PG . 60
AQHA FEATURE
Skyla Wicks - Barrel Racing Photo by : Tyler Palmer Photography
SKYLAWicks
In 1999-2000 Skyla ’ s eldest sister Ashleigh travelled all over Australia to pursue an ABCRA Jnr Barrel racing Title on a great little mare named Tara , which she successfully achieved . Ashleigh also won the NSW State Championships and was the youngest to compete at the Sydney Royal Easter Show in the under 17year age group at just 10 .
“ It was a sport my family had a lot of interest in . So when I came along , we got back into it . I barrel raced every single day on my stick horses around three cups in the loungeroom from around the age of 2 , mum tells me . I always knew the pattern ; I knew the barrel pattern before I could write my name . Dad always tells me I would even ask him if I was on the right lead . So I guess you can say I was born to Barrel Race ,” Skyla recalls .
Skyla ’ s dream horse would be a dark grey Gelding ‘ Waylons Hollywood Cinch ’ ( Waylon Return x Boom Boom Baby ) bred by the Mobberley family from Merriwa . ‘ Cinch ’ caught her Mum , Erin ’ s eye at a pony club day in Merriwa , and she had wanted him ever since , but the horse was not for sale . “ In 2016 , Cinch ’ s full brother came on the market , and we purchased him as an unbroken colt and figured that was as close as we were going to get .” After two years of hassling , the Mobberley family phoned to say ‘ Cinch ’ was going on the market !
Initially purchased for Erin , the pair didn ’ t always get along . “ At this stage , I was riding one of my Dads Campdraft mares , but she was too slow for Barrel Racing , so I thought I would give Cinch a go . In the beginning , we knew he was fast , but he did need a fair bit of finetuning . He had only done a bit of barrel racing at pony club ,” Skyla recalls .
When the duo started barrel racing , they would often place if he didn ’ t break the pattern , but he was soon renowned around the Rodeos for ducking inside the drums . It didn ’ t matter which drum either and sometimes not even running the barrel pattern . This ducking inside became a regular thing .
AUSTRALIAN QUARTER HORSE ASSOCIATION - WWW . AQHA . COM . AU