By Tracy Pinson
After watching Craig
Cameron’s Extreme Cowboy
Race on RFD-TV, I knew that
it was something we
(Skyjacker’s Mountain High
aka Tuff and I) had to try.
Who knew, just a
short time later, that Wayne
Conkle, Tuff, and I would be
traveling from Florida to
North Carolina, Maryland,
and Kansas to actually
compete in these events.
For anyone who is not
familiar with Extreme Cowboy
Races, they are almost as
fun to watch as they are to
compete in!
Craig Cameron
summarized the race best
with his description –
Kamikaze speed with surgical
precision.
The courses require
the horse and rider teams to
run at full speed and then
be able to rein the horse
back to perform flying
leading changes, ground tie,
climb moguls, cross water,
side pass over logs, go
through tunnels, shoot
balloons from horseback,
joust, jump ditches, ride
through trash, or navigate
tight obstacles.
The course is timed,
but horsemanship is a larger
factor in the overall score.
Your horse has to
lope well, respond properly
to cues, and be able to
negotiate any obstacles
without hesitation.
In order to qualify for the
World Finals, horse and
rider teams are required to
compete in events within a
region, then the top three
from each region are invited
to the finals.
Since there were no
events in the Southeast, we
traveled to the Mid-Atlantic
region where events were
held in North Carolina and
Maryland.
While at our first
event in North Carolina, we
were fortunate enough to
meet Joyce Lewis, who had
competed in several of the
Craig Cameron races on
television.
She mentored and
coached us, so that we knew
what to prepare for in
regional races, as well as
the world finals.
Craig Cameron’s Extreme
Cowboy Race World Finals
were held in Topeka, Kansas
on November 13th through 15th
and attracted horses from 26
states.
There were five
divisions (Pro, Non-Pro,
Youth, Ride Smart, Novice,
and Young Guns) – all
offering the best teams from
all over the country.
Tuff and I competed
in the Non-Pro division,
which was the largest with
34 entries.
Judges included last
year’s champion, Cam
Schryver, and John Black,
both from California.
The Non-Pro course was the
same as the Pro division and
we faced obstacles including
shooting, jumping, running,
roping, dragging, loading in
a trailer, bareback,
ground-tying, standing in
the saddle, teetering
bridges, and many others.
Each rider competed
in two rounds and the top
ten cumulative scores went
back in the final round.
After the first two rounds,
Tuff and I were in second
with only a half point
separating us from the first
place horse.
Just before the final
round, the course was posted
and I was excited to see
that half way through, we
were required to strip our
saddle and remount bareback.
Running, jumping,
spinning, and performing
rollbacks while riding
without a saddle – what a
blast!
Tuff’s sire, Coin’s
Skyjacker, was a multi-time
world champion versatility
horse and won Florida’s
battle of the breeds.
Wayne Conkle and I
bought Skyjacker through an
auction as a four year old
and had him 16 great years
before we lost him in 2004.
Fortunately, Wayne
bred him to his one of his
best mares and produced Tuff
before his passing.
Destined to walk in
his father’s footsteps, Tuff
told us early on that he was
also going to be a versatile
horse.
He completed his
Supreme Versatility
Championship by the age of
four and has already won
numerous World Versatility
Championships and High
Points in his seven short
years.
What’s next?
Who knows where we
will turn up!
Our initial goal in
competing in the Extreme
Cowboy Race was to show that
the Tennessee Walking Horse
is truly a versatile breed –
from the trail to the show
ring to Extreme Cowboy
Racing – we’ve got the horse
that can do anything….and do
it smoothly!
With a Walking Horse winning
the Non-Pro division and a
Spotted Saddle Horse winning
the Youth division, it
proves that the Extreme
Cowboy Association is an all
breed organization.
We are honored to hold the
2009 Extreme Cowboy Non-Pro
World Champion title -
having competed with the
best in the country is an
experience that we will
never forget.
Tuff and I would like to
thank our sponsors,
Montverde Academy, the
Tennessee Walking Horse
Breeders & Exhibitors
Association, Walking Horse
Owners Association, Tommy
Hall, Mark Taylor, Spradley
Hats, and to all the “Team
Tuff” members at Darby Oaks
Stables……We couldn’t have
done it without all of
you!!!
If you are interested in
competing, watching, or
hosting and event – You can
contact the Extreme Cowboy
Association at
www.extremecowboyassociation.com
or email me at
TLPinson@aol.com.
You will be hooked
too!!
