Manawa girls enjoy thrill of rodeos
By Holly Neumann
After weeks of practice, the HomeTown Heroes Youth Equestrian Drill Team, made up of area youth ages 10–17, will begin its season of performances throughout the area.
The team will perform June 17-19 at the Great Lakes Rodeo in Gwinn, Michigan; July 8-9 at the Upper Peninsula Championship Rodeo in Iron River, Michigan; and Sept. 9-10 at the Barron County Pro Rodeo in Rice Lake.
Tori Boyea and Cierra Verbeten, members of the Rodeo City Riders Drill team, coach the team. Their goal is to be mentors for these young girls in the hopes that one day they will move on the Rodeo City Riders.
“We have eight girls this year,” Boyea said. “They are doing amazing. They got on their horses and just knocked it out of the park.”
“There is so much that they are learning,” Verbeten said. “Talking to each other, responsibility, becoming leaders and horsemanship.”
“Rodeo is all about the youth,” Boyea said. “We want this to be a positive experience. We want to help them chase their dreams and achieve their goals.”
Madison Nooyen, 10, is the youngest member of the team and has been riding horses since she could sit up.
“I hope everyone likes what we do,” she said.
Her favorite part of the show is exiting the arena.
“We get to go super-fast,” she said. “That’s a lot of fun.”
Madi Hartjes, 15, was looking for something different.
“I have done barrel racing and I wanted to try something new,” she said. “The best part of performing is the crowd and the excitement. I hope everyone likes the routine we do and that it looks professional.”
Her sister, Hailey, 13, feels at peace when she is riding, but also likes the thrill of the show.
“When you enter the arena and you hear the crowd cheering you on, it’s amazing,” she said.
Hailey carries a flag during the performances and is an end person.
“I have to make sure everyone is keeping up,” she said. “We have worked hard for this. I hope it makes people happy.”
Her dream is to one day be a national world champion barrel racer and breakaway roper.
Willow Schultz, 10, also wanted to try something new.
“I have been barrel racing since I was 5,” she said. “This was something different, something new to try.”
Her confidence shows when she gets into the arena.
“I trust everyone knows what they are doing and what is going to happen,” she said. “We have practiced so hard and I hope we share a lot of great memories from this.”
The HomeTown Heroes Youth Equestrian Drill Team will ride in honor of local fire and police departments.
“We want them to know that we see them and we are thankful for what they do,” Verbeten said.
The hope is that one day the team will be able to donate to some of these services.
Anyone wishing to help support the team can reach out on its Facebook page.