EJ Laubscher talks about his childhood growing up in South Africa and being chased by hippos, baboons and all sorts of other dangerous animals as a kid. After making the move to America with his family EJ worked on hog farms and started all kinds of horses as well as a couple zebras chasing his dream of becoming a trainer. Since discovering the world of cowhorse he has already won over a quarter million dollars and recently made the move with his wife and kids to Winnewood, OK to further grow his business. This episode is brought to you in part by War Horses For Veterans

COWHORSE FULL CONTACT EPISODE #86 Todd Bergen Part 3 Todd Bergen talks about: - Filming the cow horse scenes for Yellowstone and getting the an epic fence turn that almost wrecked Jimmy and Rip. - The American Performance Horseman experience - The story behind Teton Ridge and the TR9 Training Facility Thank you to our sponsors: UltraCruz & Globe Life Insurance for all their support allowing us to bring you this great interview.

COWHORSE FULL CONTACT Episode #86 Todd Bergen Part 2 In this episode Todd reflects back and talks about: - Working with Annie Reynolds learning to transition his training towards the cow horse events and developing that connection with a cow. - Building relationships and working horses with Ascension Banuelos, Tom Lyons, Matt Gaines & Clint Allen - How Todd and his wife Missy met and the not so flattering introduction to her family. - Learning to deal with customers and day to day operations of a training business. - Raising kids and parenting - Lip Syncing as the Village People at the Sun Circuit - Jack knifing the rig in a snow storm outside of Flagstaff heading home after the Reserve Championship at NRHA Futurity - Dealing with back issues - The call from Thomas Tull and moving to TR9 Ranch in Weatherford, TX. - Pre Show rituals and uncertainty due to lack of preparation - The story behind Smart Luck & Todaysmyluckyday who helped launch Todd's career. - Balancing the kids with work This episode was sponsored by UltraCruz & Globe Life Insurance. Be sure to tune into the 3rd and final part in this series - COWHORSE FULL CONTACT Episode #86 Todd Bergen Part 3

Todd Bergen sits down on the back porch at Dawson Performance Horses with Chris Dawson & Russell Dilday and takes a deep dive into his past going right back to the beginning: Highlights from this episode include: - Growing up in Salem, Oregon - From baseball to motorbikes, 4H, College years and contemplating becoming a professional Ski Bum ,Todd talks about how he gravitated back to the horses - The life lessons learned while working for Bob Avila learning all the aspects of how to train, how to win as well as the business side of running a Professional Training Operation - Reflecting on the "Dream Team Years" with John Slack while at Bob's - The progression of the Reining Horse breeding and competition - Breaking down the mental side of horse training. - Learning from watching other people - How Horse Training Intrigues him and drives him to be the best no matter what the discipline. Thanks to UltraCruz & Globe Life Insurance for sponsoring all three parts of this great Interview. Be sure to check out Part 2 coming up next ....

THIS EPISODE PROUDLY SPONSORED BY: ULTRACRUZ Chris & Russell are all moved into the Tulsa Expo Center and preview the inaugural Mars Equestrian Hackamore Classic as a stand alone event this year. Chris also talks about his recent NCHA Limited Open Championship and what it meant to him. The guys also talk about their recent adventures and clinic with the War Horses For Veterans and talk about the obstacle course Challenge, drinking some good Bourbon and smoking cigars with some of the special forces guys who will be showing off their fence work skills in Vegas next month. Be sure to stay tuned Cowhorse Full Contact social media to learn more about news & upcoming episodes from the Performance Horse World.

