Chatham, VA - Saturday, three horse trainers - known as "horse whisperers" - will try their luck at taming wild horses in the second annual Colt Challenge.
The three local trainers have never seen the horses they will be working with and the horses are completely untrained, but by the end of the day, one trainer will be named top horse whisperer.
"The first five minutes into the ring, the people in the stands will go, 'Oh my Lord, these horses are crazy'," said David Tuggle, President of the South Eastern Farriers And Horse Owners Association.
Tuggle says the Colt Challenge will consist of 3 timed rounds where each competitor will use a technique called natural horsemanship to train the horses.
At the end of the third round, each trainer and their newly trained horse will compete in an obstacle course to determine the winner.
"Everyone in the stands will be on the edge of their seats. It's better than any WWE wrestling you will ever see," said Tuggle.
Morgan Harris of Carolina Horsemanship is hoping to walk away with the title and also new publicity for her business.
"It's getting me way out of my comfort zone. I haven't competed in anything like this ever. So it's getting me out in front of the public which is something I've been needing to do for a long time. So I'm super excited about it," said Harris.
She hopes the crowd will not only have fun, but will also learn about natural horsemanship as a safe, preferable method for horse training.
"I hope it'll be a lot of fun for them. They can see what I do and it gives me an opportunity to get my message across about natural horsemanship and treating the horse in a different way that responds with the horse," Harris said.
The competition - which will also feature food and vendors - is the first major event held at the Old Dominion Agricultural Complex since the venue's completion.
Doors open at 8:00 AM. Tickets can be purchased at the door for $15 so be sure to take the whole family.
