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My life began on a small farm in the Heart Of Lakes region of northwest Minnesota. I remember back when I was about 6 years old my father brought home a shetland pony that seemed much more wild than I thought a horse could be. Pepsi, as I called her, was all white with a black head. She was short and fat but I soon found myself grooming and riding her all over the rolling hills and lakes country. Later that summer I rode her in a parade in Felton, MN as the character "Daniel Boone". I guess it was a good gig to someone because I ended up winning a prize for the most unique horse and rider of the event.
A couple years later I went to a rodeo and found my calling in life, but at that point (of course) I
 was way too young to become a rodeo contestant, not to mention my father advised that it was not a good idea. Well, that didn't stop me. I crafted a bareback rigging out of the handle from a plastic milk jug and the upper portion of an old cowboy boot. Hmmm... this idea was not that good either because it broke as soon as Pepsi bolted under a low lying branch sending me on my duff. And as a young man I bounced back up and dusted myself off and decided that having the proper equipment was important to riding successfully. Thus my rodeo career was put on hold for a few years.From that disasterous day forward my time was spent riding horses for pleasure from the farm to the lake and back pretending to be John Wayne out on a wonderous adventure with my dog, my horse and I. The point of these early years is to enlighten you on how I got started in working in and around horses. On our farm we didn't have too much use for horses as a lot of the daily chore routine was automated by the typical tractor and various implements. All during my younger years I was an athlete of some sort, dabbling in wresting and football all through high school and even into college.
Soon after I left for college I decided to try the rodeo thing again, yet this time for real.
 Yes, all it took was sitting on a straw bale to determine which hand to ride with and about $50 for an entrance fee to the winter rodeo in Crookston, MN of 1988. The event was bull riding. Fortunately I didn't get stepped on or gored or beat up to a point where it made me quit and since then I have been to six schools all over the United States.One may ask themselves why or how does a bull rider become a horse trainer? Well, after six schools and 20 years worth of rodeos trying to tame those four legged beasts I have aquired some very valuable skills that have complimented my riding of the equine four legged animals. The balance I aquired have allowed me to ride horses similar to riding bulls, ie from my hips and legs. It is this form of riding that because of my balance and leg strength I have been able to ride horses restriction free. And anyone knows that if you can stay off a horse's head, they will be much more relaxed and giving to your requests.
Early on in my bull riding career I had grown a reputation in the region of being a tough rider and soon after had gotten a couple calls asking if I could work some kinks out of a few short track quarterhorses. At that point I was thought of as a last resort for these track horses, because if I couldn't take the "rough" out of them then they were headed to the pasture up above. Fortunately I was able to take the worst out of them and there in lies the beginning of my horse training career.
I will have to say that as a trainer of this type I was doing a lot of finesse work or fine tuning, it was mostly getting the horse to respect me as a rider while mounted and we did have some interesting experiences. Another thing of note is that during these training sessions my riding style was again from the hips and legs... ie off the their head. Thus being able to ride them out soon made them realize that both horse and human can get along so as we both understand each other.
Over the course of the next 20 years I have been on many different horses that have given me a lot of experience. In 2005 my training career got a big boost and today I admit that knowledge is power and coincidentally my style and methods are similar to many of top trainers today. I will not stop learning and am always interested in swapping techniques with anyone. I feel that we are all trying to achieve the same thing...
living life for today and enjoying every minute of it!!! For many of us, it happens to involve a beautiful animal.
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Shane Mortenson, Catlett, VA 703 258-2420 Rodeo Photography by: Eva Scofield www.PHOTOEVA.com PRCA Photographer
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