McMillans make trick riding a family affair
The McMillan children, left to right, Hannah, 9, Caleb, 12, Davey, 6, and Riley, 10, all of Soap Lake sit in the saddle after a morning of trick riding practice.
SOAP LAKE — Glittering sequins and crisp white shirts keep the McMillan kids looking sharp as they practice tricks in their arena.
SOAP LAKE - Glittering sequins and crisp white shirts keep the McMillan kids looking sharp as they practice tricks in their arena.
Caleb, Riley, Hannah and Davey McMillan are practicing the art and showmanship of trick riding.
Trick riding began as a military tactic used by the Russian Cossacks and later developed into a rodeo event in the United States. After 1940, trick riding became an entertainment spectacle rather than a competitive event and that is where it stands today.
For the McMillans, the skill is in their blood.
"My mom was a trick rider at Madison Square Garden," Lynette McMillan said.
She added that her mother did not encourage her to trick ride out of fear for her safety but Lynette did see an opportunity for her own children.
"I was online and I just popped in ‘trick riding' and Karen and Harry Volds' camp came up," Lynette said.
The camp is a week-long, once-a-year training opportunity for trick riders of all skill levels held at the Harry Vold Ranch near Pueblo, Colo. Harry Vold has been a stock contractor for rodeos around the country for many years and his wife Karen, along with Linda Schultz, operates the camp.
Lynette ran the idea of going to trick riding camp past Riley and Hannah and then they all headed for Colorado.
"My mom said we were going on a plane and that's all I wanted to do," Hannah said.
Once Hannah arrived at the camp, everything changed.
"By the end of the first day, they were doing the standing hippodrome at a lope," Lynette said.
The standing hippodrome is the iconic trick involving the rider standing in saddle straps near the horse's shoulder while the horse runs.
The girls were given a trick riding saddle by Karen Vold and went home to practice.
When their brothers, Caleb and Davey, caught sight of Hannah and Riley practicing, they wanted to get in on the act.
At 12, Caleb is the oldest of the quartet, followed by Riley, 10, Hannah, 9, and Davey, 6.
Being the youngest, and smallest, Lynette said Davey is the one to get the most applause during performances.
"Spin the horn (is my favorite trick)," Davey said.
The siblings push each other to learn new, and more difficult, tricks but each have their favorites.
Caleb's favorite is considerably different from the rest of his siblings as he specializes in vaults, or jumps between a mount and the ground while the horse is running.
"I can do the other tricks but I don't like them," Caleb said.
Hannah prefers the hippodrome and Riley shyly admits she has several tricks she likes.
"I like the one-foot stand," Riley said. "I've known how to do it for a while but this year I learned how to really do it."
To practice, all the kids ride the same horses day-to-day and practice daily. When they learn a new trick, it is first practiced with the horse standing still.
"We do it as safely as we possibly can," Lynette said.
When it comes to performances, Lynette said her children "eat it up."
Currently, the McMillans perform at Pro-West rodeos and, after each performance, they walk through the crowd, shaking hands and handing out painted horseshoes with notes of scripture to children.
"They try to set an example," Lynette said. "And faith is a big part of what we do."
While the McMillans don't agree on everything, they do agree that they'd like to continue trick riding for years to come.
"Our goal is to go to the (Pro Rodeo Cowboys Association) and perform at the next level," Lynette said.