2013 EXCA - An Experience of a Lifetime                             

By Jessica Matthews

I have been riding for 12 years, and I've never competed up until this recent year. I started in English riding, working my way through to become a Dressage rider, before I moved from Florida to Texas, where I've gained my love of Western riding. I met Dorothy Wynne a year after my move and she got me into Extreme Cowboy Racing, even before the EXCA was considered an organization. But even then I didn't really compete, because I had no way of getting a horse to a competition.

Then, after a year of learning from another trainer, I felt that it was time to learn to compete in Extreme Cowboy Racing through the EXCA. I had the ok to take his green pleasure mare to competition, but I had to find a way to get her from point A to point B. After mentioning that I had no way of getting the mare to a competition, a friend offered her horse, a buckskin mare name Texas to ride and compete on. I met both Cj and Texas in March and decided that this was pretty much the only way that I would ever start competing until I got my own vehicle and trailer so I could travel on my own. I went to a clinic with Craig Cameron and Lee Hart and then to a couple of competitions with her. At the time, I was only riding her once a month, because I live about two-and-a-half hours away from Cj, so I couldn't just up and leave every day to ride her consistently.

That was when things changed. At a race in July, my second race, we won, yes, we won the Novice division. It came as a complete shock to me, because I was only riding Texas once a month, so our inconsistent riding put us at a complete disadvantage. Cj and I found that I had a connection with Texas, and she offered her for me to buy her, and we found the chance to have her come down to my area so I could ride her every day and begin to work on everything we needed to improve on.

We continued to get better and we were able to go to several other races, making it to the World Championships. While we didn't make the top ten, we still showed everyone, especially those who knew this mare from last year, that she has become a different horse and we've become such an incredible team. We still have a lot of learning to do, but isn't that what all riders do? Texas and I are ready for the next several years to come, and will continue to improve.