Montana Center for Horsemanship Receives $50,000 Gift for Education & Expansion

The international education and event center, headquartered in Dillon, a historic and growing town in southwest Montana, is an education center bringing students from all over the nation and the world, all ages, and backgrounds, to study natural horsemanship and related fields — equine business, horse training and breeding, agriculture, research and veterinary science, in this unique environment and setting.

Over the past year, despite limitations posed by the pandemic, in-person learning, and several other programs were able to continue; with more planned this year.  This spring, the Center will host and present the annual Colt Sale, in collaboration with the University of Montana Western – a Sales Prep class and natural horsemanship training program culminating in an auction of some of the best-bred colts, donated to UMW and MCH.  The Colt Sale enables students enrolled in the nation’s first and only Bachelor of Science in Natural Horsemanship degree program, to train, ride, teach and learn with the colts before the horses are offered for sale to the public in early April.  All proceeds support student scholarships. Corporate and business sponsors are welcome to support the program as well.

The Center also continued its dynamic capital expansion, helping to make the Center one of the most unique education and event centers in the nation.  The $50,000 grant received by the Center at the end of December, facilitates a major step in the development of classrooms within the arena.

According to Janet Rose, Director of Development & Communications, “this is a gift of great significance.  While we still have major funding to raise to complete the capital campaign, this is an important gift for education and the many students and horses who will gain enormous benefit.  The veterinary-research laboratory is a significant part of our overall vision to promote hands-on research, within an arena.  It’s a very meaningful gift from a donor who wished to remain anonymous.”

In January 2021, in-person horsemanship classes resume at the Center as students prepare for the Colt Sale.  Other programs and events are planned to include a national Conference in September, open to the public, featuring Dr. Temple Grandin, one of the world’s leading animal behavior scientists and equine experts and Dr. Barbara Baker, a nationally ranked champion barrel racer and president of the only zoo in the world (the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium) using natural horsemanship in the management of exotic wildlife.

To learn more about the capital campaign, sponsorship, the conference, and events supporting the Center, please visit www.montanacenterforhorsemanship.org or contact Janet Rose at 406.925.3270