For the love of horses: UWRF celebrates 50th anniversary of Colts in Training Sale May 2

For the love of horses: UW-River Falls celebrates 50th anniversary of Colts in Training Sale May 2

April 20, 2026 — The University of Wisconsin-River Falls will host its 50th annual Colts in Training Sale May 2 at the Campus Farm,1475 S. Wasson Ln., River Falls. Preview rides will begin at 11 a.m. A live auction with both in-person and online bidding will begin at 2 p.m.

The colt sale has only been held virtually since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020. The model proved to be efficient, but the landmark anniversary called for a special event.

“We’re going back to the big in-person event for the 50th,” said Assistant Professor of Animal Science and Equine Program Director Jennifer Weinert-Nelson, noting that more than 500 people attended the 40th anniversary sale in 2016. The event will serve as a reunion of sorts, with alumni events scheduled on Friday and Saturday. 

50 colts will be offered for sale, all of which have been trained by students in UWRF’s Colts in Training Program. Six of this year’s colts were foaled at UWRF while the rest came from outside breeders and owners who sent them to the program for training. After training, the horses go on to a variety of livelihoods. 

“Students in the program set a foundation for each horse so they can go on and be successful in any discipline or sport,” said Nathan O’Connor, instructional administrator, who is in his 20th year of leading the Colts in Training Program. “Some become family horses or trail-riding horses. Others have gone on to be performance horses in the reining horse industry. We sell some of those rodeo-type horses, barrel horses and rope horses.” 

Horse training at UWRF began in the 1960s under the umbrella of the Horse Science Institute, which consisted of workshops and short courses for adults. The Colts in Training course was first offered in 1972. Lawrence (Larry) Kasten, who provided leadership to UWRF’s nationally recognized horse science program for 30 years, introduced the Colts in Training Sale in 1976.

“Larry created the sale to highlight the Colts in Training Program,” O’Connor said. “It has kind of become our signature program. It’s the reason many of our students choose to come to UWRF, even if they are not majoring in animal science.” 

Students in the program come from majors across the UWRF spectrum and are bound for all sorts of careers, though they share one thing in common: a passion for horses.

Kira Prochnow, a senior food science major from Menomonie, will begin a position at AgSource Laboratories after graduation in May. When she chose to attend UWRF, she was very much hoping to be part of the Colts in Training program. Now in her third year participating, Prochnow said it has been a rewarding experience that will benefit her for the rest of her life.

“My experience in the Colts in Training program has been the best!” Prochnow said. “I have learned so much and have become a better rider. I will be able to take the knowledge and skills I have gained and be able to apply them to any horses I may work with in the future.”

For students who want to pursue a degree focused on horses, UWRF offers an animal science major with an equine option, which Weinert-Nelson said sets it apart from many narrower equine science programs.

“Our students have this well-rounded animal science education, a balance of science and management, and then the opportunity to take elective classes like the Colts in Training class,” Weinert-Nelson said.   

Students who graduate from the animal science program may go on to work in agricultural fields as diverse as feed or pharmaceutical sales, reproduction companies or physical rehab, O’Connor explained. Some become certified as both human and equine chiropractors. Quite a few go on to graduate or veterinary school.

Colts in Training alum Rose Bailey graduated in 2024 with a degree in animal science – equine science option and is now in her second year at the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine. Bailey said the skills she learned in the program will help her become the very best vet she can be.

“Nathan and the Colts in Training Program taught me so much about how animals are willing to communicate, as long as we are patient enough to notice,” Bailey said. “The ability to read and understand the animals around me carries directly into veterinary medicine, where understanding an animal's body language can mean the difference between a stressful or dangerous situation and a positive, repeatable interaction."

Nettie Baker, a 1991 animal science grad, fell in love with horses around age 12 when her family moved from the Bahamas to Minnesota. She started her college career studying photojournalism at another university, but when she learned she could get a degree centered around horses at UWRF, she transferred and found her life’s work.

“Larry [Kasten] would come to class with his boots and spurs on,” Baker said. “I loved it. It was amazing.”

Baker said once she started training her first colt, she realized she had a lot more to learn than she thought.

“Larry would say you have to make the wrong thing difficult and the right thing easy and let the horse find it,” Baker said. “I was just determined to bring it about, learned to train them in a kind way, reading the horse.” 

Baker went on to start her own horse training business, Nettie Baker Performance Horses, which she has run for 30 years. She met many of her lifelong friends at UWRF.

“There are a lot of us out there, especially in the reining horse world,” Baker said. “It’s all because of River Falls. I owe it all to that program.”

Student trainers spend many hours not just riding and training the horses but also doing chores morning and night seven days a week. That work ethic is important to prospective employers.

“A lot of times when somebody calls me and wants to hire a student, they don't ask how they ride,” O’Connor said. “They ask how their peer evaluations on the chore crew are.” 

Students are also in charge of marketing the event. They create the sale catalog, take photos and video and share them on Facebook, where potential buyers can watch the colts grow and develop.

O’Connor said the quality of the training program and the opportunity to talk to the student trainers who know the horses well make the UWRF sale a popular choice for buyers.

“Our buyers have a lot of confidence coming to us,” O’Connor said. “We've been doing this for 50 years and the horses are safe. They're gentle. They're not going to hurt somebody when they get them home.”

Funds raised through colt training fees and the sale of school horses make up the majority of the overall equine program’s funding. 

For more information about the UWRF Colts in Training Sale, visit uwrfcoltsale.com.

Photo: The UW-River Falls Colts in Training Program will hold its 50th anniversary colt sale May 2. Pictured from a sale in the late 1990s (l-r), Front row: Nathan O’Connor, now in his 20th year leading the program; training program founder Jack Brainerd; colt sale founder Larry Kasten. Back row: Allen Odden and Jim Simon, auctioneers for Twin Cities Horse Sales. UWRF archive photo.