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Scooby's government identification tag hangs with other tags on a gate in May 2022 where Hannah Catalino trains wild mustangs. She removes the tags from a horse when they reach certain training milestones, making them, in her words, no longer wild. 

Tavo leans into Hannah Catalino's arm as she guides him through a training routine during a hot July day outside of Whitehall.

The handsome black horse plucked a red flower from the sand, fumbled it in his velvety lips, then held it out to the woman in a matching red dress.

No, it wasn't a scene from a Disney movie, instead it was their final performance in the 2022 Montana Mustang TIP Challenge in Missoula August 26. The woman was trainer Hannah Catalino of Whitehall, and the horse a mustang named Tavo. Only about 100 days had passed since he’d arrived at her ranch, a wild, untouched mustang from Idaho, yet that day he wore no halter or bridle as he walked, trotted and twirled in step beside her.

Hannah Catalino and Tavo collect their awards after competing in Montana’s first TIP Challenge, an event where trainers show off the skills they have taught wild mustangs after 100 days of training.

Montana’s first TIP Challenge invited trainers to take wild horses from untouched to safely handled within 100 days. The show, held at the Big Sky Horse Park, featured 16 trainers from youth to adult, who demonstrated their horse’s progress: leading, loading in a trailer, negotiating obstacles, dragging objects and crossing bridges, picking up their feet. Though the competition did not include riding, it culminated in a showy “freestyle” class where trainers displayed their horse’s skills set to music. Most of the horses were available for adoption afterward, offering the public a chance to own a piece of the Wild West, without starting out with an untouched horse.

“It really makes it accessible for people to get a trained horse,” Catalino said. “There’s a mustang out there for everyone with horse knowledge, even those with very little, who might have a mentor or someone to help them.”

Catalino chose Tavo, then called #3519, because the BLM had estimated his age at 9 years, and older mustangs tend not to be quickly adopted. He’d been previously turned down for adoption twice. “I like the older ones,” she said. “I like to show people the older ones can be nice horses too.”

Hannah Catalino discusses why she enjoys training wild horses and what we can learn from them in return. Catalino entered her wild horses into the first ever TIP Challenge - an event that invites trainers to take wild horses from untouched to safely handled within 100 days.

His fairytale good looks helped, too. All black, with a wide white blaze, four tall white socks, and beautiful feathering on his feet, he was a real-life Angus, Merida’s mount in the Disney movie “Brave.” Catalino had also chosen a yearling, a rough-coated, round-bellied bay she came to call Scooby.

“This one came out of the box not too wild,” Catalino said of Scooby. “Just about anybody could’ve trained him.”

She recommends any potential adopter seek a mentor if they have little to no horse experience, though she acknowledged often the young ones are easier to start. “There are some battles that are easier to have when they’re smaller. The danger of a young one is they can be really pushy.” She sets firm boundaries early, because “he’s not going to be this little for long.”

Hannah Catalino guides Scooby, a mustang from a wild herd in Idaho, during the “freestyle” class where trainers displayed their horse’s skills set to music during Montana’s first TIP Challenge in late August in Missoula. Part of the training process includes introducing wild mustangs to new experiences that will enforce trust in the relationship with the trainer. Catalino placed socks on Scooby's ears so he would look like the cartoon puppy, something that would've been terrifying to the wild horse just 100 days ago.

Tavo, meanwhile, needed a different set of skills. When rounded up, Tavo was a herd stallion, gelded shortly after his arrival at the Bureau of Land Management corrals. “At 9 he would’ve had a family,” she said. “He hasn’t needed or depended on anybody. When a horse like that trusts you it really makes you appreciate each try that much more,” Catalino said.

“I have to respect him as the stallion he was, but he has to learn to respect me, that he can’t push me around like a normal horse. It’s really exciting to unwrap their potential.”

While some are easy and straightforward, Catalino said the difficult mustangs inspire her. “They really force me to continue to improve my horsemanship and timing. They’re really humbling.”

Hannah Catalino, a wild horse trainer located near Whitehall, gently guides Tavo, formerly known as BLM horse #3519, through a May training session. Catalino only removes the identification number from a horse when she can safely catch, halter, lead and load the horse on a trailer. Tavo was still a few training sessions away from the removal of the tag.

This wasn’t Catalino’s first rodeo, not by a long shot. She began training mustangs for competition 10 years ago in the youth program, after finding YouTube videos of competitions like the Extreme Mustang Makeover and the Mustang Million. Today, she’s internationally recognized for her liberty training methods, teaching horses the basics of trust, respect and safe handling without using ropes, halters or bits.

“What I like about liberty is I’mnot trapping the horses, they have the option to run,” she said.

