Mustang Magic

Isidro Espinoza
Isidro Espinoza has been riding and training horses, mules, and burros for more than 30 years. He grew up on a large ranch in Durango, Mexico, where he learned his family’s horse and mule gentling skills. Isidro trains fulltime on his ranch in northeast Arizona, specializing in colt-starting, mustangs, and endurance racing. He is a nine-time Extreme Mustang Makeover competitor with multiple top ten finishes, including the 2021 Kentucky Extreme Mustang Makeover Reserve Championship. 

Jeff Cook
Jeff Cook’s life has always revolved around horses. His bond with horses and natural talent as a horseman led him to showing paints and quarter horses. He watched his first Extreme Mustang Makeover seven years ago, and it was in his blood and heart to give it a try. He now has competed in eight Extreme Mustang Makeovers and finished in the top ten six times, including winning the 2021 Oklahoma Extreme Mustang Makeover. 

Matt Zimmerman
Matt Zimmerman was raised on a cattle ranch in central Nevada, where he encountered mustangs on a regular basis. In 2006, he found his true passion and started his horse training. Matt has competed in 21 Extreme Mustang Makeovers, receiving four champion titles and two reserve championships. Matt and his wife, Stacie, have hosted the Mustang Mania TIP Challenge since 2017 and helped place more than 400 mustangs into private care.  They also operate a storefront in conjunction with the Mustang Heritage Foundation and continue to find forever homes for these iconic mustangs.  

Emma Minteer
Emma Minteer has competed in several Extreme Mustang Makeovers, finishing with a champion title, a reserve title, and multiple top tens.  Emma and her husband, Jack, own and operate Rose Hill Ranch in upstate NY.  They work with horses of all disciplines, including reined cow horses, hunters, colts, difficult horses, and more.  Emma is a strong advocate for mustangs, competing with them in reined cow horse events and qualifying one of her adopted mustangs for the 2017 NRCHA World Show. 

Mary Kitzmiller
Mary Kitzmiller is a horse trainer and clinician based in Kemp, Texas.  She uses her years of knowledge gleaned from working with the horse industry’s leading professionals to create outstanding performance horses.  These skills led her to find success in the Extreme Mustang Makeover competition, winning over $50,000 in that event.  Mary has also earned the honor of being chosen for Road to the Horse’s Wild Card Competition in 2014 and 2015.  It is Mary’s passion to share what she knows with the public through clinics, lessons, and demonstrations.  Mary subscribes to one key element in her horsemanship, and that is simply: Follow the horse.  The horse is never wrong.  

Michael Hurst
Michael Hurst is a horseman from Philippi, West Virginia. Mike is a clinician, starts colts of all breeds for the public, and works with problem horses. He considers himself a student of the horse and is a proud United States Army Veteran. He believes the American mustang is one of the greatest gifts we have because of their versatility and honesty.  
 

Jonathan “J-Dub” Weisiger
Jonathan “J-DUB” Weisiger is a native of Fort Worth, Texas. He has personally trained over 100 American mustangs and has competed in Extreme Mustang Makeover events since the competition’s inaugural event in 2007. Featured as the wild, charismatic mustang wrangler on the television show “Mustang Millionaire,” J-DUB has been able to meet and help hundreds of individuals, connect, train, and compete with American mustangs. According to J-DUB, breaking wild mustangs is tough, challenging, and a ton of fun! Lots of folks can train horses, but it takes a little something extra to train a mustang. 

Nate Eicher
Nate Eicher is a four-time Extreme Mustang Makeover Champion and Reserve Champion. He has shown in reining, cutting, roping, and obstacle challenges. He specializes in putting a solid foundation on horses at his ranch in Texas. Nate has also judged numerous events, including Extreme Mustang Makeovers, ranch horse shows, the Las Vegas and Texas TIP challenges, and various open shows. 

Elisa Wallace
A professional trainer and three-day eventing competitor, Elisa has been riding horses since age two. By the time she was eight years old, she had trained her first horse. In 2012, Elisa attended and won her first Extreme Mustang Makeover with her mustang, Fledge. Elisa now has five personal mustangs: Fledge and Rune her main demo mustangs; Hwin, who is immortalized as a Breyer and has competed up to preliminary eventing; and Eton and Wyeth who are talents she is bringing along in eventing. Elisa’s ultimate goal is to show how amazing mustangs are by competing at the upper levels and the world stage of eventing. 

Marsha Sapp
Marsha Sapp is a professional horse trainer and competitive rider residing in Tallahassee, Florida. She is the owner and head trainer at Southern Oaks Equestrian Center, where she also coaches the Florida State University Equestrian team. Marsha is a nationally recognized trainer and clinician, a multiple top-five finalist in the Extreme Mustang Makeover, a finalist in the American Horsewoman’s Challenge, a USDF Silver Medalist, and a three-time world champion in western dressage. Her mustang, Cobra, has been honored as 2018 USEF National Horse of the Year, has been inducted into the USEF & Equus Foundation Hall of Fame, and has been honored as a Breyer Horse.  

Madison Shambaugh
Madison Shambaugh, also known as “Mustang Maddy,” is an advocate for America’s wild horses and a three-time Extreme Mustang Makeover Freestyle Champion. Her work has been featured in Horse & Rider Magazine, Cowgirl Magazine, Animal Planet, and O-Magazine. In 2020, she was recognized for her efforts in the western industry with Cowgirl Magazine’s Top 30 under 30 award. Mustang Maddy is the founder of the Horse-Human Connection Academy, where she now teaches compassionate horse owners how to connect with their horses using force-free methods. Wherever she goes, Maddy’s message rings true: every horse has a potential for greatness; it is up to us to help them reveal it.