AT 12 YEARS OLD, Emelyne Martin of Bethesda rode in one of the most prestigious shows of her horse and trick riding career at the International Finals Rodeo 53 Showcase in Guthrie, Oklahoma, last weekend.

The other riders’ ages varied from their teens through their 40s.

“I was the youngest one there,” said the local performer, who began trick riding in 2018. “I did pretty good.”

Emelyne said she did not place in the top three riders. But, after talking with longtime rodeo participants, she believes she may have been close to taking third place.

“I practiced Friday night and the showcase was Sunday morning. It was a five-minute act,” she said. “I did a new trick I’ve been practicing for about two months now. It’s called the Stroud.”

This involves “standing” on one side of the horse, which she said is difficult to achieve.

“I’d say it’s probably been one of my hardest,” she said.

“They pick 30 to perform, only,” her mother, Sarah Martin, said, adding that there were about 21 performers in total. “Out of the whole United States, 21 got picked to do it.

“It’s a competition, but it’s also a showcase just to show what you know how to do, to try and get hired for the next rodeo season,” Sarah said. “She performed and competed against any kind of acts that could have been at a rodeo.”

They said there were a wide variety of performances ranging from rope tricks to comedic riders and gunslingers.

“They all competed against each other,” Sarah said.

They said riders could apply for the showcase, but those with an International Professional Rodeos Association card holders were most likely to be selected.

“She’s had one for five years,” Sarah said of her daughter. “The fact that she performed so well impressed a lot of people, and she was able to get her card.”

They believe Emelyne was one of the youngest in the IPRA to earn a card in 2018.

“There is quite a few her age now that have it, but back when she first started” she would have been the youngest.

Participating in the showcase also allowed Emelyne to make connections and created opportunities to ride in for future rodeos.

“I met a few pretty big and good stock contractors,” Emelyne said. “I would like to ride in some of their rodeos.”

Emelyne rides in about 15-20 rodeos each year, usually in spring and fall.

In Oklahoma, she rode Blitz, her quarter horse/percheron mix, and Twilight, an American pink pony. Emelyne noted she was also proud of Twilight’s performance. She had trained with the pony for two years, ever since her last pony died.

“She was just supposed to be a farm horse, and I was interested in trying to make her a trick pony,” Emelyne said.

“It took her two years to train Twilight,” Sarah said. “And now she took her and performed at one of the biggest shows possible.”

“She’s came a long way,” Emelyne said of the pony.

Emelyne has been a student of Shadow Montag, a trick rider who lives in Columbus but who grew up in the village of Belmont and whose family owns the Rafter M Rodeo.

“I grew up at my grandpa’s farm and he has had horses. My uncle used to put me on them and help me to sit on them before I could walk,” Emelyne said. “We started to go watch Shadow and (his sister) Dallas when I was 2, and ever since then, I’ve wanted to ride like Shadow and Dallas.”

She took to trick riding readily.

“He wanted to put me in a few shows and (it) turned into 15 my first year,” she said, adding this was in 2018.

While there are many riders and horse enthusiasts in her family, Emelyne is the first to try trick riding.

“She learned not to give up – to keep pushing and be determined,” Sarah said.

Emelyne’s future ambitions include learning new tricks and training another potential trick horse. She hopes to one day participate in the Days of 47 Festival in Utah.

For others interested in riding or trick riding, she emphasized the importance of a connection between horse and rider. She said horses have different personalities, but the rider and horse must be a unit.

“You really need to get to know your horses and get to the trust level that you need to be at. Lots of practice, and before you start trick riding, I feel like you need to learn to ride really good first, because it’ll help.”

She attends Union Local Middle School.