18 / Sport and Trail Magazine
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My Bucketlist Ride with
Pat Parelli
By Amanda Ellis
Morning could not come
quickly enough on May
26th, 2017 for me. Maggie,
my horse, and I had the
opportunity to ride with
Pat Parelli. This was
something that I had hoped
for since I first saw Pat in
Memphis, Tennessee in
2007.
The 1st Annual Mane Event Horse Expo was coming to WestWorld in Scottsdale, Arizona for Memorial Weekend. A few weeks earlier, I had filled out an application to be a clinic rider. I prayed that I got in with Pat. I have admired his ability to seamlessly communicate with his horses. Maggie and I were selected to ride with Pat and I was overjoyed. One of my bucket list items was going to be checked off!
riding because she used to scare me so badly because she was classified as a runaway. She would buck, rear, spin, and do some very interesting aerial movements. Thankfully, we stuck together and overcame our fears. We went from competing in Western Pleasure in 2002 to becoming the 2016 Ladies Level 1 World Champions in Cowboy Mounted Shooting during our Rookie Year. For my sport, we have two holstered .45 caliber single action revolvers that have five shots in them each. There are over 70 different patterns that are in our competition book and when we are at a match we can have 3 to 5 patterns or “stages” in one day. To stay at the top of your class, you must hit all 10 targets (balloons) and have the fastest time.