Wild West Arts
California Cowgirls bring western-style entertainment to 40th annual Hamel Rodeo
A Riata Ranch Cowboy Girl does the front fender drag as she trick rides. The Cowgirls will be on hand to entertain during each performance of the Hamel Rodeo July 8-11. Photo by Matt Cohen.
Hamel, Minn. – Look out Hamel! There’s a Wild West Show headed your way!
Trick ropers, trick riders and whip crackers will be ready to entertain for all five performances of the Hamel Rodeo!
The Riata Ranch Cowboy Girls: Jennifer Nicholson, Miah Bryant, Britney Bean, Ava Blum, Edyn Blum, Bailey Gable and Laynee Holdbrook will bring their brand of western art to the rodeo.
Their fast-paced routine is glitzy and glamourous, and involves everything western: from the graceful yet dangerous art of trick riding (think gymnastics on horseback), to liberty horse work (training a horse to work on command, with no bridle, halter or bit), to trick roping (doing fancy tricks with ropes, like Will Rogers did) and whip cracking. There’s never a dull moment when the Riata cowgirls take the stage during the rodeo!
The Riata Ranch girls strive to keep their show high quality. “It’s a complete entertainment package,” Nicholson said. “There’s lots of energy and action to keep everybody entertained.”
The Riata Ranch, located near Sequoia National Park in central California, is a place where young people can learn horsemanship skills. They can come with no experience and learn the basics, or they can be experienced horse people who want to advance to the art of trick riding. Nicholson, a former trick rider herself, gives riding and trick riding lessons but emphasizes that the skills learned at Riata Ranch are more than horse skills. “The idea is to grow life skills, practice leadership, mentorship, education, community service and horsemanship.” The horses are a vehicle she uses to grow her students’ character.
Students come from across the world to attend classes at Riata Ranch, and usually stay for up to five years. They may travel home for several months at a time, but they usually return to Riata.
The five women who will perform in Hamel come from a variety of places. Nicholson, who is executive director of the Ranch, is from Three Rivers, California. Three other cowgirls are Californians: Bean is from Visalia and the Blum cowgirls hail from Costa Mesa. Bryant is from Gunedah, New South Wales, Australia; Gable is from Lafayette, Colo., and Holdbrook is from Red Lodge, Mont.
The Riata Ranch Cowboy Girls have been entertaining rodeo fans since 1976, and they’ve been in front of some big audiences. They were selected to perform for Queen Elizabeth’s Jubilee in 2012, and six times they’ve been chosen to entertain at rodeo’s world championship, the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas. They have worked rodeos across the nation and from coast to coast.
Their unusual name, “Cowboy Girls,” stems from the 1972 John Wayne movie, The Cowboys, in which a group of young boys steps up and becomes responsible in helping him trail cattle. Tom Maier (1928-2002), the founder of the Riata Ranch, wanted his students to have that sense of philosophy. Nicholson, who is a product of the Riata Ranch, shares that same philosophy with her students. “The moment you step on the property (at Riata Ranch), you take immediate responsibility for your participation in the program.”
The 40th anniversary of the Hamel Rodeo takes place July 8-11 at Corcoran Lions Park. Performances start at 7:30 pm each night with a family day matinee at 1 pm on Saturday, July 10.
All tickets are general admission and can be purchased online at HamelRodeo.org.
For more information, visit the website at www.HamelRodeo.org or call 763.478.6611.