From February through April, horses, mules, Police Horses, and even miniature donkeys have been the beneficiaries of the Masterson Method™ at horse expos from Oregon to Iowa and Wisconsin to Minnesota.

Jim and Becky Tenges, Masterson Method Certified Practitioner and Instructor, sometimes together and sometimes separately, have been crisscrossing the country as clinicians presenting The Masterson Method at horse expos large and small. The common theme? When people see this method of bodywork demonstrated, it resonates with them...it makes sense to them...and they want to learn it so they too can help their horses by using it.

Jim and Becky with booth neighbor, Raye Lochert at the Oregon Horse Expo

It is very encouraging that horses and their people are responding so enthusiastically to The Masterson Method. But, doing these demonstrations, however, is sort of like filming live TV: you never know exactly what's going to happen, either with the demo horses or with the audience! We have had horses who seemed stoic in their stalls when 'interviewed' by Jim or Becky as potential demo horses who became the star of the demo with grand releases of sneezes, snorts, shakes, and scratches synchronized perfectly with their talks. On the opposite side, we have had other horses who seemed perfectly calm, quiet, and very demonstrative with their releases during their stall interview, who became almost incapable of feeling Jim or Becky's touch or of 'listening' internally to feel their releases because of noisy distractions outside of the demo arenas--things like the clomping-by of dozens of loudly chattering mounted Civil War Reenactors; the clamoring, jingling, rattling, and jangling-by of six teams of horses pulling their VERY big wagons; or the very fast-paced clippety-clopping-by of the ten circus-decorated, plumes-at-their-polls-miniature ponies pulling their very little carts...to name just a few!

Jim demonstrating at the MN Horse Exp

Then, there are the demo-audience members who, almost to a person, sit in the stands with open and encouraging looks on their faces showing their curiosity and eagerness to see and to learn. Every once in awhile, though an audience-member's discouraging facial expressions challenged Becky and Jim's ability to calmly and confidently carry on with their demonstrations. But in the end, even those people, just like the more challenging demo-horses, were an encouragement and a vote of confidence for The Masterson Method. 

Becky, Conley, Jim, Cindee, and Mary at the Midwest Horse Expo in Madison, WI

One example of a challenging audience member was the man at the Iowa Expo whom Becky describes as having a crabby, disbelieving facial expression throughout her demo. This was Becky's first expo standing in for Jim, who was in North Carolina at the time, and it was her very first demo of the five demos scheduled over the weekend--so she was not completely calm to begin with! "From the look on his face during my demo, it seemed clear to me that he was a non-believer...and the thing was, he actually seemed sort of mad," Becky told Jim later. "But then he CAME BACK for the second, third, and fourth demos over the next two days, and always with that same crabby-looking facial expression!" On Sunday afternoon, he came to The Masterson Method booth, visited with Becky, and bought a book and dvd. The fellow indicated that he was just so amazed at what he was seeing that he couldn't believe it, so had to watch Becky a number of times and with different horses before he could really accept that The Masterson Method could do what she was saying---that it could help the horse to release tension the way it does. It turned out that for this fellow, extreme concentration only looked like angry-eyes!

At the Iowa Horse Fair where Becky Tenges filled in for Jim, from right to left:  Becky, Cindee, Theresa, and Janice wearing their "Jim disguise"

After presenting The Masterson Method and talking with close to a thousand people across America at this year's spring horse expos, here's how Becky summed up her experience: "It is such an honor and a pleasure to have had the opportunity to demonstrate The Masterson Method at these expos. It feels a little like we are pulling back a curtain to a previously secret, unknown world and, in so doing, we reveal a whole new form of relationship, interaction, and care. Most everyone is amazed, grateful, and excited to see how they can learn The Masterson Method in order to help their horses. Then there are those few people, who talk to us with tear-rimmed eyes for whom it becomes clear that they feel that Masterson Method is the answer they have been searching for to help their horse. For an even smaller few, also with tears in their eyes, it is clear that The Masterson Method was an answer for them personally, possibly to a question they did not even realize they had, an answer at a horse expo that changed their personal life's course in a very profound and positive way. I can't think of a better way to have spent my spring!"

Minnesota Horse Expo as seen through the eyes of Certified Practitioner, Lise Lunde, as Jim's assistant at the
MN Expo

The 2013 Minnesota Horse Expo took place at the State Fairgrounds in St. Paul from April 26-28. I have been there before, but this year was a totally different experience, as I was assisting at The Masterson Method booth and demos. The weekend was the first spring weather that Minnesota experienced - no snow and lots of sun. It was enough to bring great crowds to the Expo, many of whom attended Jim's demonstrations on The Masterson Method and visited The Masterson booth.

On Friday morning when we entered the arena, what a delightful surpriseit was to see the bleachers filled and people standing to watch Jim talk and present The Masterson Method. I looked into the bleachers and even saw some faces that I recognized. When I returned to the booth after the demonstration, it was nonstop visits by people interested in learning more about The Masterson Method. Jim did two demonstrations each day and the pattern continued. We met so many enthusiastic, inquisitive, and supportive people. In two of Jim's demonstrations, Dr. Janet Palm, D.V.M., provided support for Jim's work as a method of bodywork that horse owners could learn and use to support their horse's health between veterinary visits. Richard Shrake, founder of Resistance-Free Training, also was a supporter at one the demonstrations. They were great endorsements for The Masterson Method.

The demonstration on the head-shy horse seemed to bring together a group of people with a common interest. From the arena, I could see that the audience was totally engaged in Jim's discussion and demonstration of working with head-shy horses. During the weekend, we had the opportunity to work horses from the Sons of the Wind Lusitanos, the Zuhrah Shrine Horse Patrol, the St. Paul Mounted Patrol, and the Mid-American Paso Fino Horse Association. All the horses and their owners were great participants. Audience members also had the chance to come down and participate in the demonstrations.

On Sunday morning before the activity got started, I decided to do a little exploring of vendors at the Expo. You know that a horse girl has to find some time to shop! At two separate vendors, once the owners saw my Masterson Method t-shirt, they shared that they had heard so many positive comments about Jim and his method from shoppers all weekend. It was a great feeling to hear that so many others felt like I do about The Masterson Method!

At the Minnesota Horse Fair with Jim - Alex, Cindee, and Lise. They called themselves the "Booth Babes".