Keep up with the J2 mustangs' progress on the J2 blog page.

QUITMAN, GA — J2 Quarter Horse and Buck Wild Horse Training of Quitman, Georgia, has been selected to compete in the Gatorland Extreme Mustang Makeover during Lynn Palm’s Women LUV Horses event in Ocala April 3-5. Trainers from eight states will have approximately 60 days to gentle a wild horse they picked up in Marianna, Fla. January 24-25 to compete for a total of $10,000 in prize money.

The three and four year old Mustangs, gathered from Nevada, will be judged April 3 and 4 on condition, groundwork, and a “Horse Course” that requires maneuvers and includes obstacle found in trail and recreational riding situations. The competing mustangs will be available for adoption through an oral bidding adoption on Sunday, April 5th.

Buddy, Serena, Buck and Barry Johnson have all been selected as trainers and have been assigned four mustangs to train for the competition. Buddy has been training horses his entire life and his two sons have been raised working and training horses. You can view more picture of the mustangs and follow their training progress on their website.

The purpose of the competition is to showcase the beauty, versatility, and trainability of these rugged horses that roam freely on public lands throughout the West, where they are protected by the BLM under Federal law. The BLM periodically removes excess animals from the range to ensure herd health and protect rangeland resources. Thousands of removed animals are then made available each year to the public for adoption. All of the animals involved in the “Makeover” competition will be available for adoption at the Ocala, Fla. event in April.

Adoption fees will be set by competitive bid with initial fees being determined by the level and quality of training each horse has received. To qualify to adopt, one must be at least 18, with no record of animal abuse. In addition, adopters must have suitable facilities and can adopt no more than four animals. Adoption applications may be obtained and approved on the spot.

About the Mustang Heritage Foundation The mission of the Mustang Heritage Foundation and the goal of the Extreme Mustang makeover is to increase the adoption of mustangs across the county. The Mustang Heritage Foundation created the Extreme Mustang Makeover event to showcase the recognized value of mustangs through a national training competition and has placed more than 1,000 mustangs for adoption since September 2007. Go to www.mustangheritagefoundation.org for more information.

About the Bureau of Land Management The Bureau of Land management (BLM) is responsible for managing 258 million acres of public lands, located mostly in the West. Wild horses and burros roaming public rangelands are managed in a manner consistent with BLM’s overall multiple-use mission, as set forth in the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976. Since 1973, the BLM has placed more than 219,00 horses and burros into private care through adoption. For more information, visit wildhorseandburro.blm.gov or call 866-4MUSTANGS.