I hope I am not the only one that needs all weekend to come down from the “high” that team sorting brings on Friday nights at OutWest. Last week was no different for me! I remember how tentative I used to be around cows on my own horse, yet now the adrenaline is intensified when I can hop on one of OutWest’s horses and walk into the pen.  I love it!

But, that’s summer -I thought I would take the chance to explain a bit more about the format of the equestrian team I am a part of at South Dakota State University during the fall and spring.  The best (and sometimes worst!) thing about this type of competition is that we do not show our own horses.  Instead, it is like a bull ride; we arrive at the host team’s school and draw a horse to ride. Each rider gets four minutes to warm up, figuring out her horse’s quirks, before heading on into the show pen.

Although this provides for some wonderful experiences -like the opportunity to ride some very polished reining and horsemanship horses -keep in mind that there is usually a reason these horses are donated to a school. This makes for some tough rides as well! Since we do not haul our own horses to shows, we have flown to some neat places to compete, such as Delaware, New Mexico, California, Tenessee, Kansas and Texas.

I am so thankful that the team is making me into a more adaptable rider, and spending time in the saddle at OutWest only improves my riding more! I wouldn’t trade the teamwork I have with my own reining horse for anything -there is something deeply rewarding about knowing your own horse inside and out. However, horses’ personalities can be about as diverse as those of humans; and I think this challenge of recognizing and adjusting to different equine “styles” is teaching me so much about confidence and becoming a better horsewoman.

Angie

Hello there! My name is Angie Gebhart, and I couldn’t be happier to introduce myself as part of the “OutWest Team”.  I call Maple Grove home, but during the school year I attend South Dakota State University, where I am double-majoring in Biology and Spanish.  During the summer, you can often find me here, at OutWest, spending time with the horses.

I have been riding at OutWest for several years in the team sorting and ranch horse show events, along with showing my own horses in reining competitions for almost ten years.  As a member of the SDSU Women’s Equestrian team, I am learning to show a wide variety of horses, so helping out at OutWest during the summertime is a perfect opportunity to get experience riding all sorts of equines (from mules to cutters!)  I can’t get enough of being at OutWest, and I love helping to get horses ready for sales and shows.

I’m pretty lucky to work with such a great group of people, and I look forward to learning as much as I can this summer. 

See you at OutWest!

Angie