On Tuesday, October 21, 2008, The Hill Country Spurs 4-H Club had two very special guests at their monthly meeting: Mr. Rex Peterson and his trick horse, Mr. T, who starred in “Dreamer”. They had come all the way from California for a movie being filmed in the area. Rex has trained horses for many famous movies including Hidalgo, The Black Stallion, Dreamer, Flicka, City Slickers, Ruffian, and Runaway Bride.

Using two whips, Rex directed or signaled Mr. T his commands. He had Mr. T. walk around the ring with a lucky young rider on his back using no tack at all. Mr. T responded to Rex’s commands, including rearing, laying down as if he were dead or sick, pushing a ball around the ring, and bowing. He also had Mr. T stand on a mark, which he didn’t move from until Rex told him to. Mr. T has also been trained to appear as if he is angry and trying to attack, but Rex could turn it off with just a flick of his whip, and Mr. T returned to being his calm sweet self.

Rex answered many questions from the group, and we learned it takes thousands of very patient hours to train horses to do tricks like Mr. T. We ended the evening with a group picture with our new friends. It was a truly amazing night that will not be forgotten.

The Hill Country Spurs 4-H Club will be getting together for their arena ride next Tuesday, November 4th at 6:30pm at the Blanco Cowboy Church Arena in Blanco. The ride will be directed by Tami Purcell who will be helping riders improve their performance around the barrels. The next Hill Country Spurs 4-H meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 18th at 6:30 pm at the Blanco County Fairgrounds Exhibit Hall. All are welcome!! Come join us. Please contact club leader Traci Smith at 512-626-0098 for more details.