Kimberly Frame, a mother of two children, has always had a deep love for horses ever since growing up on a small farm in the Linden area.

She has taken this love of all things equine into adulthood and recently reached a higher level in this by having her horse, a mustang, and her win the 2020 Huntingdon PA Mustang TIP Challenge.

“About ten years ago in my travels, I heard about an event called the Extreme Mustang Makeover,” Frame told Webb Weekly. “It was a 100-day challenge with a wild mustang that you gentle and train, and at the end of the 100 days, you show it in a few classes and then, on the last day of the challenge, it goes into a live auction where spectators can bid on it and take home a piece of America’s history! Sound pretty cool, right? Well, that was the start of a sort of obsession for me. I would have never called myself a trainer or even someone who had a ‘way’ with horses. So, I studied and reached out to horse people, sweet-talked my dad into helping me build a pen that would contain a ‘wild horse,’ and then I applied!”

Frame said the majority of our country’s wild horses roam free on our vast open ranges in the western states of our country, but there are currently 41,000 wild horses in holding facilities across the country as well. That is why the Bureau of Land Management and the Mustang Heritage Foundation partnered together to make these challenges happen. These mustangs are extremely trainable, usable, and capable of the most amazing things! “The bond of trust between horse and trainer is undeniable. Doing these challenges is my way of getting a mustang out of holding, one horse at a time! If I can’t see them running free on the range, I want to be a part of making them someone’s civilized equine partner and bringing light to this amazing breed.”

She continued, “Earlier this year, I applied to the Huntingdon, PA TIP Challenge. I couldn’t believe that with everything going on in our country that this event would even happen. TIP stands for Trainer Incentive Program. A lot like the Extreme Mustang Makeover, but this competition is an in-hand competition. You are allowed 90 days to gentle, train, and compete with a completely wild Mustang.

“Stacy Garner and her husband Tim from Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, were the hosts of this challenge. Stacy sent us a list of 25 horses, and we were to choose three in the order we would want them. Results were posted, and my number didn’t match any of my picks. I called Stacy and told her there must have been a mistake. She explained that she just couldn’t match me up with any of my picks, but she could change it up if I really wanted her to. I said nope, I was just happy to be doing it and that God doesn’t make mistakes, and that was the horse he intended me to have!”

Frame said at pick up the anticipation was “through the roof.” She walked into Stacy and Tim’s barn, and they handed her a folder with a number on it, and Tim laughed and told her, “You got the bossiest mare in the barn!” “So, I look at her, and she is this little plain bay horse with bite marks and a shabby coat and that look of fear in her eyes. She was sorted and ran right into my open trailer. We closed the doors, and they waved and said, “See ya in 90 days”.

The 90-day journey had begun, and it took Frame about eight days to be able to touch this little mare. The mare ran free on the ranges of Antelope Valley, Nevada, and so on day nine, she became Frame’s beloved mustang, Fallon. She said there were days that doubt would creep in, and she thought they would never make it to the challenge, but according to Frame, this little horse has “a heart the size of Texas,” and she did, “everything she could to please me.” She said Fallon taught Frame leaps and bounds more than she taught her.

“She taught me patience and trust, unconditional love with no words exchanged,” Frame declared. “She taught me that second chances do exist and that victories are measured in centimeters, not miles. She was the perfect partner for me, one of her favorite things to do was to walk down to the little creek on our land and play in the water, rub her muzzle in the rocks and take a nice long drink from the natural waters that flowed. It always made me feel like it was her little piece of freedom, so it was something we would do together every day. There weren’t many places on the farm, if any, that Fallon wouldn’t go with me. She would even walk out on the dock over the pond with me because she knew I wouldn’t let anything happen to her. What an amazing feeling to know that your mustang trusts you that much.”

The time had come to load Fallon up on a trailer and head to Centre Hall, PA and show everyone what an amazing little partner she has become! She did just that!

“Fallon excelled in her classes, and I was so proud to be by her side!” said Frame. “She allowed me to put wings on her back and jewels on her forehead. She was polite to everyone who wanted to touch her, and she behaved like a horse that had been gentle from birth, only she is five years old and just 90 short days ago she had never been touched by human hands! To my absolute surprise, Fallon took home the win! She is a Champion in my heart, but in the mustang world, she is also the 2020 Huntingdon TIP Challenge Champion!!

“I have never shown a horse, never stepped into an arena, but I will do it again and again as long as I am able and as long as these horses with that cool looking freeze brand on their neck need a voice. I would scream it from the mountain tops — adopt a wild mustang, find a TIP trainer in your area to gentle it, and you can do the rest, go to the wild horse and burrow website and adopt on an internet adoption. There are so many opportunities to be a part of this amazing program and to own your own little piece of American history!”