Story and photos by Craig Reed
Lifelong horse enthusiasts take on a rewarding new challenge.
“We’re still just horsin’ around,” Mardi Banks says of herself and her parents, Bob and Linda.
The latest horse venture for the lifelong horse-loving family is working with young mustangs through the Teen and Oregon Mustangs program. The mustangs are captured from the high desert country of Central Oregon and then made available to train. After 140 days of working with an animal, the trainer can keep the horse or make it available at auction.
The Banks family has spent years training horses, giving lessons to riders, and participating in Extreme Cowboy Racing events, Cowboy Mounted Shooting events, and mountain trail shows.
In 2023, they accepted a new challenge and welcomed 3 mustangs into their stalls and corrals. This year, they are working with 2 Mustangs.
“It’s a challenge that turned out to be so rewarding,” Bob says. “The mustangs bond with you. They become really good pals. It’s surprising how hard they work for you.”
Mardi concurs.
“It’s a good experience that challenges you as a horse person—to take a new project on and to see what you need to change in yourself as a trainer,” she says.
Mardi signed up herself and her parents for the Mustang challenge in early 2023. Their applications and livestock facilities at the base of the Coast Range west of Roseburg were approved by the Mustang program and the Bureau of Land Management, the agency that captures the horses on federal land and puts them up for adoption.
“It was something else to do with horses,” Mardi says. “I just had a wild hair and signed us up.”
After seeing photos of the horses, the family picked up their mustangs at the St. Paul Rodeo grounds. Bob worked with Classy; Linda with Texas, a horse with a big star on its forehead; and Mardi with G.W., a horse named after a character in a John Wayne movie.
The 3 mustangs were too young to ride, but the trainers worked with the animals to calm them, walk them through and over obstacles, and accept a blanket and saddle on their backs in anticipation of being ridden when more physically mature.
All 3 horses were sold at auction. This year, Bob and Mardi took on the challenge of 2 new mustangs while Linda decided to be a coach and a second pair of eyes for her husband and daughter.
Bob is working with Kowboy, a 1-year-old pinto. Mardi is training Koda, a 2-year-old sorrel.
The 2 geldings made their first public appearance in the June 1 Lookingglass Parade. Bob and Mardi rode their older horses and led their respective mustangs.
“They walked along like troopers,” Bob says. “There were kids on the side scrambling for candy and people applauding, and the colts walked right through it all.”
The family also made a trip to the coast with their horses, riding the older horses and leading the colts along the beach and into the surf.
Bob describes Kowboy as a little standoffish, but he is a quick learner.
“Once he finds out what you’re asking of him, he’ll try really hard to do it,” Bob says. “He’s always overcome.”
Mardi says Koda is “a special type of horse.” Mardi’s 10-year-old daughter, Skylar, has been able to work with the Mustang and led him through a trail obstacle course after several weeks of training.
“That’s testimony of how they’ll bond with you,” Mardi says. “For Skylar to work with Koda on her own says something about him. He’s a kind and willing horse. We really like him.”
Josh and Erica FitzGerald founded the Mustang program in 2009. The initial goal was to give teenagers the opportunity to help train wild yearling horses and burros, resulting in finding permanent homes for the animals.
The program rapidly expanded and now features older animals and trainers of all ages. The trainers provide the care the animals need to become well-behaved, loving animals ready for adoption.
Last year, the program had 148 horses and burros in training. This year, 130 animals were in training.
Bob and Mardi took Kowboy and Koda to a Mustang competition during Labor Day weekend but opted to bring them home rather than put them up for adoption.
Bob made this decision after last year’s experience with Classy.
“I felt like I let my colt down last year,” he says. “Sending him off to a stranger ended up not seeming right. He went to a good home and is getting used to riding trails, but I ended up not feeling good about it.
“The good Lord gave us really nice colts and the abilities to work with them, so this year we’ll keep them.”