With a lifelong love of horses and years of equine experience under her belt, one local teen is taking on the greatest challenge of her life thus far. Earlier this year, 15-year-old Sierra Rowden of Powell Butte became one of 110 participants, or “trainers,” chosen to take part in the 2024 Teens & Oregon Mustangs (T&OM) competition. From the moment she picked up the wild horse she chose through the program, she embarked on a 100+ day journey to take him from wild to trainable, adoptable and ready for his forever home.
Founded in 2009 by Erica and Josh FitzGerald, T&OM is a 501c3 nonprofit organization whose mission is to train Oregon wild horses (mustangs) and burros and help them find homes. Since its inception, Teens and Oregon Mustangs trainers have trained and adopted out over 1,000 Oregon mustangs and burros.
A Central Oregon resident for over 12 years, Rowden is currently homeschooled and has been a member of Deschutes County 4-H for 10 years, showing chickens, guinea pigs, goats and pigs. When it came to the commitment of time, energy and finances, Rowden understood well what was required of her as a T&OM trainer. And, she had the full support of her mom, Tabby. “We knew this would be our summer, and we were fully on board with that.”
Rowden was excited to receive her first-choice when it came to the mustang she would train, a three-year-old palomino gelding from the Hog Creek Herd Management Area (HMA) in eastern Oregon. On April 27, Rowden and her mom picked up her mustang she named Silas from the BLM holding pens in Burns, Oregon. “His name just fits his face,” Rowden says.
Once home, Rowden set to work earning Silas’ trust and trying to get a few touches in. Every wild horse and burro from the BLM holding pens comes with an ID tag around their neck. Getting close enough to remove that tag is the first goal for most trainers. For Rowden and Silas, that monumental day came on Day 8.
T&OM trainers set their own goals and timelines, but their success lies in their ability to pivot and alter training techniques to fit each individual horse. “At first, we just need to be able to make contact, to touch them and get their neck tag off,” Rowden explains. “Getting a halter on and off, touching them all over, picking up their feet, grooming them… we want to desensitize them to everything. We teach them they are safe.”
“The goals are not set by the program, and are fluid and changeable,” notes FitzGerald. “Trainers and horses have already won just by participating in the challenge.”
With a quiet confidence and calm demeanor, Rowden seems perfectly suited to gentling and training a wild mustang. Her solid progress with Silas is a testament to her patience and commitment to building a strong and positive foundation with him as his first experience with humans. Rowden pulls from her past experiences with horses, teachers and trainers, using a combination of training techniques that work best for Silas.
So far, Rowden says her best day with Silas was her first ride, on Day 45. Her most challenging day continues to be Day 26 when he was hard to catch and didn’t want her near him. “He’s doing great and getting more comfortable around new things and people every day,” Rowden shares. “I love how kind and sweet he is and he happily stands next to you and lets you love on him! He now tries his hardest when you ask something new of him and I couldn’t be happier with his progress. He’s truly an amazing horse and will make someone a great trail or pleasure horse.”
Trainers choose to either keep their mustang or sell them at the live auction adoption event that takes place at the end of the T&OM Labor Day competition. At this time, Rowden has decided to sell Silas. “The goal of this program is to find homes for Oregon’s mustangs,” Rowden notes. “If a horse is untouched, it’s harder to find them good homes. So, we are training them and giving them a good start.”
Teens and Oregon Mustangs – Erica and Josh FitzGerald
“I was a competitor in an Extreme Mustang Makeover,” says Erica FitzGerald, founder and president of T&OM. “I work with kids for a living, teaching about 20 horseback riding lessons a day and I came home trying to figure out how I could transfer what I learned from my first wild horse when I was in my 30’s to kids at a younger age. So many things that adults can’t teach, horses teach so well.”
“It was clear to me that creating a training competition was a win by increasing the adoptability of wild horses and a win to help address the overpopulation issues faced by current HMA levels. The third win, to me, was involving youth in such an enduring project,” explains FitzGerald. “We are helping create the next generation of equine enthusiasts dedicated to the mustang breed.”
Erica and her husband, Josh, own FitzGerald Farms in Yamhill, Oregon. In 2009, they founded T&OM by offering 10 youth in their barn a yearling to train. Now open to both novice and professional trainers across the U.S. and Canada, T&OM has grown and this year welcomes 110 trainers ranging in age from 10 years old to some in their 80’s.
The horses and burros trained through T&OM are exclusively from Oregon HMAs. The average sale price at the T&OM auction adoption event for a horse trained to ride is $5,700. “Our trainers work hard and keep all of the proceeds of the sale, except to reimburse T&OM for the $125 BLM adoption fee we pay up front,” FitzGerald states.
“Our Oregon mustangs are selling all over. Last year the high bid for one of our mustangs was $25,000. We had a horse sell to Germany, Hawaii, Georgia, Missouri,” FitzGerald shares. “We always adopt out 100 percent of our horses through the event. I feel that this mission of mine is a positive one. I do this for the kids, for the horses. These horses can change lives, and we can make a difference for them while continuing to experience a piece of America’s history through the wild horses.”
2024 Teens & Oregon Mustangs Competition & Wild Horse Trading Post
Event date: Aug. 30 – Sept. 1
Location: Linn County Fairgrounds, Albany, OR
Auction Adoption Event: Sunday, Sept. 1
For more information: TeensandOregonMustangs.org
"We want to desensitize them to everything. We teach them they are safe."
—Sierra Rowden, 15-year-old T&OM Trainer
"These horses can change lives, and we can make a difference for them while continuing to experience a piece of America’s history through the wild horses.”
—Erica FitzGerald, Founder and President of Teens & Oregon Mustangs