Full Throttle Ahead

Canadian trick riders to entertain at St. Paul Rodeo

St. Paul, Ore. (June 18, 2018) – Fans at the St. Paul Rodeo are in for a real treat.

The Full Throttle Trick Riders will be on hand to entertain during each performance of the rodeo July 3-7.

Canadians Shelby Pierson and Emily Peebles are trick riders, performing gymnastic-like stunts while riding a horse galloping around the arena at full speed. Both women started trick riding when they were young; Pierson, who is eighteen years old, has been trick riding since she was eight; Peebles, who is twenty years old, started trick riding at age thirteen.

Growing up on a ranch outside Wardlow, Alberta, Pierson was on a horse as soon as she could walk. One of her elementary school teachers, Cassie Horner, was a professional trick rider who recognized the talent in her student and encouraged her to try it. “I could do flips and gymnastic moves,” Pierson recalled, “and trick riding and gymnastics lend themselves to each other well.”

When she was fourteen years old, Pierson got her Pro Rodeo Cowboys Association card, allowing her to entertain with her trick riding act at rodeos sanctioned by the PRCA, in the U.S. and in Canada. As she improved in her trick riding skills, her showmanship skills improved as well.

Now she, as founder of Full Throttle Trick Riding, performs at between 30 and 35 rodeos a year, mostly in the summer. She has carried the American flag at openings of rodeos but never for a Fourth of July show. She’s looking forward to being at the St. Paul Rodeo on the Fourth. “I’m so excited. Any other day of the year, when we bring in the American flag, everybody goes crazy, so I can’t imagine what it will be like on the Fourth.”

Pierson has a string of horses that have been specially trained for trick riding, using different horses for different stunts, depending on what the horse shows an affinity for. Her main horses are Smudge, Zip and Splatter. She trains her own horses, which is time consuming but helps her develop a relationship with each horse. “I like the work that goes into training,” she said. “It’s really rewarding when you see it all come together.”

Trick riding is an art that was common among cowgirls and cowboys in the early part of the 1900s. It was often a competition and a way for people to make a living. Cowgirls and cowboys would attempt to “out ride” each other for prize money by performing the most dangerous tricks they could think of on a galloping horse. The sport seemed to die out, but is making a comeback as entertainment during rodeo and equine events. “People used to go out (on horseback) onto race tracks and do crazy stunts. That’s how a lot of these really cool tricks got started,” Pierson said. Stunts like the Cossack death drag, the fender, the hippodrome, and the stroud layout and the vault are maneuvers that Pierson and Peebles will do in St. Paul.

Pierson and the Full Throttle Trick Riders are best known for their one-of-a-kind style of vaults. “The most unique thing that sets us apart from other trick riders is how fast our horses run,” Pierson said, “and our tricks. We jump off the horses’ bums and go under their necks.” They also involve fireworks in their acts.

Pierson and Peebles will be on hand during the St. Paul Rodeo to entertain during each rodeo performance.

Performances are at 7:30 pm each night July 3-7, with a 1:30 pm matinee on July 4. Other attractions to the St. Paul Rodeo, the Nation’s Greatest Fourth of July Rodeo, include fireworks following each night of rodeo and a big parade through St. Paul at 10 am on July 4.

Tickets are on sale and range in price from $16 to $26. They can be purchased online at www.StPaulRodeo.com, at the rodeo ticket office, or at the gate.

For more information, visit the website or call the rodeo office at 800.237.5920.