PHOTO BY MARK LORENZ
Sassy, a wild Mustang, bows, as she gets a carrot, as a treat, as part of her training. Cheryl Wadman and her daughter, Kaitlyne, are working with the federal government to train wild mustangs in 100 days to save them from being slaughtered.
By BRIDGET TURCOTTE
SAUGUS — Cheryl and Kaitlyne Wadman are taking the reins when it comes to rescuing wild mustangs.
The mother-daughter duo are Saugus natives who moved to Haverhill to grow their horse training business and provide their animals with more space to roam. They own the Milestone Equestrian Centre in Haverhill, operated on seven acres.
Kaitlyne, 25, began riding with her mom in competitions at 15 months old. Throughout her childhood, she followed her parents and their roping team across the country. She showed her first horse by age 2 and had the first horse of her own by the age of 8.
Most recently, with the help of her mother, she formed a nonprofit organization, Kaitlyne Wadman Mustangs, to rehabilitate and train third-strike mustangs for new careers and match them with the right owner.
Third-strike is a term used for horses that have been unsuccessfully offered for adoption three times. Their next step is typically the slaughter house. The mustangs have been herded and placed in captivity by the Bureau of Land Management for protection but have had little to no human interaction.
The Wadmans work with the horses for about 100 days before they’re shown in the Extreme Mustang Makeover competition in West Springfield at the Big E facility. Trainers gentle, halter break and saddle train, build trust and develop a relationship with the horse to compete and win in that time. After the competition, the horses can be rehomed.
The Wadmans rehabilitated four mustangs in August. Following the competition, they chose to keep two and two were placed with new families.
Now they’re back in the saddle. A week ago the pair picked up two third-strike mustangs from Nevada. Kaitlyne will work with New England Patriot or “Patriot” and Cheryl with Sandy.
The horses will compete on June 15-16 and then will be eligible for adoption.
Their motto is “from a number to a name,” meaning that they take the animals, only identified by a number on a tag, and give them a new start.
“When you take off that tag, they have a clean slate,” Kaitlyne said.
Working with Cisco’s Sassy Sensation (Sassy), a 6-year-old horse born in the wild, was Kaitlyne’s first experience working with an unbroke mustang. She competed with Sassy in the 2015 Extreme Mustang Makeover, taking sixth place in the competition.
Although Sassy was not a third-strike horse, working with her helped change the way Kaitlyne looked at training.
“These competitions have changed my whole training perspective,” she said. “It’s much more effective to have them understand, rather than just making them do it.”
Sassy was named after Kaitlyne’s father’s horse Cisco. She bonded with Kaitlyne immediately, her personality fitting her name. She quickly became the boss of the barn, Kaitlyne said. Sassy came into Kaitlyne’s life while she was mourning the difficult loss of her then-boyfriend, Zack Zalewski, who was killed in a car accident.
His parents, Cindy and Ed Zalewski, bought the horse for Kaitlyne to ensure they’d always have each other, Cheryl said.
Kaitlyne competed again in 2016 with Krystle-Lu Martin’s Boston Strong; named after Krystle Campbell, Lu Lingzi, and Martin Richard, the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013.
“We’re definitely bringing mustangs to Boston,” Kaitlyne said. “People say ‘that mustang was wild in April and now there’s a 10-year-old on it.’ And it’s a safe horse for the 10-year-old to be on.”
Kaitlyne Wadman Mustangs is accepting donations to help the mother-daughter team continue its work.
The barn goes through 42 50-pound bags of grain each week and 12 bales of hay every day. A bag of grain costs $14 and a bale of hay is about $10. When the mustangs arrive, they are fed more-expensive grain with added vitamins and nutrients to help improve their health, said Cheryl.
“We are not making money doing this but we can’t not do it,” said Kaitlyne. “We’re passionate about it. It’s something we love doing.”
Donations can be made at www.kaitlynewadmanmustangs.com.
Bridget Turcotte can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @BridgetTurcotte.