Elisa Wallace was hoping to adopt her 19th mustang in early 2024 with the goal of competing at the inaugural Mustang Classic. In addition to being a five-star eventer, Wallace began training mustangs 12 years ago and has had notable success in numerous mustang-focused competitions. These events often catered to Western disciplines, but the Mustang Classic, a competition focused on highlighting mustangs as English discipline mounts, came into existence this year. With Wallace’s solid foundation in the English discipline realm, she knew she had to be part of this new event.
“I have done a lot of the makeovers because it’s good to push myself to learn from different disciplines and stuff like that,” Wallace said. “It was nice to be like, ‘I know how to train one for this one,’ versus getting [the horses] to link what they’re looking for in Western training and how we train. But again, a well-trained horse is a well-trained horse.”
Finding Zephyr
For the Mustang Classic, Wallace was hoping to be able to bring home a nice-looking mustang following a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Internet Adoption, but she was outbid on the prospects that interested her. Her students, however, were successful in securing their hopeful mounts for the Mustang Classic. When Wallace went to pick her student’s mustangs at a BLM satellite adoption in Mississippi, she came across Zephyr.
“I picked him out,” Wallace said. “Everybody’s like, ‘What do you look for?’ But it is the same thing, right? You want a horse that’s uphill—he’s actually going through a little bit of a growing spurt right now—and built straight through the legs. He seemed to have a higher set neck.”
Zephyr originally came from the Twin Peaks herd management area in California before making his way home with Wallace in Reddick, Florida, back in February. Wallace had a busy competition schedule that month, so Zephyr had a leisurely start to his training.
“He’s a good-minded horse,” Wallace said. “It did take me a little bit longer to get on him. It took about three weeks. Normally I can get on [the mustangs] in three to four days, surprisingly.”
Training for the Mustang Classic
Over the past seven months, Zephyr was slowly started under saddle, but he quickly flourished into a sporthorse. Wallace explained that he has competed at the Beginner Novice level in eventing horse trials and has also done a few jumper shows. The five-year-old gelding has taken his job as a riding horse in stride.
“He’s just so well-minded and very people-oriented, so he’s a great ambassador for the mustang that way,” she said.
Despite his beginnings as a wild mustang, Zephyr has adapted to his new life.
“He’s just a big goofball,” Wallace said. “He loves his food; he loves his ‘condo.’ He loves his stall, called a condo. He’s very tidy in his stall, too.”
Wallace noted the mustangs can have a negative stigma associated with them, but she believes they are quality horses.
“A lot of them are suitable for low-level eventing. They’re very athletic,” Wallace said. “I have a very athletic one at home that hopefully will be going one star soon, so I always root for the underdog.”
Wallace pointed out that the training in the lead-up to a competition like the Mustang Classic is a lot of work. However, she added that it’s also very rewarding and beneficial.
“[The mustangs are] a good distraction for me in some ways with upper-level eventing because it always keeps you with two feet on the ground and the goal is to always do your best but learn to be better,” she noted. “Every horse teaches me back.”
The Mustang Classic Is Underway
The first day of competition at the Mustang Classic consisted of all combinations completing Training Level Test 2. Currently, Wallace and Zephyr lead the field of 56 combinations from around the country. On Saturday, all combinations will compete in show jumping and their choice of either arena cross country or working equitation. The top 10 combinations will move on to Sunday’s championship final, consisting of a freestyle highlighting each horse’s best qualities.
The entire event will be live streamed for free on EQUESTRIAN+ (equestrianplus.com). You can also view after the event with a subscription.
To learn more about the 2024 Mustang Classic, click here.
