A Night Of Amazing Horses

With Tommie Turvey

 

Speed! Thrills! Energy! Excitement! Throw in side-splitting laughter, add horsemanship at its finest, and what do you have? Tommie Turvey: Equine Extremist, who will be performing at the Hunt Horse Complex, North Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh on May 2 and 3. When Tommie rides into the arena the audience will be glued to his every move, holding their breath with anticipation! Extreme is Tommie’s middle name and for good reason. He entertains and amazes with his thrilling stunts, hilarious comedy, and genuine horsemanship.

Tommie has performed stunt work for Batman’s “Dark Knight,” Larry the Cable Guy’s “Witless Protection,” and the HBO mini-series “John Adams.” In addition, he has been featured in an Absorbine Jr. commercial, Clinton Anderson’s DownUnder Horsemanship, Rick Lamb’s The Horse Show, and the Extreme Horseman television series.

Tommie is a second-generation horseman and an accomplished international performer whose support team is comprised of skilled partners and talented entertainers, along with his remarkable horses. Tommie’s newest member is Blade, a true American icon as a wild Mustang and one of the most challenging horses to train. Tommie acknowledges, “You are only as good as your horse. If you can get a horse to trust you, you can get a horse to do anything you can think of.” His trust-building techniques are what enable him to turn a horse on his back in front of thousands of spectators and Roman-ride his horses over a wall of fire. Tommie has a constantly evolving series of acts to keep the audience wanting more and that prove his full abilities as a horse trainer.

Tommie will also be taking time out from his busy schedule to stop by Duke Children’s Hospital and the University of North Carolina Children’s Hospital and Cancer Center in Chapel Hill to demonstrate his trick roping. He enjoys performing and eliciting smiles from kids.

Tracy Ross will be showing off her “Extreme Equitation” abilities by performing her trick and Roman-riding acts. In Roman-riding she is precariously perched on the backs of side-by-side galloping horses as they maneuver through a figure-eight pattern with simultaneous flying lead changes. Other fancy footwork includes moving back and forth between horses, riding backwards, and weaving around and over fire poles, climaxing with a jump over a flaming barrier. In the trick-riding portion of her show, Tracy performs ballet- or gymnastic-like maneuvers atop a horse at full gallop. Moves include a series of drags, vaults, and strap tricks, along with her favorite maneuver, the “tail drag” – a daring spectacle that took her an entire year to master. The move requires that she hang backwards over the rear of her horse as he circles the arena. Ross’ hands and head, dangling dangerously close to the horse’s hooves, nearly drag the ground.

Lynn Leath, a United States Dressage Federation Bronze, Silver, and Gold Medalist and owner and head trainer of North Star Training Center in Chapel Hill, will perform a musical freestyle program on Doublet, a 22-year-old 16.3-hand Thoroughbred/Hanoverian cross owned by Terry Sosa. Doublet is a perfect example of what a FEI-level schoolmaster truly is. He has the natural ability, strength, power and quality of gaits to perform the demanding movements required at the Grand Prix level, the highest level of competitive dressage. As for Terry, Doublet has taken her from the lower levels of dressage all the way to the top, to Grand Prix in just three short years. During this time, they have qualified twice for the USDF Region 1 Championships at the Prix St. Georges and Intermediare I levels. In 2007 they finished 4th in the Intermediare I Region 1 Championships. Doublet and Terry have also been nationally USDF ranked in the top five for Intermediare I and in the top 20 for Prix St. Georges for adult amateurs.

Chapel Hill singing artist and equestrienne, Ashley Nichole Zachary, will also be performing. Eighteen-year-old Ashley won the 2008 iPop singer of the year competition in Los Angeles, California, and will sing as well as demonstrate her riding abilities. Ashley grew up at Boothill Farm, where she gives riding lessons to children, teaching them the importance of equitation and a quiet seat and hands. The facility, built by Ashley’s parents, Tim and Carol Zachary, in southwest Orange County, North Carolina, is a family-run business offering boarding, lessons, training, leasing, and clinics in jumping and dressage. Having worked with horses all of her life, Ashley is now excited to have the opportunity to combine her love of riding and her practiced equestrienne skills with her singing talent in A Night of Amazing Horses.

Also featured will be Rocky the mule, a crowd-pleasing favorite with all ages. He was awarded the national title of America’s Ultimate Horse Idol in October 2007. His owner and trainer, James Lamm of Rolesville, began training the now seven-year-old Appaloosa mule when he was a one year old. Rocky’s repertoire of more than 50 tricks includes making funny faces, yawning on command, fetching, and rolling barrels. He shows off his mule surefootedness by balancing on a teeter-totter and jumping into the bed of a pickup truck.

Miniature horses will be on display from Blue Chip Miniatures owned by Cherie and Joe Manderino in Pittsboro, North Carolina. Blue Chip Miniatures is comprised of 60 – 70 Miniature Horses from top bloodlines and performs all aspects of breeding, stud service, and foaling. Blue Chip Miniatures has won multiple American Miniature Horse Association awards, including a national grand championship. American Miniatures are a joy to watch. They compete in halter classes and in a variety of performance classes including pleasure and roadster driving, jumping, obstacle, showmanship, liberty, and costume.

Thousand Welcomes Farm of Chapel Hill will also be on hand to show off their beautiful registered Chincoteague ponies – including a direct descendant of the famous Misty. Phil and Berta Boysen, farm owners, enjoy sharing these “wild” creatures and educating others on their romantic past. Their heartfelt philosophy is, “When one thinks of wild ponies, there is a romanticism that conjures up active, roaming, free spirits being as one and in harmony with their environment. We are proud to be part of that legacy and the dreams that are the Chincoteague pony. We look to the island as an ongoing manifestation of the legacy, and to our own small herd that is now part of us, as evidence of a natural order in the universe that connects us to all living things. Our goal now is to spread the word about these wonderful creatures and to enjoy each one of them that we have.” The herd of ponies will be featured in the show’s finale as Ashley Zachary sings “Born Free.”

A Night of Amazing Horses is presented by The Triangle Wide Horseman’s Association and Nobody’s Horses Promotions in cooperation with the North Carolina Horse Council. A Night of Amazing Horses was created to focus on the cooperation between man and animal and to encourage us all to share the responsibility of protecting America’s public lands, the environment, our children, and even America’s wild horses. Please give children the opportunity to enjoy an action-filled show full of amazing horses and to learn something about their heritage and the plight of America’s wild horses. Tickets can be purchased at the Hunt Complex Office (on the grounds of the North Carolina State Fair) starting April 29 from 9AM to 5 PM or at the gates for general admission. Please call Sammy at 919-208-3422 for childrens sponsor tickets or for questions. Buy a ticket for an underprivileged child too! We’ll see that they get the tickets and we will seat them in a special section of the arena. General Admission tickets are $22 with special rates of $18 for groups of 25+. Beginning April 29th, tickets can be purchased at the Hunt Horse Complex box office.