The competitions also appealed to her. “Everybody has a pretty fair shot,” Catalino said, offering inexperienced trainers the same challenge as professionals. “Everyone has a hundred-day horse, not one with six years of training or anything.”

And then there’s the timeless lure of the wild mustang.

Hannah Catalino gently guides Scooby, a mustang from a wild herd in Idaho, through an exercise just a few weeks after she picked him up from the Bureau of Land Management. 

“They’re symbolic of the American West. People tend to romanticize them as these majestic, beautiful, powerful creatures, so different from domestic horses,” she said.

Yet not all mythologize mustangs. Some label them as useless, especially in the American West where they can compete with cattle for rangeland. “They get called desert rat, jugheaded. With their poor nutrition they don’t always develop well. They’re really a mutt — a mixture of all breeds. There’s this idea they look one way, but they come in all shapes and sizes.

“They’re all really different.”

Wild horse trainer Hannah Catalino of Whitehall jogs in step with her mustang Tavo through an obstacle course during Montana’s first TIP Challenge in late August at the Big Sky Horse Park in Missoula.

Both Tavo and Scooby were intended to be available for adoption, but halfway to the competition, that was proving to be harder than she’d anticipated. Her father decided Scooby would make a perfect partner, so he’d be staying. And as Tavo progressed, her fondness for him surprised her, she said.

“I’m trying not to be a foster fail, it’s a struggle. He doesn’t have to go,” she said in July. “I quite like him.

Hannah Catalino rewards Scooby with scratches after he successfully loaded up into a horse trailer in May 2022. The young horse quickly captured her heart after just a few weeks of interactions. Catalino is a talented horse trainer who works with wild mustangs. Just a few months before this moment Scooby was living in the wild with a herd in Idaho.

“I took it slow with him in the beginning so he wouldn’t think there was a need to challenge or fight. I was understanding of that he was this proud stallion for a lot of years … and I would just look for him to try, not perfection, and now he’s so happy … he never learned fighting is an option. Because of that relationship we built, I can now ask more and more of him.”

She paused in consideration. “It would also make me happy if he finds a really good home, that’s what makes it all worth it.”

The relationship between horse and human culminated on a hot Saturday in August. As music played, Catalino untied Tavo’s halter and let him loose into an arena filled with obstacles — a plastic pool filled with toys, strips of shower curtain and chains of flowers dancing in the wind, a pedestal. When she stepped into motion, he joined her, perfectly matched. When she jogged, he stepped up into a trot; as she slowed to a stop so did he. As the music crescendoed she twirled, and the black horse, his tail streaming behind him, turned around in rhythm.

Hannah Catalino, a wild horse trainer located near Whitehall, gently taps Tavo, formerly BLM horse #3519, as light snow falls during a May training session. Catalino only removes the identification number from a horse when she can safely catch, halter, lead and trailer the horse. Tavo was still a few training sessions away from the removal of the tag.

Their dance won them first place overall. Not to be outdone, Scooby and his Scooby-Doo themed show took second place, not to mention the pile of ribbons each horse won under Catalino’s guidance in the individual classes.

But most importantly, Tavo had won her heart.

A few weeks after the competition he was enjoying some earned time off, while Catalino prepared four others for competitions. "... Then I'll spend more time with him deciding if he'll stay or not," she said. "Most likely staying, but I have to think long and hard on my goals too."

She expressed excitement over what a wonderful riding horse he will make, but had mixed feelings about continuing his training.

“Once I saddle break him I’ll have a really hard time letting him go.”

Tavo stands tall atop a box in the arena where Hannah Catalino sets up obstacles to train her wild horses. Just months before this July afternoon Tavo was running wild with a herd in Idaho.

A sign outside of Hannah Catalino's horse training facility reminds guests to the area of the Equine Inherent Risk Law. Over the years Catalino has trained dozens of wild horses placing them up for adoption.

Hannah Catalino removes the identification tag from Scooby in May after only a few weeks of training the wild horse.

Hannah Catalino puts socks on the ears of her young horse named Scooby, a mustang from a wild herd in Idaho, as they prepare for the “freestyle” class where trainers display their horse’s skills set to music during Montana’s first TIP Challenge in late August in Missoula.

Hannah Catalino guides Scooby, a mustang from a wild herd in Idaho, during the “freestyle” class where trainers displayed their horse’s skills set to music during Montana’s first TIP Challenge in late August in Missoula. Part of the training process includes introducing wild mustangs to new experiences that will enforce trust in the relationship with the trainer. Catalino placed socks on Scooby's ears so he would look like the cartoon puppy, something that would've been terrifying to the wild horse just 100 days ago.

Hannah Catalino of Whitehall and Tavo, a mustang from a wild herd in Idaho, exit the arena after the last competition of the day during the Montana’s first TIP Challenge, an event where trainers show off the skills they have taught wild mustangs after 100 days of training.

