Success in the sport of reining is something St. Paul’s Nancy Pratch is no stranger to. After winning medals in the two previous North American Young Riders competitions she has attended, it was no surprise when Pratch returned home from Kentucky with hardware once again.
The 20-year-old reining competitor, along with her three teammates, took home the gold in the SmartPak North American Young Riders Championships, which were held in Lexington, Kentucky July 27-31.
“I am really happy with how the competition went,” Pratch said. “I had great support and was surrounded by great people, it couldn’t have gone any better.”
Pratch has been competing in the sport of reining for the past five years and got her start through a local 4-H club where she heard about a reining clinic. Reining competitions are designed to show off the athletic ability and skill of a ranch horse in an arena environment. The horse and rider run one of 10 approved patterns, which include skills such as small slow circles, large fast circles, flying lead changes, 360 degree spins done on the spot and the trademark skill of the sport, the sliding stop.
“I attended the clinic in 2005 and from there I just got more involved with it, began riding more and becoming more familiar with it,” Pratch said.
At this year’s Young Riders event, Pratch took part in the competition as a member of an Alberta/Manitoba team. She was the only Albertan on the team chosen to represent Canada. It was the Manitoba team’s fourth time at the competition, but this was the first year they were able to walk away with a gold medal.
“It was really rewarding to see the excitement and appreciation on the faces of my teammates,” Pratch said. Last year, Pratch was also part of the gold medal winning Canadian team and was awarded the title of individual champion as well.
Teams from Canada, the United States, Mexico and even some European teams took in the competition in Kentucky.
Pratch said the Canadian competitors were great and showed a lot of Canadian spirit.
“It’s great to see how the Canadian team members represent the country,” Pratch said. “There are flags hanging from the stalls and we all wear red and white.”
There were many Canadians taking part in the competition in other disciplines besides reining. The event also offered competitions in dressage, endurance, eventing, jumping and vaulting.
Pratch has only attended the event to compete in reining but in the future would like to broaden her horizons to include competing in cow horse and cutting competitions. Pratch has been competing for the last year on a horse named Rooster Kicker, who she spends a lot of time with preparing him and herself for competition.
“I spend a lot of time in the saddle to get ready to compete,” Pratch said.
“It’s not always in the arena but just getting out and working cows, and of course the arena is important, but mainly just getting out and working.”
Up next for Pratch is the Canadian nationals competition, which is to be held in Red Deer in the end of August.
