Tyrrell Riding Academy successful in Las Vegas at Worlds Qualifier
By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The Tyrrell Riding Academy recently took several of its students to compete in Las Vegas at a World’s qualifier event for team cattle penning and sorting.
Jessica Tyrrell, owner and coach of the Tyrrell Riding Academy, explained each member of the team who participated in the event took home at least one placement, if not several over the course of the competition.
Ultimately, the goal is for members of the team and students to qualify for the World’s competition in Louisiana which will take place in October.
Team cattle penning is a sport which challenges a team of riders on horseback to herd three specifically numbered cows from a herd of 30 into a pen within the arena in under 60 seconds.
“Our horses are always in a full-time training program, as well as our kids – we run a pretty big lesson program,” said Tyrrell. “The kids were training up to three or four days per week … and the horses, probably about the same.”
The team that went to Las Vegas consisted of Cruz Jordan (13), Helen Tyrrell, Megan Bundas, Jessica Tyrrell, Jason Cramer, Leah Huxted (9), and Izzy Cramer (8).
Placement for winning the event goes to the team that is able to complete the objective in the fastest time. Qualification for Worlds requires attendance at a certain number of sanctioned shows in order to accumulate points towards qualification. Entry is permitted once a designated threshold is achieved.
“We have a few more shows we need to attend that we have planned over the summer, and that will get us there … everybody is very excited, and we are pretty proud of our horses and our riders,” said Tyrrell. “Our next competition is at the end of this month coming up here. (Last) week, we gave all of our horses a week off, but (now) we are right back at it.”
Tyrrell added experience and practice is key to developing the skills for the sport. Regular practices at home as well as attendance at local shows provide opportunities to develop.
During competitions, youth and adult riders are designated separately for some events, while for others, age disparity is not considered when assembling a team.
“This was our first time in Vegas. We have competed at Stampedes and Canadian Nationals, Canadian Regionals and stuff like that, and we have also gone down to Montana too,” said Tyrrell.
The next Worlds qualifying show will take place in to Claresholm in April.