Halfway through the training program with Tavo, the 9-year-old mustang, Hannah Catalino transfers the wild horse from a large pen to the training area while two curious burros look on. The animals wear sheets to protect them from insects in late July at Catalino's home and training facility near Whitehall.

Hannah Catalino rewards Scooby with scratches after he successfully loaded up into a horse trailer in May 2022. The young horse quickly captured her heart after just a few weeks of interactions. Catalino is a talented horse trainer who works with wild mustangs. Just a few months before this moment Scooby was living in the wild with a herd in Idaho.

A sign outside of Hannah Catalino's horse training facility reminds guests to the area of the Equine Inherent Risk Law. Over the years Catalino has trained dozens of wild horses placing them up for adoption.

Hannah Catalino and Tavo collect their awards after competing in Montana’s first TIP Challenge, an event where trainers show off the skills they have taught wild mustangs after 100 days of training. Together the pair claimed first place overall at the competition.

Hannah Catalino removes the identification tag from Scooby in May after only a few weeks of training the wild horse.

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Hannah Catalino, of Whitehall, was given 100 days to train her two mustangs from wild, to being able to be handled. Here's her journey. 

Hannah Catalino and Tavo collect their awards after competing in Montana’s first TIP Challenge, an event where trainers show off the skills they have taught wild mustangs after 100 days of training.

Hannah Catalino puts socks on the ears of her young horse named Scooby, a mustang from a wild herd in Idaho, as they prepare for the “freestyle” class where trainers display their horse’s skills set to music during Montana’s first TIP Challenge in late August in Missoula.

Hannah Catalino of Whitehall and Tavo, a mustang from a wild herd in Idaho, exit the arena after the last competition of the day during the Montana’s first TIP Challenge, an event where trainers show off the skills they have taught wild mustangs after 100 days of training.

Wild horse trainer Hannah Catalino of Whitehall jogs in step with her mustang Tavo through an obstacle course during Montana’s first TIP Challenge in late August at the Big Sky Horse Park in Missoula.

Scooby's government identification tag hangs with other tags on a gate in May 2022 where Hannah Catalino trains wild mustangs. She removes the tags from a horse when they reach certain training milestones, making them, in her words, no longer wild. 

Hannah Catalino gently guides Scooby, a mustang from a wild herd in Idaho, through an exercise just a few weeks after she picked him up from the Bureau of Land Management. 

Hannah Catalino guides Scooby, a mustang from a wild herd in Idaho, during the “freestyle” class where trainers displayed their horse’s skills set to music during Montana’s first TIP Challenge in late August in Missoula. Part of the training process includes introducing wild mustangs to new experiences that will enforce trust in the relationship with the trainer. Catalino placed socks on Scooby's ears so he would look like the cartoon puppy, something that would've been terrifying to the wild horse just 100 days ago.

Hannah Catalino, a wild horse trainer located near Whitehall, gently guides Tavo, formerly known as BLM horse #3519, through a May training session. Catalino only removes the identification number from a horse when she can safely catch, halter, lead and load the horse on a trailer. Tavo was still a few training sessions away from the removal of the tag.

Halfway through the training program with Tavo, the 9-year-old mustang, Hannah Catalino transfers the wild horse from a large pen to the training area while two curious burros look on. The animals wear sheets to protect them from insects in late July at Catalino's home and training facility near Whitehall.

Hannah Catalino rewards Scooby with scratches after he successfully loaded up into a horse trailer in May 2022. The young horse quickly captured her heart after just a few weeks of interactions. Catalino is a talented horse trainer who works with wild mustangs. Just a few months before this moment Scooby was living in the wild with a herd in Idaho.

Hannah Catalino, a wild horse trainer located near Whitehall, gently taps Tavo, formerly BLM horse #3519, as light snow falls during a May training session. Catalino only removes the identification number from a horse when she can safely catch, halter, lead and trailer the horse. Tavo was still a few training sessions away from the removal of the tag.

A sign outside of Hannah Catalino's horse training facility reminds guests to the area of the Equine Inherent Risk Law. Over the years Catalino has trained dozens of wild horses placing them up for adoption.

Tavo stands tall atop a box in the arena where Hannah Catalino sets up obstacles to train her wild horses. Just months before this July afternoon Tavo was running wild with a herd in Idaho.

Tavo leans into Hannah Catalino's arm as she guides him through a training routine during a hot July day outside of Whitehall.

Hannah Catalino and Tavo collect their awards after competing in Montana’s first TIP Challenge, an event where trainers show off the skills they have taught wild mustangs after 100 days of training. Together the pair claimed first place overall at the competition.

Hannah Catalino removes the identification tag from Scooby in May after only a few weeks of training the wild horse.

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