Friday, Aug. 01, 2008

Suburban Cowgirls

Club Works to Preserve Local Horse Culture

By Sarah Junek

Staff Writer

At the city-owned arena behind the railroad tracks in Old Town Keller, pink spurs and sparkling, turquoise-painted hooves kicked up dust as parents and their children signed up for the Saddle Club’s rodeo-like monthly "playday" in July.

Playdays offer local riders from area cities chances to compete in timed events. They are sponsored by the Keller Saddle Club, a budding nonprofit for equestrian enthusiasts of all ages.

Club officers Nancy Overfield-Delmar, Ginny Worthington and Karen Suesens said they realized that there was a need when a similar club nearby hung up its spurs last year.

With the closing, they saw a Texas tradition slipping away locally.

"We’re losing our heritage," Overfield-Delmar said.

But a strong horse culture still exists in increasingly suburbanized Northeast Tarrant County, the club founders believe.

And as if to prove a point, as July’s event got under way, trailers wheeled up from Southlake, Colleyville, Flower Mound and Argyle and many other nearby cities. Water bottles in hand, the crowd numbered about 40, a solid turnout for the 2-month-old club that now has 150 members. Membership is not required to participate.

Some families with small children showed up just to watch. Some came without a horse. Some came as seasoned riders, and others came to compete in barrel races for the first time.

The youngest rider, 4-year-old Anai Ubanks, came out for her third pony-led event. Kate Phelan, 13, led Anai around the arena on Gram, a honey-colored pony.

Playday events are run according to rules of the American Association of Sheriff Posses and Riding Clubs, a nonprofit based in Bowie.

One benefit of the club, which practices every Thursday evening, is the bond between riders of all ages, its founders said. For example, Kate, the strawberry-blonde ninth-grader who is Gram’s handler, considers herself close friends with younger and older riders alike.

Amanda Galutzo, a repeated high-point winner in the club, chose it over the more competitive North Texas High School Rodeo Association because, she said, she likes the low stress of playdays.

Playdays are nice, Galutzo said, because they provide a place to take your horse and "have fun and not worry about it."

Standing far enough off in the corner to not be disturbed by the women, the men watched, commenting on each horse throughout the three-hour event. Some fathers, some grandfathers and trainers looked on, sharing their fondness for rodeo and talking about the opportunities the club provides for kids.

For more information, see www.kellersaddleclub.com.