As the World Championship of Colt Starting returns to the Kentucky Horse Park for the second consecutive year to accommodate sell-out crowds, Australian clinician Dan Steers from Double Dan Horsemanship was announced as the very first competitor of Road to the Horse 2014. Dan Steers is no stranger to Road to the Horse, the talented Australian horseman served as Pen Wrangler at Road to the Horse 2013 to Double Dan partner Dan James.
Steers captivated audiences at Road to the Horse 2013 with his light hearted humor and was affectionately known as ‘#1 Pen Wrangler’, a title that was monogrammed on the back of his deck chair that sat outside the round pen while he assisted Dan James. Steers not only brings his comical Australian personality to Road to the Horse 2014, he brings a lifelong passion for horses.
“When I got the call from Road to the Horse Owner and Producer Tootie Bland I was in the warm up pen, aboard my Stock Horse, Double Image at the Australian Stock Horse National Show in Tamworth, New South Wales. At the time, that was always the biggest event in my show season,” said Steers. “I quickly realized I had bigger dreams that lay ahead in the Alltech Arena at the Kentucky Horse Park. I couldn’t be happier.”
Growing up in Western Australia, Steers discovered his love for horses in his teenage years when he began working for master farrier and horseman Pete Weber and later Australian cutting horse trainer Corry Holden. Steers’ talents were soon rewarded with success in the show ring and he began conducting regular horsemanship clinics. In 2009 Steers and James relocated to New South Wales and Double Dan Horsemanship was formed.
Since expanding to the United States in 2011, Double Dan Horsemanship has experienced enormous success. Dan James won the World Championship Colt Starting title in 2012 at Road to the Horse, where he represented Team Australia with fellow countryman Guy McLean. Both Steers and James continue to conduct horsemanship clinics in Australia and around the United States.
Steers will be joined by other chosen competitors and a Wild Card contestant at Road to the Horse 2014. After careful selection, eight talented clinicians across the nation, were invited to take part in the first ever Road to the Horse Wild Card competition. These eight clinicians travelled to Road to the Horse 2013 where they selected a gelding from the AQHA Remuda from the 6666 Ranch. From Kentucky, the Wild Cards returned home to spend the following year building a partnership with their gelding and continuing their training until Road to the Horse 2014. In 2014, these 6666 Ranch raised colts will then return to Road to the Horse with their trainers, where they will compete against other Wild Card contestants for the title of Wild Card Champion. The Wild Card Champion will then immediately step into the Road to the Horse 2014 round pen, where they will have a once in a life opportunity to compete for the World Championship of Colt Starting title. Follow the progress of the Wild Card contestants on Road to the Horse Facebook.
Tickets for the March 14-16, 2014 event at the Kentucky Horse Park go on sale to the general public May 14, 2013.For more information visit www.RoadtotheHorse.com.
