Video: The 2017 Road to the Horse Remuda

Before the young horses head to the World Championship of Colt Starting, they’re bred, born and raised on the 6666 Ranch of Guthrie, Texas: get a little behind-the-scenes look here!

Road to the Horse first held its unique colt starting competition in 2003: three well-known horsemanship practitioners were invited to start three unhandled young horses selected by a panel of judges from an initial herd of ten. With bigger and more enthusiastic crowds traveling from all corners of the country each year to watch, the Road to the Horse has grown in popularity.

But behind the scenes of the bright coliseum lights and the celebrity trainers who showcase their talents over the two-day competition, generations of careful breeding come to fruition in the moment when the ten-horse remuda enters the arena: 6666 Ranch of Guthrie, Texas has been providing the colts for Road to the Horse since 2011 under the guidance of Dr. Glenn Blodgett, the resident veterinarian and 6666 Ranch Horse Division Manager.

Which means that the ten colts for each year’s Road to the Horse are not just ten young horses selected at random — they’re bred to be the best ranch horses in the world with generations of outstanding ancestors. Each of these colts is bred to be a great ranch horse, a career that requires a horse to be versatile, athletic and smart. The 6666 Ranch is a recipient of the AQHA Best Remuda Award, awarded to organizations with outstanding Quarter horse working mounts, and is also a designated AQHA Ranching Heritage Breeder, highlighting ranches with a long history of producing outstanding Quarter horse stock.

Watch this behind-the-scenes look at the 6666 Ranch young horse remuda as Dr. Blodgett prepares for the 2017 Road to the Horse — incidentally, featuring an all-women slate of trainers for March of 2017 at the Kentucky Horse Park.

It’s pretty clear from Dr. Blodgett’s emotional response when he speaks about the breeding program how honored he is to provide horses for Road to the Horse, as well as the sense of pride he feels when his horses first set foot into that big coliseum to start their careers.

To learn more about the legendary 6666 Ranch, click here to visit the website. To learn more about Road to the Horse, click here to visit the competition’s website.