Road to the Horse

A long legacy of ranching and horse breeding has caught the attention of Road to the Horse boss wrangler Thomas Saunders and led him to the Bath Brothers Ranch, owned by Randy and Laurie Dunn, in Laramie, Wyoming. Beginning in the spring of 1868, the Bath family started raising horses and cattle in the Territory of Wyoming and they still reside there today, almost 150 years later.

During the running of the remuda in the 2009 Road to the Horse, competitors John Lyons, Tommy Garland and Richard Winters will choose one lucky colt from Bath Brothers Ranch to complete the competition with. Ten three-year-old geldings have been chosen from the ranch based on their quality, conformation and disposition. Together, Saunders and Bath have looked at these horses for a period of months to decide which ones would best suite the competition.

“The first thing we look at is quality. I really like their blend of pedigree and it is a bloodline we have never tried before. Bath Brothers have been doing this for a long time and it’s an ideal ranch-type horse that will challenge the competitors,” said Road to the Horse boss wrangler Saunders.

Bath Brothers runs about 65 Blue Valentine bred mares and has 6 grandsons of Blue Valentine at stud. Since the late 1980s they have concentrated on a Blue Valentine and Driftwood cross because it is such a time tested and proven cross. Each year a production sale is held for these outstandingly bred horses in cooperation with Chip & Kathy Merritt, Sam Shoultz & Ken Matzner and Dick & Dianne Van Pelt. The annual Come to the Source Sale features weanlings through 3 and 4-year-olds and older mares.

“These horses have a great disposition; they’re easy to start, bigger boned, deeper horse that has a lot of stamina and heart. They also have a lot of mental capacity and are able to adapt to different situations. We feel honored that we were asked to participate in Road to the Horse and it’ll be interesting to take our horses down to Tennesee,” said Randy Dunn, owner of Bath Brothers Ranch.

Nutrena^®, a Road to the Horse sponsor, is providing the feed for this year’s colts from Bath Brothers Ranch. With its added fat, controlled starch formula, SafeChoice^™ minimizes the risk of nutritionally related problems that can result from high starch diets, while promoting sound growth and excellent body condition.

The Road to the Horse competition is like no other. It is “the original colt starting challenge,” combining the love for the horse, the love of competition and the love of education and entertainment. Hosted by Rick Lamb, of RFD-TV’s The Horse Show with Rick Lamb, this event has something for everyone. It is a weekend filled with endless horse-knowledge, excitement and friendly competition among some of the world’s top horseman.

Road to the Horse is proud to partner with many outstanding companies including Horse & Rider, Mustang Makeover, Cinch, Cruel Girl, and Gist Silversmiths. For more information on Road to the Horse and Tootie Bland Productions, visit www.roadtothehorse.com or call 325-736-5000.

Extremely accomplished horse trainer and clinician John Lyons is getting ready for the 2009 Road to the Horse, not by practicing and improving his training techniques but by preparing for the competition physically. Lyons will be competing March 14-15 in Franklin, Tennessee against Tommy Garland and Richard Winters for the title of Road to the Horse Champion.

“I plan on getting in as good shape physically as I can. Most of the guys out there are half my age. I’m not going to do anything different training wise though. I’ve trained 4,000 to 5,000 horses in my career, and this is a challenge because of the time restraint, but I have over 25 years of knowledge,” said Lyons.

Using the deep well of knowledge that he has acquired over the years, in combination with his new workout plan, Lyons will surely give his younger competitors a run for their money. Although his son, Josh Lyons, has competed at Road to the Horse, John has never before tested his hand in the competition.

“I went to Road to the Horse last year to cheer for Ken McNabb who is a longtime friend of mine. He went through the very first trainer certification program that I taught. Road to the Horse was such a fun thing and I thought if Tootie wanted me to, I would throw my hat in the ring,” said Lyons.

About Road to the Horse

Road to the Horse is unlike any other event in the equine or entertainment industry. It is “the original colt starting challenge”. The two-day sold out event matches the absolute best horse trainers and clinicians of today against one another as they train unbroken colts to ride in just a few short hours in front of a packed live audience and television cameras. By combining education, edge-of-your-seat suspense, entertainment and the love of the horse, Road to the Horse has been responsible for solidifying the position of today’s horsemanship heros and launching the careers of tomorrow’s hottest new stars. In the process, the event itself has become a shining star of horse industry. Hosted by Rick Lamb, of RFD-TV’s The Horse Show with Rick Lamb, spectators are guaranteed not only to have a good time, but also to walk away with training knowledge that will improve their relationship with horses.

Road to the Horse is proud to partner with many outstanding companies including Horse & Rider, Mustang Makeover, Cinch, Cruel Girl, Gist Silversmiths, ABI Equine and John Deere . For more information on Road to the Horse and Tootie Bland Productions, visit www.roadtothehorse.com or call 325-736-5000.