several that were challenges. I am thankful for all of those horses because when you finish with one of the really difficult ones, you’re just a little bit better than you were when you started. That kind of education is priceless.
Q: What’s one piece of advice about horse training you hope to share with Road to the Horse audiences?
A: People should know that they can find principles of good horsemanship in every good method. Styles and methods may vary or change, but the basic principals of how a horse learns always stay the same. No single person has the “only” way. This contest has proven that to be true. We’ve seen different trainers approach this contest in different ways, but the things they all share are good basic training principals, the ability to teach the horse in a low stress, humane way, allowing the horse to figure things out rather than forcing him. Road to the Horse is a must see for anybody that is a student of horsemanship.
Q: What do you hope people will see in you?
A: Oh, man I don’t know. You know I’ve always worked very hard at what I do and I’m still very passionate about learning more about the horse. But on the other hand I try not to take myself too seriously. I have a sense of humor that just spills out sometimes. I try not to look too silly in public but sometimes ...
Q: Any final words for your adoring Road to the Horse fans?
A: To my one adoring fan I want to say “love you mom”.
More About Mike Kevil:
That single statement quite nicely sums up the way Mike Kevil thinks. Often referred to as "the thinking person's cowboy," Mike has made a remarkable career observing, identifying, reasoning things through, then teaching what he's learned to both horses and their owners.
Before the modern day term "Horse Whisperer" and the training practices that terminology denotes came into vogue, Mike was a master practitioner of this art. His style of patient, steady training, with an emphasis on understanding the horse, rather than forcing it to blindly yield, sets him in a class by himself. Today, in a world where more and more horse trainers and amateur enthusiasts are using methods similar to Mike's, this horseman remains at the head of the class, beside the very best in his field.
Born in Arizona in 1953, Mike was a rodeo competitor during high school. He earned a college scholarship, but only stayed in school for a semester and a half because, "I was having more fun out of school than in… so I quit and headed for Colorado." Although he regrets not staying in college for a formal education, Mike's travels and the acquaintances he's made along the way have provided him with valuable learning experiences.
In the early 1970's following stints as a guide and outfitter in the Colorado Rockies and a colt starter and exercise rider for an Idaho based racehorse trainer, Mike returned to Arizona to look for a job "doing anything. I was flat broke. One day a friend told me about a guy who needed a horse started. I guess he thought I did an all right job, cause he recommended me to his neighbor. Pretty soon I was riding three horses at $5.00 a head, every day. It was the first time in a couple of months I'd been able to feed myself. I thought it was a pretty good way to make a living so I put an ad in the paper to get more horses." Before long, Mike had to cancel the ad. He had more horses than he could ride. "I kept my saddle in my pickup all the time. I didn't have a place of my own, so I made house calls. I started horses in back yards, barbed-wire arenas, open desert, plowed fields ... whatever was available."
In the winter of 1976, Mike went to work starting colts for Gene LaCroix (for many years the leading trainer of Arabian horses in the world). From there, he moved on to starting colts for two legendary cutting horse trainers, first, Shorty Freeman, then Matlock Rose.
Following those experiences, Mike went into business for himself, primarily starting colts for top trainers including his former employers and adding the likes of Don Dodge and Al Dunning. After two years, Mike was able to buy his own facility near Cave Creek, Arizona. Since then the only thing that has kept his business from growing too big to handle is Mike's self-control and the same good sense about business that he has about horses.
Today, although Mike rides a lot of horses for individual owners, seventyfive percent of his business still comes from other trainers who send him colts to start and problem horses to fix. The types of horses that Mike rides cover the spectrum. It's not unusual for him to step off an Arabian park horse, then onto a rope horse to heel a few steers, then to a young cutter or reiner that some top trainer thinks has great enough potential to warrant being started by Mike.
Over the years, Mike has given a good number of clinics around the world, from elegant farms in Italy, Ireland, and all over the USA, to Arizona prisons where he teaches detainees the art of gentling Bureau of Land Management (BLM) mustangs. At this juncture, however, he finds himself hard pressed to travel because of all the horses he continually has in training.
"It's just not fair to the owners and trainers who've put their trust in me to run off and leave their horses in somebody else's care," he says. "That's really why I've started trying to put everything down in writing and on video tape… so that I can share as much information as possible with as many people as I can without leaving my horses behind."
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