It has been a busy few months for Kaitlin Paul. Not only was the Cochranite crowned the Cochrane Lions Rodeo princess in September, but she also won the Extreme Cowboy Association 2014 World Youth Championship Nov. 2.
“It comes down to time and what did the judges see and what they like,” said Paul. “We waited until the awards ceremony and I didn’t know which way it was going to go. Luckily it was a good day for me.”
The world finals were held in Hamilton, Texas from Oct. 30 to Nov. 2 with nine riders from the Extreme Cowboy Alberta group travelling down south. There were also competitors from the U.S., Europe and South Africa.
Five of the nine from Alberta competed in the finals on the last day of competition.
The competitions challenge both horse and rider to maneuver through a series of obstacles demonstrating horsemanship, speed and control.
“I don’t think anyone really prepares you for it, and then you go down there and you see the quality of the competition,” said Paul. “You don’t realize until you get down there that you are competing against the best of the world.”
Paul competed with her horse Junior, a six-year-old quarter horse that she has been training with for three-and-a-half years.
Paul said in preparation over the last five months, she has been riding six days a week, sometimes twice a day. She also participated in clinics and trained on various obstacles to get Junior to fully trust her.
Having just graduated from Cochrane High School, Paul said she is taking the next year to focus on training and competing with her horses.
She said she is giving Junior a bit of time off, but has a younger horse that she has been having more training time with. Paul added that she eventually would like to get her bachelor of science so that she can go into veterinary medicine.
But Paul already has her sights set on competitions for next year.
“I said if I won the world youth championship that I want to be invited to the Calgary Stampede Cowboy Up Challenge,” said Paul. “That’s my next goal…to get invited to compete with the best of the best at the Calgary Stampede. It’s always been a dream of mine.”
