Gavin Ehringer

Contributions

You Got This!

At some point in her childhood, doesn’t every girl harbor the dream of riding free on the back of a beautiful horse? Perhaps the dream begins with a My Little Pony doll, a Disney film, a new riding outfit for Barbie, or an actual riding experience. For many, the dream never really goes away, but...

Reining: Right On!

Dressed in a pure beaver-felt hat, Swarovski crystals dangling from her broad-collared western shirt, custom riding boots, hand-made spurs and chaps “just so,” Marcy Ver Meer gallops her diminutive but well-muscled stock horse down the long side of a riding arena, building speed. Just as you think the pair will vaporize and be transported back...

A Brief History Of Reining

Most historians of western equitation attribute the early beginnings of the sport of reining to contests among vaqueros tending cattle in the Spanish missions. These cowboys took great pride in their horse-handling skills – the ability to effortlessly rein their horses with the large but delicately balanced Spanish bits, to sort and manage cattle, to...

Sally Bishop: Trick Rider & Stuntwoman

If you were to run a help-wanted ad for a rodeo trick rider, you might say something like this: Wanted, fearless female who likes to be the center of attention. Must look attractive in spangled jumpsuits. Requires athleticism, gymnastic ability, and the willingness to hang upside down from a horse with your head inches from...

Ranch Geldings

I remember clearly when the words “ranch gelding” seemed to all-of-a-sudden be on every horseman’s lips. It was 1985 and cattle prices had plummeted. Unable to turn a decent profit with their cattle, ranchers began selling off horses. They quickly realized that people would pay a premium for well-broke, ranch-raised geldings with some rope-handling skills,...

Appaloosas: The Ultimate Comeback Story

They’re unmistakable, the dark horses with white “blankets” on their rumps, often with black spots spilling out across their flanks; the white horses completely covered with black, brown or reddish polka-dots, appropriately called leopard Appaloosas; or the myriad of other colorful combinations that warrant a delicious double take. When one admires a spectacular Appaloosa standing...

Steel Can Jockey: Tana Poppino

When she was in her early 20s, Tana Poppino got an office job at the Grand River Dam Co. She thought it would be a temporary position, something to offset expenses as she established herself as a professional barrel racer. Two decades later, she was still working for the company, having all but given up...

Motor City To The Rocky Mountains

Spending a vacation high in the Colorado Rockies, riding horses and relaxing at a sumptuous guest ranch would certainly be the adventure of a lifetime for most. The ultimate adventure, however, would be to buy the ranch and live there forever. That’s precisely what Detroit couple Cheri and Jerry Helmicki did. Back in the 1990s,...

Cowgirl Bronc Rider: Kaila Mussell

Kaila is a card-carrying professional saddle bronc rider, currently the only woman to hold that distinction in both the Pro Rodeo Cowboys Association and the Canadian Pro Rodeo Association. Now in her mid-30s, she’s been at it for more than a dozen years. Like most of her cowboy competitors, the native of Chilliwack, British Columbia...
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