EquiFest of Kansas plans to celebrate its 25th annual festival with multiple national horsemanship experts, including Michael Gascon, Chris Cox and Phil Haugen.
Gascon, one of the three “headliner clinicians,” Kansas Horse Council executive director Justine Staten said, works toward bettering the lives of horses and their trainers with a modern approach to horsemanship.
Gascon trains all types of horses, including the “untrainable”. Gascons’ family began training horses five generations ago with the Paso Fino horse breed, a Spanish breed imported to the Caribbean and developed for more than 500 years throughout the Gulf of Mexico region, specifically in Puerto Rico and Cuba.
Michael Gascon grew up training horses in Texas with his family, but today he lives in Mississippi where he trains hundreds of horses every year. 
After Gascon continued the family horsemanship business, he decided to expand into all breeds of horses and began “training the untrainable,” he said.
The central part of Gascon’s training techniques involves simplicity. He said understanding the fundamental nature of horses and how to communicate with them causes everything afterward to be a little easier.
“I love the opportunity to show people the easier way, especially when it’s a new crowd,” Gascon said.
Gascon said he also focuses on learning from horsemanship programs across the globe, visiting 18 countries to learn more about his craft.
“I am constantly pursuing better information and going to different cultures, countries and learning new disciplines,” Gascon said. “I love going somewhere and being the least educated person in the room.”
During Gascon’s colt starting retreats, he brings in trainers with young horses and provides activities such as horse soccer, pool noodle fights and chasing cattle around an arena.
This form of training exposes the young horses to encounters they might have throughout their lives, causing both the horse and rider to gain confidence when riding in everyday situations.
Kelsey Gascon, Michael’s wife, first met Gascon while teaching him trick riding techniques, and after eventually marrying years later, she began to help train horses with him.
“We train over 500 horses a year between our horse training programs, clinics and weekly retreats,” Kelsey Gascon said. “We work with any breed, any discipline, any problem; we don’t pre-screen anything before it comes in. So it’s given us a lot of tools, especially knowing enough of all these different disciplines.”
Kelsey and Michael Gascon travel the nation visiting horse expositions and events, sharing their story and helping those training horses to understand the tools to better horsemanship.
EquiFest of Kansas 2022. This event will be Gascon’s first year at EquiFest of Kansas, and he said he’s excited to talk to a new community about horsemanship.
“We’ll do a lot of different topics, whatever topics they give us, whether it’s gaited or horsemanship or colt starting, but you’ll find across the board, we’re going to use that same crystal clear communication and simplicity to drive home,” Gascon said.
Staten shared her interest in Gascon’s exposition for EquiFest of Kansas, where his energetic personality and exciting training sessions will be a crowd-pleaser.
“He’s very entertaining and talented, and the fact he can look at any situation and take any animal and he’s not afraid of it, he doesn’t have to know what it’s about before he gets his hands on it,” Staten said. “I think that’s impressive. He’s very confident and clearly has years of experience.”
EquiFest of Kansas’ presenters, the Kansas Horse Council, invited more than 10 presenters for attendees to learn horsemanship skills from.Staten said EquiFest of Kansas has two arenas “chock full on the schedule,” with activities, competitions and clinics.
EquiFest of Kansas will open its doors beginning at 9 a.m. each day from March 18 through 20 at Tony’s Pizza Events Center and Saline County Expo Center.
Tickets are available only during the event for $20 each day or a $50 3-day wristband. Children 12 and under can attend the event for free.
