Extreme makeovers are all the rage these days, and Erda horseman Cliff Tipton is joining in.

Tipton was chosen out of 220 horse trainers from across the United States to compete for $25,000 in the Extreme Mustang Makeover on Sept. 22 in Fort Worth, Texas. The contest, sponsored by the Mustang Heritage Foundation and the Bureau of Land Management, pits 100 of the nation's top horse trainers against each other to see who can train a wild mustang best within 100 days.

The 100 trainers, after being pre-selected, traveled to BLM facilities in Nevada or Oklahoma to claim their wild mustangs at the beginning of June. After 100 days of working with their horses, the trainers will travel to Fort Worth, Texas, where they will be judged on conditioning, groundwork and a "horse course" that requires maneuvers and includes obstacles found in trail and recreational riding situations. The day after the judging, the horses will be available for adoption through an oral bidding at the Will Rogers Center.

The winner will be decided by a panel of judges comprised of three of the nation's top horse trainers: Pete Kyle and Suzy Jeane of Texas, and J.D. Yates of Colorado.

Tipton, whose connection with horses runs deep, likes his chances.

"I've been interested in horses since I was walking," said Tipton. "I've been riding since I was 3. I've always had horses around."

Along with his wife, Tipton founded the Intermountain Wild Horse and Burro Advisors, a non-profit organization that works with the BLM to facilitate wild horse and burro adoptions. The center also teaches and supports riders who want to adopt wild horses.

Tipton finds the greatest challenge in training a horse to be the communication with the animal.

"You want it so that the horse understands what you're asking and knows what you want," he explained.

If he wins the competition, Tipton plans on using the money to upgrade his horse training facility in Erda.

"People don't realize that mustangs can do anything your more expensive horse can do -- maybe even more," he said.