Editor’s note: Husker Harvest Days is Sept. 10-12 in Grand Island, Neb. Visit HuskerHarvestDays.com.

From the novice to the most experienced equestrian, the horse-training demonstrations at Husker Harvest Days offer something for everyone.

Ron Knodel returns for another year of horsemanship expertise. This year, he will feature more advanced horses and techniques.

However, the importance of the basics cannot be underestimated. Knodel says he will demonstrate to visitors “how a young horse comes through progression.”

It will feature the basics of bits and bridles to more advanced maneuvers while in the saddle.

Lessons through the decades

For more than 20 years, Knodel has been at Husker Harvest Days to demonstrate horse gentling and training.

In the beginning, he worked with wild mustangs from the Federal Bureau of Land Management’s Wild Horse and Burro Facility in Elm Creek. The mustangs were brought directly off the range in the western U.S. to the showgrounds.

Then, Knodel would gently guide the wild animal into submission. That same training process works for any horse brought onto a ranch.

Knodel again will show the same expertise and care, except without the wild horses. In about an hour, he will build a foundation of trust in the horse starting with halter breaking. Then, Knodel will move into more advanced techniques to create a horse that can work on any farm or ranch.

“[The demonstration] is not just about what I can do with my horses,” he says, “but about what I can do with others and their horses.”

Bridging training gaps

Year after year, Knodel returns to Husker Harvest Days to reinforce the basics and bring new information to his audience.

“I like helping and showing people what they will need to know on their operation, and bridging gaps of horse training to improve safety and horse handling on ranches,” he says.

Catch Knodel’s horse training demonstrations daily at 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. as part of the BEEF Showcase at Lot 5W.