Trainer Turns Unbroken Horse Into Champion

ST. PAUL (AP) -- A St. Paul trainer took an untrained horse and turned it into a national champion in eight months.

Jerusha Steinert and her 4-year-old Nokota named Mesabi Warrior bested about 30 other competitors to take grand champion honors in the American Horsewoman's Challenge.

Contestants had eight months to turn an unbroken horse into a show-ready equine.

The event was open to women trainers from the United States and Canada.

This was the inaugural run for the three-day competition held in October in Oklahoma.

The 34-year-old Steinert has been a trainer since 2006 and a horsewoman most of her life.

She says she was floored that she won.

She plans to enter next year with another Nokota, sponsored by a spectator who was taken with Mesabi.