Meet The Horsewoman Carly Richardson

• December 20, 2020
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• Tiffany Schwenke

Posted in: Featured, Horse Training, Rodeo

Meet The Horsewoman Carly Richardson

Carly Richardson is one to catch your attention with her diversified equine events of prestigious show jumping and ranch broncs! Talk about two totally different worlds, but Carly makes the most of both and always has a big smile on her face… even when she’s about to hit the ground!

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I met Carly a few years ago at a ranch rodeo in Nebraska and we have kept up through Facebook since. I recently asked Carly a few questions so we could all get to know her a little better…

CS:   Please give us a little background… your growing up and when you first fell in love with horses…

CR:  I actually grew up in complete suburbia! My mom had grown up with horses in Australia, but put them on hold when she moved to the states. When I was five my mom bought me my first pony. She also got her first horse in the USA. Up to fifth grade I lived in town, so we boarded our horses at a facility. Then we were lucky that my family bought the facility, and that’s where it really all began. I was able to ride my (and anyone else who would let me) horses’ from after school until the sun went down. I did this every single day. Somewhere in there it dawned on me that I couldn’t even imagine doing anything else when I grew up. I knew that I had to find some way to solidify myself in the horse world and be able to have a career with horses when I grew up.

CS: What inspired you to compete in such different disciplines such as show jumping and ranch style bronc riding?

CR: For me, as a teen I was always interested in every single discipline that horses had to offer. I grew up on a boarding facility so I got to see just about every kind of horse and rider walk through our gates. I found myself falling in love with the intricacies involving showing western pleasure horses, while I also found the thrill of riding mounted shooting horses and being a rodeo queen. I was so lucky to get a taste of a little bit of everything as a kid. I think that just continued when I saw a ranch bronc for the first time. I thought, “hey that looks pretty doable.” From there I went ahead and entered my first ranch rodeo ever! It was definitely my first time nodding for a bucking horse, but once I jumped off onto that pickup man for the first time, I knew I was fully committed and in love with the sport. Grand Prix show jumpers to me are so similar and at the same time so different and intricate. There is the thrill of jumping high and going fast, but it’s paired with the most intricate, careful, and gutsy riding that I had ever been asked to do.

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CS: What do you find most challenging and most rewarding about what you do?

CR: I think when you’re a horse trainer there is a laundry list of challenges that one goes through. From the elements making it near impossible to get all your horses rode, to difficult clients that don’t understand that process, to that one problem horse who’s head you just can’t seem to get into. I think the struggles are endless, in horse training, bronc riding, and showing, but the reward of having a connection with that animal outweighs it all. The horses in my barn don’t know the big aspirations their owners have, or the talent that they may possess. The horses just take you each day for how you make them feel, and getting these sometimes difficult, demanding creatures on my side has to be the most rewarding part of what I do everyday and I would never change it.

CS: Who are your mentors and what inspires you to keep pursuing your dreams?

CR: I feel like I have countless mentors who have all shaped me in some way or another through my career. One of my biggest mentors would have to be Allen Clarke. He is an Australian horseman that I had the pleasure of getting to work for over the last few years. Allen has taught me how well it benefits me to have ridden all these different disciplines and how it all ties together with each horse. He was one of the few horse trainers I worked with that encouraged my bronc riding rather than trying to convince me to quit and just train horses. My biggest inspiration in everything I do would have to be the horses themselves and my family. Horses are amazing creatures in the way that, they walk out of the stall every morning with a fresh plan for the new day. They also have a great memory of whatever it was they did yesterday in training. This drives me to be fair, consistent, and above all else, compassionate with these animals I’m blessed to work with. I’m also so lucky that my family is supportive of my lifestyle. My husband, Ethan Richardson, pushes me everyday to be a better horse trainer, as well as be a better human. Luckily, he doesn’t mind my dirty, after the barn look, and he never mentions a word about my forever halfway done housework.

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CS: What are your hopes and future plans?

CR: My hopes for the future may seem unfeasible to some, and that’s why I work so hard for it everyday. I would love to establish myself more in East Texas and grow my training business more to specialize in young horses and the “problem” horses. I would like to continue to move myself up the ranks in the show jumping world and would love to one day compete in one of our nations cup events. My goal this next year in bronc riding is to hold my title at Cheyenne Frontier Days as the Ladies Bronc Riding Champ.

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To keep up and see more of Carly and the horses she rides, like and follow on her page-  (8) Ramsey Performance Horses | Facebook

Posted in: Featured, Horse Training, Rodeo

About Tiffany Schwenke

My family has been ranching and raising horses for over 100 years. We raise, train, and market AQHA horses at North Four Mile Creek Horse Ranch. We produce the annual event WYO WILD RIDE RANCH RODEO. I am a wife and a mother to 3 amazing...

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