Sometimes a person knows at an early age what their passion will be.
This is the case for Carlie Borle, an 11-year-old trick horse rider, who finished in third place in the team division of the North American Trick Riding Championship in Las Vegas in December. The championship is part of the Canadian Trick Riding Association (CRTA), which formed in 2014, to give young riders a chance to compete in the sport. Before then, although the sport existed as a pastime or entertainment, Canadian riders didn’t have an outlet to compete. In its first year the CRTA hosted six events. This year, it increased to eight. The North American Trick Riding Championship, which is in its first year, was the last event of the season.
“I first started trick riding four years ago,” Carlie said, describing it as gymnastics on a horse.
However, her mother, Joanne, said her interest in the sport began much earlier when she was only two.
“We were at a rodeo in Boyle and when she saw the Graham sisters (Krista and Amber), a trick riding act perform during intermission,” she said. “Ever since that day she has just been entranced with trick riding, saying she wanted to be just like the Graham sisters.”
Carlie agreed, adding it was when the Grahams jumped through a ring of fire that really got her attention.
Actually, Carlie owes a lot to the Graham sisters.
Just before she turned seven years old, Joanne brought Carlie to Wainwright, where the Graham sisters are based, to attend a weekend trick riding camp to see if she would enjoy the sport.
Since that initial camp the Graham sisters have become Carlie’s mentors. She and her mother made the three hour trek to Wainwright to train, sometimes on a one-to-one basis with Krista and Amber or as part of a group clinic.
In fact, it was at one of these clinics that Carlie met the other part of what is known as the Blitz, Glitter and Grit trick riding team, Katherina Jean (Wainwright), Bryden Dahm (Tomahawk) and Ryan McGillvery (Wainwright).
In addition to having the desire, skill and training to become a good trick rider, Joanne said a person needs to have the proper equipment.
“It isn’t a cheap sport to get into. This is a sport where you definitely need to have professional instruction, and then there is the special saddle,” she said, adding all of that would be nothing without having a horse.
Carlie has two horses, Rue and Gilly, that she specifically uses for trick riding.
“You just can’t use any horse. It has to be one that is specially trained,” Joanne said, adding that her older brother, Justin Potts, is a horse trainer. “She is really lucky to be able to start with horses that are trained to be at rodeos and other events and are used to the pressure, crowds and excitement that accompany them so all she needed to do was focus on training them to be trick horses.”
As for the North American Championship event itself, took place over two days Dec. 5 and 6, in two different venues, indoor and outdoor.
Joanne said this is because some competitors and horses usually do better at one type over the other and the organizers didn’t want to give an unfair advantage. “Especially when you consider some of the teams or riders have never competed in an indoor arena before,” she said.
The competition is judged on the quality, difficulty and technique of the performance, as well as its entertainment factor.
“The individual event is more about technique, while in the team event, how well a trick is performed is definitely a big part in the judges’ decision of how appealing it was to the audience and how exciting it was to watch,” Joanne said, adding each athlete had to perform five different tricks over the course of the three to four minute routine.
Carlie’s tricks included a one foot flyaway, horn spins, suicide drag, side backbend and a her favourite, the stroud layout.
“It’s where I stand on the side of the horse with my feet in these special straps and use my horse’s momentum to stay in position,” she said.
When asked what is next for her, Carlie said she wants to continue trick riding, not only in competitions, with Glitz, Glitter and Grit, but as part of the trick riding entertainment duo Twisted Sisters that she is part of along with Hailey Duncan.
“I just like to ride horses,” she said, adding in the off-season she takes part in equestrian (show jumping), English and Roman riding. “Basically I’ve done everything you can do on top of a horse.”
