麻豆视频

Cassie Eaton (16) of Arcola, daughter of Chad and Lisa, has literally grown up riding horses. Developing her equestrian skills over the years has helped her grow into one of the top youth cutting riders in Canada. Having placed first at Canadians in 2012 and third in 2013 she again hopes to climb to the top with her partner, Spook, after being named the Saskatchewan Cutting Horse Association's Sr. Youth Champion for 2013 on Jan. 18.

Cassie first started competing in horse shows when she was around three-years-old having first began with her pony, Fancy.

"When I first started riding I was 13-months-old and I don't really remember that," Cassie laughed. "But I guess when I first started I was three or four-ish."

"I guess one of my first memories, I have lots, but probably my pony Fancy and going around to all the little horse shows in this area and competing."

By the time Cassie entered grade eight she was ready for something more challenging and, although cutting isn't allowed within high school rodeos until grade nine she decided to take on other rodeo events such as barrel racing, pole bending, and breakaway roping. This gave Cassie the opportunity to meet other young equestrian enthusiasts and gave Cassie her start in high school rodeo.

Though she continues to compete in these events cutting, which she describes as an extreme form of the game keep away, is where Cassie's heart truly lies.

"[Cutting] is kind of the ultimate showdown between a horse and its rider and the cows," Cassie explained. "It's kind of keep away from the herd."

Her interest in the sport, despite her absolute love for it, initially came through being gently pushed into it by her parents.

"It was just kind of a family thing," Cassie explained. "My dad's a cattle order rider, so he can read cattle, and my mom loves horses, so we just kind of combined those two and I started cutting. I was kind of forced into it, but I love it."

"Just that first move, it feels kind of cool for your horse to be doing it themselves, but that you're still helping."

The love and dedication to her horses is evident as she spoke to her disappointment of the winter months because the weather often prevents her from working with her horses, Sadie and Spook.

"In the winter it really depends on the weather, but summer, spring, and fall I'm usually out there every day working with both of them and trying to keep up..." Cassie said.

Despite having a winter break from rodeo activities currently, Cassie recently attended the Saskatchewan Cutting Horse Association's (SCHA) awards night and banquet on Jan. 18 in Regina. Here the young athlete took home a buckle for being the SCHA Sr. Youth Champion of 2013 for cutting, which she had also claimed in 2012.

She's earned this honour due to the team work she and Spook show while in the arena as this season she came away with wins at all but one cutting competition thus far.

This has also meant that Cassie and Spook have already qualified for both the 2014 National High School Finals Rodeo and Canadian High School Finals Rodeo which will be held this summer.

Nationals being a rodeo competition held in Rock Springs, Wyoming, with the top five youth from each event attending from provinces or states in Canada, the United States, and Australia.

Cassie earned the right to attend last year's as well and although her performance was admittedly subpar she is excited for her next go rounds at the competition this year as the entire experience was still amazing.

"I had an alright show, it could have been better," Cassie admitted. "I kind of psyched myself out going into it. I kind of told myself in my mind that I wasn't really good enough to be there, which kind of sucked. But coming out [of the first go round] I looked at myself and said, 'You know Cassie, you've done all this stuff already, you do deserve to be here.'"

"So, my second go round was better than my first, but hopefully it will be different and I won't psych myself out. But still, even if I don't do well, it's exciting to be there."

Although Cassie didn't do as well at Nationals as she could have she did earn back her confidence competing at Canadians only a short time later in Nanton, AB.

"After Nationals we went straight to Canadians and I ended up third," Cassie stated. "And the two girls before me, they placed top 5 at Nationals and the one girl had actually won it. I just needed to give myself a reality check and talk some sense into myself."

"I was pretty pumped actually, going to Canadians my first two years and winning one year then placing third the next."

In fact 2013 has been a very busy year for Cassie who has not only come away with the SCHA Sr. Youth Champion title for cutting, while also having competed at Nationals and Canadians during her grade 10 year (spring 2013), but she was also once again named to the Saskatchewan CINCH All-Star Team for the 2013-2014 season and earned the title of Saskatchewan High School Rodeo Association (SHSRA) Princess.

"...for the past two years I've been nominated by the association to be on the CINCH All-Star Team and I was accepted," Cassie explained of her accomplishment. "The CINCH All-Star Team is when you're an exceptional person outside the arena and inside the arena; so academics and rodeo. They go around within the association and pick who they want to represent them."

As for being the SHSRA Princess, Cassie has said that it has helped her discover who she is. Through the competition where she was judged on her Grand Entry, answering impromptu questions, presenting a speech, her personality, horsemanship, and modeling, she gained a better understanding of herself.

"I'm planning on running for Queen again, I have to talk to my dad about it again, but I absolutely loved it and I've grown as a person," Cassie explained. "I've realized who I am, that's kind of a weird way to put it, but I've grown. You realize that you've done all of this already, so you can do anything really if you put your mind to it."

Much of what Cassie has accomplished has come from her horses with which she has indescribably unique bonds.

"I got Sadie when I was 10 and I started riding Spook when I was 12..." Cassie explained as she remembered back to her first time meeting Sadie, Cassie's all around rodeo horse, and Spook, her cutting horse.

"I kind of get the odd ones out," Cassie smiled. "Like Sadie, she hated my mom and then I got on and we just kind of melded, just kind of clicked, we got each other. And I'm mostly the only one that can ride her because I understand her."

"And then Spook, it was just here hop on this horse and go cut, and we just clicked. I didn't have a horse at the time, mine had passed away, and it was the start of the cutting season in the spring. One of my friends, my other father we call him, Les Jack from Rocanville said, 'Here I'll bring you a horse, you just hop on.' ...so I hopped on and I think we scored like a 73 and a half, and we kind of just clicked. It was pretty cool."

A 73.5 being a solid score, as Cassie explained riders start with a base score of 70. From there, depending on how well the horse and rider do at keeping the cow away from the herd they are given points or points are taken away, 60 being the lowest score and 80 being the highest. However, 80's are almost unheard of with most competitors earning highs of around 75, which shows the instantaneous bond Cassie and Spook shared.

Much of Cassie's success stems from family, friends, and her sponsors which include JJ Trucking, T-45 Oil Corp, Ritchie Brothers, PB and J Safety, and TPZ.

"I couldn't do half the stuff without my parents, friends, and the rest of my family or even my sponsors," Cassie said. "They've helped me a lot actually with getting there. Membership fees and entrance fees, I couldn't do anything without my sponsors."

As she continues to train with her horses and embrace rodeo, Cassie continues to look forward to the future setting goals for herself, this time determined not to psych herself out under the pressure of Nationals.

"I want to place higher at Nationals," Cassie stated. "That's what I really, really want to do. That's my goal right now, either top ten or top five is what I'm really looking forward to."

As for where the grade eleven student hopes to see herself after finishing school, training cutting horses of course.

"For the future I want to train cutting horses for a living," Cassie explained.

"I am looking into taking a small business course then taking an equinology and equine dietician course either from Olds College or I've also been looking at a school in Kansas."

Immediately though, Cassie is simply looking forward to an end to winter and being able to work every day with Sadie and Spook, not having to worry about the weather.

"I'm just really excited for April to come around," Cassie stated as she explained she truly dislikes snow. "It's just kind of boring around here without that [training and competing for cutting]. Life's just kind of slow right now."