Welcome to the
Extreme Cowboy Association
We are excited about 2010 and the many fun filled and
exciting Extreme Cowboy Racing events that are on the
schedule. The formation of
EXCA has been an thrilling and challenging adventure!
Many people have worked tirelessly to create an association
that you will be proud to tell your friends about.
This is the latest issue of your monthly newsletter,
The Brave Horse.
You will receive it each month electronically around the
middle of the month.
The Brave Horse will be full of
interesting stories,
EXCA event results, point standings, human interest
stories about
EXCA members and Tips and Tales from our founder, Craig
Cameron. We encourage you to communicate your
suggestions for stories and ideas that will make The
Brave Horse fun, better and more informative.
The Brave Horse
the best
newsletter in the equine world. Please forward your
ideas and suggestions to Bill Hull at
bhextremecowboy@gmail.com.
BASIC HORSEMANSHIP
Attitude
Makes a Difference
When you make the decision to go out and work with your
horse, go with a positive attitude. If your attitude is
negative or sour, go do something else and come back when
you feel better. Your horse has the intelligence or
instinct to pick up on your frame of mind. When you are
positive, you will be more understanding and patient. Your
horse won’t have a hard time pleasing you because you are
working with him in a positive manner. When your mood is
bad or you have a negative attitude, your horse probably
won’t be able to please you because you will tend to be more
aggressive and will be unsure of yourself. Either way, your
horse will pick up on it.
Successful horsemen maintain positive attitudes when working
with their horses. Remember that a positive attitude
creates inspiration and a negative attitude creates an
atmosphere of despair or desperation. The simple rule of
thumb is to always approach your horse with the attitude
that you want when someone approaches you. It’s really very
simple; a positive attitude is what it’s all about.
Ride
hard and always Ride Smart.
Craig Cameron
MEET EXTREME HORSEMAN
JEFF LEBBIN
by Mick A Kelpie
It has been said that behind every great man is a great
story. Today, I am going to tell you the story of Jeff
Lebbin, a trainer, clinician and equine dentist from Swartz
Creek, Michigan. His family run ranch is home to 60 head of
horses, up to 20 head of cattle and a pen full of Austrian
Kelpies that he raises to help with the ranch work. If you
ever have the chance to meet this modern day cowboy, you’ll
meet someone who loves his work and almost always has a
smile on his face. If doesn’t matter if you are a life long
client or meeting Jeff for the first time, I guarantee you
that he will make you laugh.
Growing up, Jeff’s family raised and showed Foundation
Quarter Horses. By age 10, he was training neighbor’s
ponies for quarter mile driving races. By 16, Jeff had
turned professional and was hired by multiple farms to train
and show their class A Morgan’s,
Arabians and Quarter Horses in a variety of disciplines
including Western, Hunt Seat, Saddle Seat, Reining and
Dressage, earning several World titles. Jeff was a full
time trainer by age 18, training all breeds and disciplines,
including driving. In 1990, Jeff expanded his horse
operation and started a horse and carriage company that
included 14 Percherons and several carriages which were used
for proms, weddings and parties. He was also featured with
these horses in a movie and multiple commercials.
As the horse industry began to change and breed associations
started allowing horses to move in a way that Jeff did not
agree with, he left the western pleasure ring and began
focusing on Foundation bred horses and ranch based
competitions. Although Jeff still trains all disciplines,
he is best known for his ability to train reined cow horses
from a young colt whose mind and body is ready to be molded
to the well broke horse that is missing the finishing
touches. Jeff’s reputation for soft but firm training
methods has spread nationwide. He has several out of state
clients and others that are trainers themselves. Jeff
credits a lot of his success to his friends and mentors in
the horse world including PRCA Champion Robert Etbauer, NCHA
World Champion Bart Nichols and NRCHA World Champions Don
Murphy and Andy Adams.
Jeff’s success can be seen not only in the horses he has
trained but also through the numerous wins he has had with
his personal horses. From 2005 – 2008, Jeff was the
Michigan NRCHA Open and Limited Open Champion. He was also
the 2008 FQHR World Versatility Champion with his stallion,
Smart Poco Equalizer who was also crowned the FQHR World
Champion Cow Horse for his combined performances in cutting,
reined cow horses and roping classes. In 2009, Jeff was the
FQHR World Versatility Champion and the Reserve World High
Point Champion. That same year, Jeff was the Michigan NRCHA
Open Hackamore Reserve Champion with Freckles Irish Pride
who was also the Amateur Hackamore Champion with Jeff’s
daughter, Emily.
Although Jeff is passionate about training and showing
Reined Cow Horses; when he saw Craig Cameron’s Extreme
Cowboy Race on RFD-TV he knew it was a new challenge
right up his alley. In 2007, Jeff submitted a tape to
Equine Affaire in Columbus, Ohio and was selected to
compete. Since competing in that first race where he won a
saddle, Jeff has become hooked on Extreme Cowboy Racing.
He enjoys EXCA because it is an organization where the whole
family can compete. Jeff’s wife, Rhonda is a CPA who helps
with the daily operations of the farm and recently competed
in her first EXCA race. In 2009, Jeff and his two youngest
daughters, Emily (17) and Samantha (12) were the Mid West
Regional Champions for their respective EXCA Divisions and
qualified for the 2009 EXCA World Championship where
Samantha was crowned EXCA World Champion in the Young Gun
Division on a 23 year old Foundation Quarter Horse, Pretty
Hot Dude. Jeff’s oldest daughter, Kate (21) is a veterinary
student at Michigan State University and recently competed
in her first Extreme Cowboy Race at the 2010 Ohio Equine
Affaire. In addition to competing in the EXCA, Jeff and his
family have hosted several EXCA races on their property,
featuring an extremely challenging outdoor course. In
addition to competing and hosting EXCA events, Jeff is a
National Advisory Board member for the Mid West Region, a
member of the Rules Committee and helped develop the format
for the new judging standards and the new Judge’s Test used
by EXCA.
When not promoting or exhibiting in the EXCA, Jeff is busy
raising and training the next generation of versatile ranch
horses. Jeff is living a life that most can only dream
about.
At the beginning of this article, I told you I was going to
tell Jeff’s story. What I didn’t tell you was that I am his
best friend and youngest “child”. My name is Mick, a 7 year
old Australian Kelpie stud dog and Jeff’s ranch manager.
EXCA JUDGING / SCORING SYSTEM
The first EXCA Judging Clinic was held April 23-25 at the
Double Horn Ranch in Bluff Dale, Texas. EXCA Founder, Craig
Cameron provided the leadership and instruction throughout
the clinic. We had 22 participants from 9 states plus
Canada. Nine EXCA Regions were represented. The clinic
included instruction, discussion and review of still
pictures, indoor courses , outdoor courses, live judging on
the Extreme Cowboy course and a complete review of the 2010
EXCA Rulebook. Questions, answers and discussions were
abundant and always educational, entertaining and lively.
The clinic was a resounding success and we encourage all of
you to participate in an upcoming clinic. Keep your eye on
the EXCA website and the Craig Cameron website for the date
of the next EXCA Judging Clinic.
As you know, we changed the scoring system for 2010 to
include the Approach (+ or – 1 point in ¼ point increments)
the Obstacle (average score of 5) and the Departure + or – 1
point in ¼ point increments).
Following a review of the new system and feedback from some
of the events held this year, the decision was made to judge
and score each EXCA event as follows:
The Approach and Departure are to be judged along with the
Obstacle in ¼ point increments. The judge will give a
single score that includes the 3 components (Approach,
Obstacle and Departure). The average score for the entire
obstacle will be 5.
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