Horsing around
A recent Friday, 1:04 p.m.: Sitting atop her glitter-covered horse — a pairing that towered 8 feet above the pavement — 16-year-old Maddie McClay dipped her cowboy hat low enough to slip through the 7-foot back door at the Cow Palace.
The Flying Fillies drill team was about to be called to the main arena, where Maddie and her nine mounted teammates would compete in the Grand National Drill Team Jackpot — a pregame feature of the Grand National Rodeo since 2003.
That evening, the stands would be filled with fans eager to watch roughand-ready cowboys try to hang onto bucking broncos and Brahman bulls for eight seconds. But now, only the competitors’ families and four judges were in the stands to see nine elite mounted drill teams run their 1,000pound steeds at each other at top speed in choreographed unison to country pop songs.
Riders typically keep one hand on the horse as they make these runs, while the other grips a pole waving a giant American flag. It’s no wonder the tricks they perform have names like suicide charge and crack the whip.
“It’s like synchronized swimming on horseback,” said Margaret O’Brien, the event coordinator.
It takes intense focus to make it to this level. “This is the Grand Nationals,” 44-year-old Laura Vaughn said as her team, the Smokin’ Guns, prepared for a five-minute routine. “This is what we work for. The drill teams work hard all year long. Here we come together as a family.”
It’s not just teammates who bond. Rider and horse form a team all their own.
“We spend almost every day together,” Vaughn said of her 9-year-old quarter horse, Pepper. “He’s like my child. My husband actually comes second to the horses, unfortunately. You trust your horse with your life.”
The lurking element of danger is something that wouldn’t be obvious to the fans if they didn’t know the competitors personally. Riders look less like highly trained athletes than beauty pageant contestants.
The women wear sequined costumes, with matching lipstick and lashes. They have the option to use helmets, but most choose to look “pretty” instead, O’Brien said. Sharp, bright cowboy hats are the norm.
There’s cash on the line for the winners, but the most coveted prize is the chance for the winning team to ride later that evening, in front of a packed house on the rodeo’s opening night. It’s these athletes’ moment to introduce their sport to a receptive crowd.
Lining up to head onto the Cow Palace’s dirt floor before the competition begins, “you just get butterflies — and your horse knows, too,” said Amy Babel, leader of the Flying Fillies. “Once the gate opens, you hope to just leave it all on the dirt.”