CSU’s Legends of Ranching colt starting team finds victory
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Everyone loves an underdog story
Colorado State University’s Legends of Ranching Program sent its team to the Road to the Horse Colt Starting Challenge in April. With a new coach and program, the underdogs still managed to take home the championship title, proving CSU’s commitment to horsemanship and equine studies.
CSU alumna Alexandra Parsaye always dreamed of teaching and coaching at her alma mater, so when the job opportunity arose in 2023, she was excited and honored to get chosen for the position.
“I was always passionate about the Legends of Ranching Program through my undergraduate career and wanted to come back in some capacity,” Parsaye said. “I was really ecstatic to come and be the program instructor.”
COLT STARTING
The Legends of Ranching Program is a nine-month colt starting program for students at CSU. The program and accompanying course put on a performance horse sale in April every year. Promising students are then selected as teaching assistants for the next year, and have the opportunity to compete on the college’s colt starting team.
“They practiced over the fall of 2024 into the spring of 2025,” Parsaye explained. “They practiced on colts while helping me teach this year’s class.”
When Parsaye received a call inviting CSU to the National Championship for Collegiate Colt Starting at the Idaho Horse Expo, she was excited to take this year’s team and put her program up against some of the best competitors in the country during this three-day, four-round event.
“I was over the moon, because our horsemanship at Colorado State University hasn’t been put on the map at that scale,” Parsaye said.
The invitational event had three teams competing for the title this year: New Mexico State Junior College, coached by CD Wilcox, and Asbury University, coached by Jesse Westfall.
“We were walking into this competition as underdogs to begin with; I’m an underdog coach,” Parsaye said. “CD Wilcox was the 2024 Road to the Horse Wildcard Champion, so he knows how this program operates and has the experience. And Jesse Westfall just got back from judging Road to the Horse, the professional one. So they had lots of experience and strategy against us.”
THE CHALLENGE
When the team arrived, they had to be prepared to start training a 2-year-old filly in only four days to complete an obstacle course during the final round.
“The filly has to complete this course with only a few hours of training,” Parsaye said. “They come in completely unhandled. There are so many broke horses out there that can’t even do what these colts have to do on the fourth day. It was so impressive.”
The teams met in the main arena on the first day and watched the horses being pushed around the arena before they picked their colt. The selection order was decided by luck-of-the-draw. CSU, in true underdog style, had to pick last.
“In the arena there are five fillies, and we noticed two of the horses had been slightly injured during transportation, so really, there were only three options,” Parsaye said.
NMSC got first pick and chose a kind-eyed buckskin filly. Then, AC chose a dark bay. CSU ended up with the only horse left to choose; an ornery bay who was striking at other fillies and lunging at the saddled horses, pushing the group of fillies around the arena.
“We ended up with the spitfire of the group,” Parsaye said. “She was a plain bay, so we called her Plain Jane. When people started making fun of her beard, we started calling her Plain Bearded Jane, or PBJ. It really brought the spectators in and made it feel like we were all more connected to the horse.”
Even though PBJ was the last pick and seemed to be the least wanted, the team was still determined. However, each round presented some challenges.
“The stress and adrenaline were the most challenging part of going into each round,” Parsaye said. “We couldn’t have a bad day, or it would easily put us out of the running.”
The team consistently showed mental fortitude during the competition.
“What was really cool is we were an all-women team,” Parsaye said. “So we were definitely representing the ladies.”
THE TEAM
The team consisted of CSU seniors Kendra Godina, Megan Lawler and Maya Hamilton. Each member of the team brought their own expertise and skills to the group.
Godina was the first-round pro. Her teammates trusted her strength and calm demeanor to be able to saddle the filly and keep the colt calm and comfortable during the process.
Lawler specialized in roping to catch the filly. She was also the team member who took the first ride in the round pen on the second day.
To finish off the final rounds, Hamilton took the lead in getting PBJ outside the round pen for the first time and getting the filly through the final obstacle course.
“I spent a lot of time really picking the right students that could make a team,” Parsaye said. “I knew when I picked these three girls, they had already worked under me for a year and were learning the system together. They knew each other’s strengths and where each other added value.”
Their seamless teamwork and training paid off. The filly worked well for all three team members, barely noticing when the girls traded off. They won three of the four rounds during the competition, becoming national champions and winning the cash prize.
“My main concern was getting them practice on lots of different kinds of horses, and getting their hands on different attitudes, dispositions and difficulty levels to just keep adding tools to their toolbelt,” Parsaye said.
The team focused on teamwork, strategies and horsemanship. They were able to practice on 21 colts through the Legends of Ranching Program on campus. Teaching other students horse training helped them to perfect their own skills.
“As a coach, I really let them take on a lot on their own, and I feel like that was really empowering,” Parsaye said. “They had a lot of exposure helping my students, as teaching assistants, work through any difficult spots they might have, which gave them problem-solving skills to get things done quickly on a horse.”
A big part of the team’s success was their mentor and adviser, Ken McNabb. He is a four-time Road to the Horse participant. He was also at the event, announcing and engaging the crowd.
“We really honored and appreciated the advice he gave us,” Parsaye said. “He said something to me that made a huge impact: ‘You didn’t just compete this weekend, you put on a clinic.’ That meant more to me than anything.”
This big win was more than a personal accomplishment for the ladies competing on the team. It was a way to show CSU’s commitment to its equine program.
“This was life-changing for not only myself and my team, but also for the equine studies and sciences programs at CSU,” Parsaye said. “The horsemanship we’re teaching is now being shown on a national stage.”
ONLY THE BEGINNING
Parsaye and the rest of the staff and faculty at CSU still want to build on the equine program and support youth in the equine industry.
“It’s definitely only the beginning for what I dream for the Legends of Ranching Program and being competitive in the horsemanship world,” Parsaye said. “It really shows that three girls who did not have backgrounds in horsemanship and training can build these skills and understand how to start a horse effectively and fairly.”
The program continues to teach putting the horse first, teamwork and camaraderie. Even for students who don’t want to become a horse trainer after the program, these horse handling skills can be used in a multitude of professions.
“I hope this puts us in front of youth in programs like 4-H, Interscholastic Equestrian Association and the National FFA Association who will look at CSU and see they can gain the skills of horsemanship, which will open up doors for the students,” Parsaye explained.
CSU has already been invited back to attend the championships next year.
“I have some very promising students that I am looking forward to practicing with and bringing to defend our title,” Parsaye explained.
What began as an underdog story ended in triumph, with CSU’s all-women team proving that grit, teamwork and horsemanship can overcome even the tough odds. Their victory not only spotlights the depth of talent within the Legends of Ranching Program but also plants a flag for Colorado State University at the forefront of collegiate equine training. And this is only the beginning.
