Dave and The Heart of Mic
Growing up, Dave Afseth said he rode a horse more than he rode a bicycle. They didn’t have fancy horses, he said. “If it had hair and four legs and it could gather the cows…”, then it was good enough for him.
He moved on from horses for a few years and raised a family. Then life in the saddle lured him back. He found himself at a cutting horse competition and was hooked just watching it. He ended up buying a horse and boarding it at a cutting horse facility.
One day the trainer there put him on a turnback horse where he got his first taste of cutting. He quickly decided he wanted a serious cutting horse and would spend his evenings searching online for the right one.
He finally found 19 year old “Mic” and had to have him. The horse hadn’t been ridden in years so Afseth figured he didn’t have too many miles on him for his age.
Afseth’s favorite aspect of the sport is the competition between the horse and the cow. He said he likes how you let the cow control the horse and you control the horse after that. He hopes to show a few times this summer.
Afseth wants to make sure he prepares himself well so he can give it his best shot. He hopes to win a buckle this summer to have something tangible hanging on his wall. He really enjoys Mic and takes the best care of him to make sure he is always comfortable at 19 years old doing the job he loves.
“I really enjoy learning about [cutting]. The more I think I know, the less I really know…The subtleties really make the difference…You’ve got to practice and know and understand that. It needs to be a natural reaction. There’s a lot happening really fast.”
Why Dave Uses CHTO:
“When I first start something I want as much information as fast as I can get it. CHTO does a really good job of [offering] a broad range of videos that you can learn. Some people will sit in the evenings and watch television. When I have spare time I pull those videos up