Meeting Stacy Westfall at the Mid Michigan Horse Expo
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02/15/09
The Mid Michigan Horse Expo held at Birch Run Expo Center February 12 through February 15 featured one of American's top and most inspiring clinicians and competitors, Stacy Westfall. Stacy received worldwide attention in 2006 when she rode Wizard's Baby Doll, also known as Roxy, to win the Freestyle Reining Championship at Quarter Horse Congress.
Sandy and I met Stacy for the first time when she visited our booth and she is just amazing! We introduced Stacy to the Equicizer and asked her to give it a try. Like any true horse lover, Stacy was like a little kid, jumping from horse to horse (actually Equicizer to Equicizer). She first jumped on "Krista," our Equipony who only stands 6 hands tall (24 inches), and was instantly impressed! Then she moved over to Brownie who was saddled as a race horse. I proceeded to give Stacy an official jockey lesson on Brownie which was an interesting concept - me giving Stacy a riding lesson!?!
We were also blessed to have Steve Lantvit, CHA Certified Western English Riding Instructor from his Highgrove Farm Training Facility in our booth. As Stacy was aboard "Peanut Butter," our Palomino G-1 model Equicizer, Steve explained how he uses the Equicizer at his training center for lesson planning and with his students.
Stacy had to prepare for her next clinic but invited us to bring "Peanut Butter" over to her booth for more people to see and try! She saddled him up with her comfy bareback pad and her soft leather reins that are like butter in your hands. People visiting Stacey's booth were able to try both my Equicizer and Stacy's equipment all at the same time!
Our Equicizer booth stayed busy throughout the entire expo but Sandy and I took turns attending Stacy's clinics and we both agree, "Bravo Stacy Westfall!" It's one thing to share knowledge with people but Stacy shares knowledge sprinkled with inspiration! Watching Stacy in the arena with her faithful steed "Popcorn" doing demos, I loved the relationship and some comical extras between the two of them. Stacy would have Popcorn do some things incorrectly so she could make a point during a demo on how to correct and fix, and Popcorn would roll his eyes at her, (figuratively speaking : ) Stacy has Popcorn trained to practically go get her a hot chocolate, lightly stirred and donuts if she asked him for it!
The Mid Michigan Horse Expo was a great experience for us on so many levels. We met so many new people and it was exciting to see them try the Equicizer for the first time.
Thank you Stacy Westfall for your gracious gift of time and enthusiasm. Please check out her and her husband Jesse's Westfall Horsemanship website at www.westfallhorsemanship.com and be sure to catch Stacy in a town near you! Also check out all Stacy's DVD's and other products at her website.
I also want to send a big thank you to Steve Lantvit of Highgrove Farm www.highgrovefarm.com. He spent many hours in the Equicizer booth offering riders of all levels in Western, Hunt Seat and Dressage a riding lesson using the Equicizer. Watching Steve apply his instructional methods right there in our booth was an incredible experience for everyone! Steve is also Cowboy Hall of Fame's Craig Cameron's Mid-West Connection and one of the driving members of the Extreme Cowboy Race. Check out the Extreme Cowboy Association at http://www.ExtremeCowboyAssociation.com.
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