04.12.10
Tommie Turvey To Showcase Equine Extreme Act at 2010 Games
Entertainment to be Part of Grounds Pass Ticket Offering
LEXINGTON, KY—As the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games approach, guests should not only be looking forward to the competition, but also to the multitude of equine entertainers and demonstrators that will be a part of the Equine Village.
Among the entertainers that are part of the Equine Village is Tommie Turvey, equine extremist. How exactly would one define an equine extremist? Well, Turvey said he demonstrates tricks and stunts that will be quite a different experience for many people.
For Turvey, entertainment came naturally. Turvey’s father was a stunt man and Turvey was labeled as the “class clown” in high school. At the same time, Turvey also loved horses and couldn’t wait to get home from school every day and ride.
“Being a boy and my dad being a stunt man, the softer side of horsemanship didn’t appeal to me much,” Turvey said.
Turvey didn’t like competitive riding either because a single judge evaluates most equestrians. Turvey preferred an audience, and it wasn’t long before he realized he could combine his two interests and use his horsemanship and performing talent in the same arena.
When he was 19 years old, Turvey got a job at a medieval times dinner theatre and performed jousting and other activities on horseback. Since then he has been in circuses, shows, movies, and performed all over the world.
Although Turvey makes his performances exciting, his horses make it possible. Turvey puts much of his efforts into training his horses to help him perform stunts and tricks that leave audience members in awe.
“The key to getting a horse to do all of the things that I do is getting him to trust you first,” Turvey said. “I make sure the horse wants to be with me at all times and looks to me for guidance.”
Turvey said he does a lot of liberty training, which includes cueing the horse by voice and body language instead of using physical cues. Turvey will demonstrate some of his training techniques at the Equine Village.
Like many equestrians, Turvey is anticipating the arrival of the Games and is even taking time off from performing before the Games in order to prepare. As much as he has enjoyed traveling the world to perform, Turvey is excited to have the Games here in the U.S.
“It is nice to have people from around the world come to the United States,” Turvey said. “I can represent what we do here and say ‘Hey! American cowboys are pretty good horse trainers too.’”
Tommie Turvey will perform in the Equine Village of the 2010 Games from September 26-30 and October 7-10.
Access to the Equine Village will be available with a Grounds Pass or a competition ticket. Grounds Pass ticket sales begin April 16 at 10 a.m. at www.alltechfeigames.com, www.ticketmaster.com, at any Ticketmaster outlet, and at 1-800-745-3000. Tickets will be on sale at a promotional rate of $20 until May 31. Grounds Pass tickets will be priced at $25 after that time. All children 12 years of age and under will be granted free entry with a paying adult.
For more information, visit www.alltechfeigames.com
To learn more about Tommie Turvey visit his website http://www.equineextremist.net/.
AbitaNet Corporation
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