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Rags to Rodeo!

Tammy Hill Start Date: May 8, 2025 - End Date: May 7, 2026
  • Canada
  • United States of America

My Travel Story

by: Tammy Hill Start Date: May 8, 2025 - End Date: May 7, 2026
The road to rodeo greatness is a long one. It takes years of planning and sacrificing to achieve results. Drayton Valley was the first pro rodeo we entered last year. We were terrified and it all happened so fast, lost a stirrup during our run and had no idea what our time was, but we did it and here we are back for another year!

I grew up extremely poor, homeless in fact, but was lucky enough to be exposed to individuals who took my parents and I in to show us wholesome values. My favorite place to stay was on a ranch owned by a coat-tail relation, where my Dad shared his riding skills with me and I developed a passion for horses.

Throughout my high school years, I realized I needed a good career if I wanted to have horses of my own one day. It was tough to achieve good grades when we moved around so much, but as an adult I tried hard and eventually put myself through nursing school while working nights.

The first graduation gift I bought myself was a watch, the second was a beautiful palomino horse named Casper. Together we learned and grew, building toward better horsemanship skills and advancing knowledge of the equine world. That was 11 years ago in which time my herd has ebbed and flowed with various horses who have enriched our lives, as well as the lives of others.

Over the years I have been blessed with the privilege of getting to know some knowledgeable and talented trainers who have graciously shared their wisdom with me. One such partnership is the trainer who has spent countless hours grooming me to be a better rider, and in turn introduced me to a producer of exceptional horses. Nine years later, I own four horses from this producer.

The horse I am riding in the videos is an 8-year-old AQHA registered Appendix named Zayna. I bought her as a weanling and aside from her initial colt training, have put in all the time necessary to have the privilege to bring her to the caliber required to compete alongside professional rodeo champions. I have enjoyed training her so much that I bought two more mares closely related to her two years ago and am extremely excited to have them started this summer.

As one can imagine, there is a lot of time, effort and cost associated with travelling down the rodeo road, and as a sole proprietor female farmer who started from scratch, working a 9 to 5, Monday to Friday job doesn’t create a lot of opportunity to attend the events necessary to qualify for the Canadian Finals Rodeo in October. Considering the cost of fuel alone, paired with long distances of up to 1200km one way, and adding on feed, veterinary and equine sport therapy services, farrier, equipment, repairs, insurance, entry fees, truck and trailer maintenance, every-day bills, and my own needs, it becomes clear that help is needed.

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  • Canada
  • United States of America
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