Cedar Rapids equestrian to compete in Australia

Equestrian Maddie Herlocker, 17, a recent graduate of Kennedy High School in Cedar Rapids, will compete for international honors in the American Quarter Horse Youth World Cup from June 23 to July 3 in Tamworth, Australia.

Herlocker and nine other Team USA riders, selected in part based on points accumulated in shows, will compete against teams from 12 other nations for the chance to take gold medals back to their home countries.

'The judges look for your connection with the horse and how you interact together,” said Herlocker, who started riding at age 6 and competing in shows at age 8.

To level the playing field, competing Youth World Cup team members do not show their own horses. The host country provides each team's horses for clinics and competition.

'It's not about who can afford the best horse. It's focused on a rider's ability to adapt to a new horse,” Herlocker said.

Horses, like people, have widely varying talents and personalities, according to Herlocker.

To do well in competition, a rider has to quickly assess and adapt to the horse's individual characteristics, she said.

Because all horses do not have the same abilities, a rider has to identify strengths and weaknesses and accept each horse as it is, Herlocker said.

'The hardest part is learning how hard or soft you have to be to get the most out of a horse,” she said.

Riders will compete for gold medals in cutting, reining, horsemanship, ranch riding, trail, hunt seat equitation, hunter under saddle and showmanship. Team members also will take part in educational seminars, specific discipline clinics and leadership training.

Herlocker said her first horse was an appaloosa, and she competed in appaloosa shows until 2011, when she took top honors in the World Championship Appaloosa Youth Show.

Herlocker said she switched to quarter horses the following year because their associations offered more shows and more opportunities to compete. The list of her national and state awards and recognitions now takes up most of two typewritten pages.

'I've always loved being around horses and the challenge of connecting with a 1,200-pound animal that does not always want to do what you want to do,” she said. 'There is no controlling a horse without first gaining its trust and respect.”

While in Australia, Herlocker said she will miss her own horse, Junior, a 9-year-old quarter horse who 'tries really hard and always takes care of me.”

As an officer of the American Quarter Horse Youth Association, Herlocker participated in March in the American Quarter Horse Association annual convention in Las Vegas.