By: Kelsie Star Akers
Everybody knows in order to be a real cowgirl you have to have courage, and to be a rodeo cowgirl you have to be tough and have grit. The female barrel racers below won’t let anything get in their way, especially not the limits that society puts on women, and definitely not age!
The Roberts Sisters: Colorado Springs, Colorado
Aleeyah is a 15 year old high school sophomore who excels at many sports but barrel racing has proven to be her favorite. Aleeyah has been riding since age 4 and her passion for horses has paid off in the arena. With dozens of championship buckles on her shelf she was encouraged to compete with the “big girls” and, as a 13 year old, competed in the Colorado Professional Rodeo Association where she qualified for finals and finished second in the average. She continued to run at this pro level against many world champions. Aleeyah’s dream is to qualify at the Wranglers National Finals Rodeo. She is a huge inspiration to many girls of color and is considered a superstar by her little sister who is chasing that same dream (we’ll get to her next.).
As we all know, good things come in pairs, so of course we couldn’t leave out Savanna Roberts, Aleeyah Roberts’ little sister.
Savanna is a 9 year old barrel racer from Colorado Springs, Colorado. She has been riding on her own since she was 4 years old. She has competed across the country in not only barrel racing but pole bending as well and has recently started to rope! Picture this 65lb girl made of pure muscle and courage driving her 1200lb best friend down the alley way. Her number one goal is to be the first African American female to qualify and win the Wranglers National Finals Rodeo, after her sister of course. Talk about a family of champions!
The Roberts sisters are complete and utter sweet hearts, and I see bright futures for them. I was honored to get an interview with these two; the best part was I caught them in the middle of checking out a pony for Savanna.
Q: Ok, what made you decide to participate in such a challenging sport?
Aleeyah: Well, when I was approximately, well actually I’ve been just “riding” horses for a while and I kinda got bored with just riding horses, and I remember going to a rodeo around 6 years old and I got to see the girls and they were participating in the barrel racing, ya know? They were all super-fast and super good and then that’s when I was like, “I want to do that.”
Q: Wow Six years old. That’s young. When you saw the other girls racing did you think, once you started doing it yourself, that you would get so far?
Aleeyah: No, I thought… well, I mean, I saw them and I thought, “Wow, how cool would it be to be that good some day?” But I never thought I would be at that level, but (she laughs) here we are!
Q: I saw that your mom is also a barrel racer?
Aleeyah: Well, more or less, she can do it when she has time but work is very time consuming for her. She can only really do it during the summer with us. She did barrel race when she was younger, though.
Q: Who would you say…enjoys the sport more? You or your sister? Does she see it as something fun, but, for you, it’s more of a competition, or vice versa?
Aleeyah: I feel it’s sorta both. At first it was fun because it was winning for like ribbons and stuff like that, I wasn’t winning money yet. It started out as, “This is fun I want to keep doing this.” Then money got involved and I was like I could live off of this, so I see it as a career more now then something fun to do, but it’s still fun. My sister on the other hand is like its all that she thinks about, it’s all that she talks about, it’s just, “Barrel racing, barrel racing, barrel racing.” So, I definitely think she enjoys it more than me even though I do still enjoy it. She’s just straight up crazy about it.
Q: So, what is your drive other than the awards? What was your drive in the beginning?
Aleeyah: My drive in the beginning was that I was told that this sport wasn’t something I could do. My friends used to tell me that, “You couldn’t do that.” Or “You wouldn’t be good at that.” Other people would say, “You have to be rich to own horses, and rich to make it anywhere in the rodeo world.” Now that I’m getting up to that level I can see where money comes in but you don’t have to be rich.
Q: That’s actually really good advice which is the next question, what advice do you have for future riders?
Aleeyah: My advice for any future barrel racers would be to just keep your head up and keep going because times are gonna get tough and it doesn’t matter what situation you’re in, believe it or not money can’t solve everything. Just keep looking up, keep pushing, and believe in yourself. That’s extremely important and I had to learn that as did my sister.
Q: I love it! So now let’s get into the more serious part. What are the dangers in barrel racing?
Aleeyah: The most dangerous would probably be, hmm… well I know a lot of people worry about like slips or falls when going around the barrels, which is a very big deal people have been killed, some people have had their horses do a full-on summersault. So, the biggest thing I would have to say is falling.
Q: Ok, so this is the last question, what do you think it takes to be the best?
Aleeyah: I think it takes a number of qualities to be the best, like respect. Have respect for everyone, ya now, because a please and thank you will take you so much farther than just saying yes or no. I feel like that’s definitely something that’s important, and definitely have grit and drive and want to be the winner. Don’t be to overbearing, though, when it comes to wanting to win. You have to give 150% every single time.
Q: That’s some serious advice? How far are you planning on taking this? Are you going to do this a career for the rest of your life?
Aleeyah: What I want to do is make it to the NFR when I turn 18, and maybe go and try to win the American and create a name for myself before I try to go off and start any business for myself. I definitely want to go to college, and I want to be an actress. But if I make it to the NFR before college then I’d probably stick with that…
This cowgirl has plans to be an actress, along with her ambitions as a Pro Rodeo Star. She has huge multi level dreams and that is my kind of dreaming. As someone once said, “if your dreams don’t scare you, they are not big enough.” And, now we get to have a quick chat with her little sister, Savanna aka Bam Bam.
Meet Savanna
Don’t be fooled by the sweet girly, colorful appearance the single digit age, as she is not quite a decade years old yet. 4 saddles and a host of other prizes later…seems those small challenges have not stopped this little champion from winning and winning BIG.
Q: Savanna, what is your favorite thing about barrel racing?
Savanna: Um, I mostly love the sport and my horse, and spending time with my family.
Q: Would you do this as a job when you grow up?
Savanna: Well, no, I want to be a Veterinarian and I want to train horses every once and a while. My goal is to have a big ranch out in the country.
Q: Do you have a favorite horse that you ride?
Savanna: Yeah, his name is Nacho, I don’t use him for trail rides because I only use him for barrels. I used to use Max for trails. He was a Bay but we sold him.
Q: Let’s talk a little more about Nacho, is he fast?
Savanna: Yes, I’ve won 4 races with him. One race I won twice, and I’ve won 4 saddles.
Q: How does it feel when you win and bring home a saddle?
Savanna: I feel like I’ve achieved something, and I feel proud of myself and my horse.
Q: And you should feel proud. So when it comes to fashion for your rodeos, do you wear outfits with a lot of flare or do you try to keep things simple?
Savanna: Oh, I really, really do like to dress up. I like to wear pink because it’s my favorite color, and my favorite saddle is my pink one.
Q: Speaking of things you like to wear, do you wear or have a good luck charm?
Savanna: Well, McDonald’s is kinda my favorite fast food restaurant and I got a toy from there and it’s a my little pony that I clip to my collar, so its kinda my good luck charm.
Q: So, who do you look up to other than your sister as a role model?
Savanna: I look up to my mom, my sister and my dad.
Q: What’s your advice for other little kids who want to try to do barrel racing?
Savanna: Never give up, and you really have to be patient with it, cause if you go too fast it won’t work out that well. It can be scary when you’re on a horse you’re not used to, but mostly have fun, but you do want to pay attention so you don’t slide off the horse…
These young ladies are the sweetest but they ride like beasts. Seems like a perfect balance to me. Aleeyah and Savanna, aka Bam Bam, are truly barreling through gender, cultural, and social barriers. Keep watching Colorado’s rising stars!