Cape Fear trainer and Mustang ‘Gringo’ break Guinness World Record
BRUNSWICK COUNTY (WWAY) — The Rolling Stones once sang, “wild horses couldn’t drag me away,” but don’t tell that to one Cape Fear trainer because she and her equine partner have just joined an exclusive club.
Gringo the horse is the star of this show, having his picture taken after breaking a world record.
Turning 20 this year, the once wild mustang, trained by Bolivia’s Lauryn Zepeda, broke the world record on March 5th by performing 38 tricks in 2 minutes and 47 seconds.
It all started on a whim.
“I put out an application, not really thinking I would hear anything back, and I think in December of last year they responded, and they said, ‘Yeah! Send us your list of tricks and some video,’ because they have to pre-approve everything,” said Zepeda.
Zepeda also says this record had particular criteria.
“The horse cannot have anything on it. So, no bridle, no rope, no halter, like, he has to be completely bare. The other thing, too, is that you are not allowed to physically prompt the horse. So, I could not touch him to make him do anything; if I touched him, he had to offer it to me,” said Zepeda.
Some of the tricks Gringo performed included honking a horn, smiling, ringing a bell, bowing, and playing the piano.
Zepeda says it was Gringo who started this journey.
“He was originally captured in Salt Wells, Wyoming. I acquired him about 12 years ago. He, within about 2 years, he was responding very well to positive reinforcement. He was one of my main inspirations in getting into positive reinforcement,” said Zepeda.
Zepeda and Gringo completed the record on the first attempt with a small crowd of signed witnesses, timekeepers, and a veterinarian.
Now, she says she has big plans for the future.
“I want to open this public farm for horse shows, for the shows that I do, to get people more involved with agriculture in the area and whatnot, and that’s also going to be in Bolivia, and I know I’m jumping the gun, but I’m itching to break my own record,” said Zepeda.
Zepeda and Gringo also perform for field trips, vacation bible school, 4-H groups, and homeschool groups.
