Bob will miss the show, but he’s gained a new home.

Bob will not compete in the Extreme Mustang Makeover he and trainer Judy Ballenger, of Sedalia, have prepared for the past three months. The pair was set to compete against 200 other trainers and horses nationwide in the Bureau of Land Management competition in Texas next weekend. The trainers had 90 days to gentle and train the wild mustangs.

Ballenger, who recently adopted Bob, said she has mixed emotions about dropping out of the competition.

“I’m going to miss out on that, but I got a far better payoff. I got to keep him,” she said.

All the intensive training has caught up to the 3-year-old wild mustang and resulted in a sore leg.

“It’s just been a little too much strain on him,” Ballenger said.

It is a bittersweet end. Throughout Bob’s training, Ballenger has struggled with the fact that he, along with all the other horses, would be sold at auction at the end of the competition. She had made an agreement with her husband, Ron, that she wouldn’t bid on Bob since the couple already own several horses.

“I really did think I’d stay objective, but I couldn’t,” she said. “I fell in love with him pretty darn quick.”

Since Bob has dropped out of the competition, Ballenger has adopted him for $125. Bob would have likely returned to the BLM’s holding facility in Ewing, Ill. if Ballenger hadn’t agreed to the adoption.

“I was worried what would happen to him,” she said.

Ballenger said she’s happy to be Bob’s new owner, but “it’s unfortunate Bob doesn’t get to strut his stuff. ... He would have been a contender.”

A veterinarian said Bob’s problem could be mild inflammation in his joints. She gave Ballenger two options: Continue to train and see if the problem worsens so the exact cause could be pinpointed, or give him an anti-inflammatory drug.

Ballenger didn’t think either was a good option for Bob, and after speaking with the BLM, decided it was best to pull him from the competition.

Bob’s “on holiday now” and isn’t thrilled to be turned out to pasture, Ballenger said.

“He’s a horse that likes to work,” she said.

Ballenger plans to give Bob some rest for the next month. She would like to hire a trainer to teach Bob dressage, which is “the ballroom dancing of horsemanship,” because he would be a natural at it, Ballenger said.

Bob could become a roping horse or compete in trail riding, among other things.

“The sky’s the limit for him; he’s that versatile,” Ballenger said. “Everything he does, he does it so well.”