TISDALE — The 2019 Tisdale Ramblers Rodeo opened with horses performing moves such as a pinwheel, thread the needle, a wave and a merry-go-round.
The opening act was from the Outback Riders Drill Team in its third year as a group.
“We start practising in kind of the early winter, and we practise all winter long,” said Heather Arsenie, coach and choreographer with the team. “So we’ve ridden six or seven times this year to practise for this one.”
The group is made up of 10 members, all from the east central region including Carrot River, Nipawin, Zenon Park, Melfort, Ridgedale and Aylsham. The youngest member is 35, and the oldest is 68.
In the three years the group has been together, it has maintained its original 10 members.
“As a drill team we’re just a bunch of like-minded friends who all enjoy doing the same thing, but being a part of the drill team just allows everyone to enjoy the camaraderie that comes with horses, the teamwork individually with the horse, and the teamwork generally as a team.”
In the past, the group has performed in rodeos, parades and at Carrot River Family Day. Each year they perform a new routine. Arsenie said they perform about four times as many shows compared to when they first started.
Every year Arsenie tries to increase the difficulty of the moves.
“This pattern compared to when we first started is three times better, for sure,” Arsenie said.
The greatest challenge she finds in coaching is trying to match the horses’ personalities with their positions in the ranks.
“Their personalities, their stride lengths, most confident horses at the front for the leadership positions. Balancing just horse personalities is huge,” Arsenie said. “There are some horses that have no problem leading the herd, and some horses are more like followers so they get pushed to the middle or the back.”
She said horses in that way are like a classroom of children.
“You have the party animals, you have the kids who like to sit quietly. You have horses that are the exact same thing.”
Arsenie also finds their personalities affect the choreography itself.
“We start up, every move is slow then we just build the speed, build the speed, build the speed, and that comes with confidence too.”
Arsenie said they were thrilled to be asked to be the opening act of the rodeo.
“It’s definitely an honour to be here but we think every performance we do is an honour.”
The group expects to perform about half a dozen more performances this year before the season ends.