Chris Dawson & Russell Dilday were at the National Reined Cow Horse Association/6666 Ranch Cowboy Clinic in Guthrie, OK. last week and restore their faith in humanity catching up Spurs Leathers to discuss everything from his dating habits, life lessons, unique names and horse showing. They also wrap up some of the highlights from the recently completed NRCHA Kimes Ranch Derby in Scottsdale, AZ. SPECIAL Sneak Preview to an upcoming interview with NRHA & NRCHA Open Futurity Champion and Hall Of Fame Rider Todd Bergen. This episode presented by Performance Horse Central PerformanceHorseCentral.com

Mark Michels, the Founder, and CEO of Performance Horse Central/Cutting Horse Central, is interviewed by Chris Dawson & Russell Dilday. Before starting one of the top media companies within the Western performance horse industry, Mark was a horse trainer for over 13 years. Chris and Russell dive deep into Mark's Australian background and discover what led him to switch from training horses to starting an equine news production company. Presented by Globe Life Family Heritage Division - The Thomas Agencies Personal injury and critical illness coverage for the professional horseman and employees that make sense! https://thethomasagencies.com Linda Powell - 817-715-6051 Travis Jamieson - 817-676-4921 Call Today!

Lindy Thorn, the 2022 NCHA Open Futurity Champion, is interviewed by Chris Dawson and Russell Dilday! Presented by Performance Horse Central! Chris Dawson & Russell Dilday caught up with 2022 NCHA Open Futurity Champion Lindy Thorn Cutting Horses during last month's #TheAmericanPerformanceHorseman and talked about her life story, including some motherly advice that led to accomplishing every cutting horse trainer's dream of winning the NCHA Open Futurity Champion Gold Buckle. Performance Horse Central http://www.performancehorsecentral.com/ (940) 328-2550 mark@cuttinghorsecentral.com https://www.facebook.com/performancehorsecentral

Chris and Russell interview NRHA Million Dollar Rider, Matt Mills, at The American Performance Horseman in Arlington, Texas.  Born and raised in Southern California, Matt began riding horses at an early age. He enjoyed a successful career as a youth rider, earning multiple championships throughout California in a variety of disciplines including western pleasure, horsemanship and trail. In 1996 he switched his focus to reining and a few years later established his own training operation in Scottsdale, Arizona. He trains and shows futurity and derby horses and also coaches several successful non-pro and youth riders. Matt is consistently ranked on the NRHA Top Twenty Professionals Riders list and has NRHA lifetime earnings of over $1,000,000.00. He is regularly a finalist at major NRHA events and has received several titles including NRHA Intermediate Open Futurity Reserve Champion as well as multiple titles at the National Reining Breeders Classic (NRBC). He has also earned several large futurity and derby titles including RMRHA Summer Slide, High Roller Reining Classic, SWRHA Futurity and NRHA Cowtown Classic.  Matt's Online Video Series: https://mattmillsreining.com/

Chris and Russell interview NRCHA Hall of Famer and Snaffle Bit Futurity Champion, Kenny Pugh, Sr.  Born in 1938, Kenny Pugh grew up in LeGrande, California. His family had a ranch in the mountains, in Squaw Valley, and he had some ranching relatives. At thirteen, he began going to Idaho to work with a relative, and when he was fifteen he never went home. He began cowboying, mainly in the high country, where at times, it could get as cold as forty below. He moved back to California, working on a large ranch for Jack Reynolds. “I cowboyed and broke colts,” Kenny explained. “In the winter, we did a lot of leather work. At the time, I was only interested in rodeos.” In 1961, Jack took Kenny to the fair to watch the stock horse classes. While watching the class, he decided that he could do it. Kenny met a young trainer at that show. Greg Ward and Kenny became friends, oftentimes traveling to shows and sharing rooms. “I’d pick Greg’s brain quite a bit,” said Kenny. Kenny worked on that ranch for five years, but when many people started bringing horses by to be trained, he decided it was time to try to make it on his own. Later on, in the 1970s, Kenny had a mare named Minnie Gal, whom he won a lot with. She later produced Kenny’s Snaffle Bit Futurity Champion, Sanpeppy Smoke. Kenny had many other Snaffle Bit finalists, Top Ten finishes, and a Reserve Championship in 1979. Arena Werks (Snodgress Equipment) (800) 644-3724 arenawerksinfo@sbcglobal.net https://arenawerks.com/ https://www.facebook.com/arena.werks