Appalachian Trainer Face Off

Trainers Changing the Lives of Adoptable Horses in a Regional Competition

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2020 ATFO: Learn More
- The 2019 Appalachian Trainer Face Off was a smash success.
2019 ATFO Photos
About THE FACE OFF
- Heart of Phoenix
- 2018 Event Photos
Become a FACE OFF Trainer in 2020
- Trainer Application
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- 2019 Prize Package Announced
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- 2019 Face Off Horses
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@vandaliacrowdhouse So excited for the gala tomorrow for @heart_of_phoenix_equine_rescue This is going to be the best one ever. ♥️🎄♥️🎄♥️🎄♥️ #roaring20s #greatgatsby #ringing2020 #horses #myhuntington #local #prohibition

A potentially unique thing about Heart of Phoenix is we don't forget people. We shouldn't. People are who make us work. And I've known a lot of people who fiercely love horses. So when a previous adopter was facing significant health issues with her husband that left her unsure of what would happen to her horses, we found an approved home for her HOP horses and made sure her horses could come to us. . .because she said she could not face what was ahead without the security and peace she'd have if they were with us. It matters to do all the good We can, for as long as we can. . . For all the beings we can. Welcome Kizzy (a reg Arab mare with tons of trail Miles) and Dixie (a KMSH of 20) They will be adoptable soon

Jigsaw and his girl Aren't they a lovely pairing?

The concept is simple:

Operating in one of the nation’s most economically challenged regions, Heart of Phoenix found through necessity there was a need to create innovative ways to get a large number of horses trained and adopted each year on a small budget. Our answer to this was the Appalachian Trainer Face Off, a training competition that began in 2017. It was inspired by watching the success of the Extreme Mustang Makeover events.

August 23^rd of this year wrapped up our 3^rd year of the “ATFO,” and it closed as the largest equine event in West Virginia, with over 1,000 people in attendance of the full two days of the competition. This event has helped make a rescue organization an equine leader in our state.

The event partners horses previously without much hope of adoption for 100 days with trainers from May through August yearly. Many of the horses are rounded up entirely unhandled. Trainers apply and go through a screening process, and horses are vetted and cleared beforehand. These horsemen and women work with their horses to offer accomplished, willing equine partners up for adoption and document their process strategically on social media. The photos, stories and videos required create a vested interest by the public in the success of each horse, trainer and the “ATFO.”

Trainers then compete for 2 days in August to showcase all they have accomplished with their horses. In the end, the trainers showcase their skills, horses gain training, most go into approved adoptive homes in an auction format event the end where fees range from $600 to $8,000. There are prize packages made possible by the ASPCA, Buckeye Nutrition, Excel Supplements and other equine sponsors. Vendors set up and nationally known clinicians, such a Josh Lyons, Michael Lyons and Patrick King have stepped up as judges.

We have watched the Appalachian Trainer Face Off get nearly 80 horses equines into homes with foundations under them, prove the value of the adoptable horses and highlight excellent trainers. The trainers leave the event with a new partnership with the us, as well, that continues to give back through the months and years after each event ends. They also happily market their adoption horses and the organization standing behind them, which helps further cement Heart of Phoenix as a worthwhile part of the horse industry in Appalachia. It helps the public realize considering adoption first makes a lot of sense.

Like many of the things we do here in Appalachia, we wanted to make sure this event offered a return in a multitude of ways, so while the primary goals are training and adoption of horses, additional benefits are increasing our name recognition across the area, gaining training partners that last once the event ends each year and making adoption extremely mainstream within the horse community.

Heart of Phoenix believes when faced with uncommon adversity, you should try to not only make sure all efforts create a great deal of impact, but that we also need to make certain we are tackling multiple issues at once. We have found the Appalachian Trainer Face Off has accomplished so many things that leads to better view of what horse rescue means, what adoption should look like and how the horse industry can help us help horses in a meaningful way.

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About Heart of Phoenix Equine Rescue

Heart of Phoenix is a partner of the Right Horse Initiative. Starting in 2009 and founding formally in 2012, “HOP” was the only rescue in the state of West Virginia for many years and is now the leading equine organization of any kind there. They believe in “working together to improve the lives of horses in transition through a dialogue of kindness and respect.” They collaborate with over 40 trainers in Appalachian and beyond to make more horses adoptable. There efforts help shatter any stigma and reframe the conversation around equine adoption in order to massively increase horse adoption in the United States. To learn more, visit www.wvhorserescue.org.

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