by Stephanie Skelton
[Reprinted from the Sept/Oct issue of America's Horse, an official member publication of AQHA. To see the full-page pictures in color, see pages 38-40 of America's Horse. Thank you Stephanie, for presenting Westernaires to the world!] More than 1,000 Colorado kids belong to this role model for other horse clubs. By Stephanie Skelton as told to Becky Ohlde
When my brother, Chance, and I were little and we got rowdy, Mom would send us outside to run off our energy. Now that we're teenagers – he's 14, I'm 16 – we put all of our spare time and energy into Westernaires. No, it's not a square-dance group. Westernaires is a youth horseback drill-team program based in Jefferson County, Colorado.
Chance and I are third-generation Westernaires. The club began in 1949 and, except for the number of members, I don't think it's changed much since then. More than 1,000 members ranging in age from nine to 19 live by the club's strict rules against drugs, alcohol, tobacco, gum-chewing and swearing.
We have to wear boots and tan pants for practice or if we're attending a performance, but not riding in it. Girls wear white blouses with the Westernaires logo on them and bandannas to keep the hair out of their eyes. Boys wear the club's t-shirts and baseball caps. The club supplies costumes for our performances.
Westernaires is our family's tradition. Skeltons have been involved in the club for around 43 years. In the late 1950s and 1960s, Grandpa was an instructor and Grandma was a monitor (they schedule the kids in Westernaires for lessons and practices). Five of their six kids – including my dad – and several of their grandkids have been in Westernaires. Today, Dad is an instructor and Mom is a monitor. More than 400 parents and alumni volunteer their time as instructors, monitors, costume makers or bus and truck drivers.
My parents, Mark and Sandi, like the fact that Westernaires is family-oriented. Mom says she likes the values we get from Westernaires: respect, a positive attitude, commitment and responsibility. Adults say this club is a good way to keep kids focused and out of trouble.
You have to be at least nine years old and live in Jefferson County to join Westernaires. I pay $25 a year in dues plus $45 in costume fees, and I ride my 11-year-old mare, Hollys Tee Cross. About 250 kids use their own horses. But the great thing about Westernaires is that if you don't have a horse, you can rent one of the 100 or so horses in the club's string. They're pastured at the club's headquarters at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds.
The club has three riding divisions: Blue, White and Red. Like any other kid who joins Westernaires, I started out on the Blue Division as a "Tenderfoot", a beginner. The instructors taught us to groom and ride a horse, and perform drills and maneuvers. Even though I'd been around horses a lot, as a Tenderfoot I learned how to use all the grooming tools correctly on my horse and how to bridle my horse and tighten the cinch on my saddle without a grown-up's help.
The Blue and White Divisions have several different levels in them. Moving through the levels, we learn to diagram drills on paper and perform them in the arena on our horses. To graduate from one level to another, you have to pass written, oral and riding tests. "Move-ups" also depend on attendance, attitude and the number of tickets you sell to the club's annual October show. The higher you move up on the teams, the more time you spend learning and practicing drills. We also have specialty performing teams: Chariots, Bull Whips, Belle Starr, Indian Dancers, Riders of the Steppes, Harness Team, Roman Riders, Trick Ropers, Vaulting, Dressage, Trick Riders and Liberty Riders. They're kind of like acts in the old Wild West shows. I'm on Liberty Riders, which is bareback riding: Belle Starr, where we demonstrate the use of bull whips from the ground; and Trick Riders, where we do tricks on horseback.
Specialty team practices are separate from other team practices. We're taught how to do tricks safely on our horse at a walk, trot and lope. And, the instructors let us learn the tricks pretty much at our own pace.
Red Team is the elite group that rides in every Westernaires performance in Colorado and several other states. You have to be invited to join Red Team. Ever since I joined Westernaires, I've worked hard toward becoming a member of Red Team. I achieved that goal this year.
But, being in Westernaires isn't just about making the elite team. It's about being with kids who have the same interests as you do. Kids from our county have been in the news for months now because of the Columbine shootings. Glen Keller, the club's director, tells our audiences that we're the kids they never hear about, that Westernaires gives kids a sense of purpose. All I know is that because of Westernaires I ride better, I've made a lot of friends and have more confidence in what I do.
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