Meet The Team
Mike Larsen
Hallie Neuens
Johnny Silva
Mike is what you would call a mountain lovin' man. As a professional guide and outdoor enthusiast, Mike has traveled many miles in the high country hunting deer, elk, and other big game. His interest in becoming a better horseman has made him a valued partner to 2Rank 2Ride, especially in their mustang program focused on BLM mustangs. The
Mike is what you would call a mountain lovin' man. As a professional guide and outdoor enthusiast, Mike has traveled many miles in the high country hunting deer, elk, and other big game. His interest in becoming a better horseman has made him a valued partner to 2Rank 2Ride, especially in their mustang program focused on BLM mustangs. These 3 amigos are loyal to the American Mustang and all they offer. This partnership is dedicated to the preservation and useful growth of mustangs, emphasizing wild horse training and colt starting techniques to enhance their skills.
Johnny Silva
Hallie Neuens
Johnny Silva
Johnny Silva is a cowboy from his toes to his nose. Most comfortable on the back of a horse, he spent 30 years jumping off of them as a professional rodeo cowboy competing in steer wrestling. After deciding to hang up his rodeo spurs, he shifted his focus to a lifestyle that utilized his skills as a horseman. Now, shoeing and training hor
Johnny Silva is a cowboy from his toes to his nose. Most comfortable on the back of a horse, he spent 30 years jumping off of them as a professional rodeo cowboy competing in steer wrestling. After deciding to hang up his rodeo spurs, he shifted his focus to a lifestyle that utilized his skills as a horseman. Now, shoeing and training horses is his passion. John, along with a few friends, developed a mustang program called 2Rank 2Ride, aimed at training BLM mustangs to provide an affordable platform for horse lovers to find good, honest, and versatile horses. The program emphasizes colt starting and wild horse training, and it also dedicates its energy and resources to helping people become better trainers of wild mustangs.
Hallie Neuens
Hallie Neuens
Hallie Neuens
Hallie is a registered nurse and lifelong friend of John Silva, sharing a brother-sister bond from their rodeo days. As the granddaughter of Mel Stonhouse, Hallie is no rookie in the horse world. She has produced horse sales, developed performance horse programs, and worked with wild mustangs, demonstrating her expertise in colt starting
Hallie is a registered nurse and lifelong friend of John Silva, sharing a brother-sister bond from their rodeo days. As the granddaughter of Mel Stonhouse, Hallie is no rookie in the horse world. She has produced horse sales, developed performance horse programs, and worked with wild mustangs, demonstrating her expertise in colt starting and wild horse training. A true complement to women of the western life, Hallie takes pride in her role as head administrator and merchandise development and sales for 2Rank 2Ride, where her experience with mustang programs and the saddle shines through.
2Rank2Ride - About Us
Our Mission
No mustang is too rank to ride. That is the philosophy behind John Silva’s wild horse training program in Powell, known as 2 Rank 2 Ride. Silva, a Casper native with 30 years of professional rodeo experience, shifted his focus from performance horses to versatile, everyday horses that can thrive in the backcountry, specifically BLM mustangs.
Inspired by Silva's ability to ride what many consider 'trashy horses in the backcountry,' Michael Larson and Hallie Neuens sought to learn more about training rank horses through Silva’s mustang program. To share his extensive knowledge of colt starting and horsemanship, Silva developed an intern program that focuses on training Bureau of Land Management wild horses for a reasonable price while providing interns with hands-on experience breaking mustangs. In the future, they plan to sell these finished horses to private treaty buyers.
“We take BLM mustangs and bring them into our wild horse training program, utilizing our platform to alleviate some pressure from BLM,” Silva explained. According to the BLM website, the Bureau of Land Management, along with the U.S. Forest Service, is responsible for managing and protecting wild horse herds within their jurisdictions.
Neuens emphasized, “I want people to understand that we’re not taking things from the wild. We’re taking things that have always been taken from the wild. We definitely understand and respect the wild and the wild horses.”
Silva’s connection to horses dates back to his childhood, helping on his family’s ranch in Montana. He continued his horsemanship at Northwest College and competed for 30 years in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association before focusing on BLM mustangs after being introduced to them by his farrier clientele.
“Mustangs definitely have mountain covering skills, and they’re dirty and wicked tough. They’re just mule-tough,” Silva said, noting their hardy nature and reasonable availability.
However, the team at 2 Rank 2 Ride has faced challenges in training BLM wild horses. Silva noted that breaking wild horses comes with a steep learning curve compared to domestic horses. “You’ve got to find that window to their soul, and then you have to wait for them to open the door before you try to step in,” he explained. The wild mustangs require a different training approach, emphasizing patience and understanding of their unique problem-solving abilities.
Neuens compared the differences between mustangs and domestic horses by saying, “City kid versus a kid that was raised in the Bronx. These mustangs are just entirely different. They’ve been there, done that.”
Silva and his team also encounter challenges with the aesthetic value of BLM wild horses. “They look a little ratty-tailed. You’re not thinking of a fine athletic specimen when you see them,” Silva admitted.
Despite these challenges, the program aims to overcome obstacles. They plan to use funds from merchandise sales to support the mustang program. Next week, the team will participate in the Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo, with the goal of raising awareness and generating traffic to their online store, which is currently under construction.
The 2 Rank 2 Ride team will also host a finished BLM horse giveaway, where the mustang will undergo a year of training. Customers who purchase merchandise will be entered into a drawing to win the horse this spring. Additionally, the team hopes to engage an active social media following, highlighting the giveaway horse’s progression.
“I mean he’s way cool looking,” Silva said about the horse. “He’s extremely gentle.”
Silva plans to leverage social media to connect people and horses. “[Our social media platform] will build another synergistic network of like-minded or like-interested people to come together, share practices, and exchange ideas,” he stated.
Ultimately, Silva looks forward to helping the 2 Rank 2 Ride team progress in transforming wild BLM horses into finished horses capable of handling everything from backcountry adventures to ranch work, “from sagebrush to safety,” he said. He also noted the positive influence horses have had on his own life. “I’m happiest when I’m in the saddle,” Silva shared. “I hope it’s changing me for the better.”
Viewers can follow updates on the giveaway horse and the program at the 2 Rank 2 Ride Facebook page, where social media followers can also get “a little taste of how we do it out here in Wyoming,” he added.
“It’s the western lifestyle that we love. So it’s not anything that we wouldn’t be doing every day,” Neuens concluded.