Cowgirl Country: Riding high in the Western & English saddles

An enduring charm of Valencia County is the rural lifestyle, with ranching and farming the heartbeat of the community. This agriculture landscape truly breeds cowboys, cowgirls and country.

Some youngsters are lucky enough to grow up on properties with horses, eventually getting a chance to saddle up and learn to ride. Many others look longingly over the fence at the ponies, dreaming that one day they too will find their feet in stirrups. Children seem to fit in one group or the other.

By happenstance, the family of Paisley Zastrow was driving by the Bosque Farms Rodeo Association Arena one night several years ago while heading to their home nearby.

“I saw the lights on in the arena and asked my mom if we could stop,” recalled Zastrow. Soon, the now 12-year-old was watching roping practice, commenting to one cowboy, “I like your horse, mister.”

The cowboy responded by offering Zastrow a ride on the horse he was ponying around the arena.

“Does she ever stop talking,” he joked to Zastrow’s family after a few laps.

With that, Zastrow was hooked, beginning a transition from English riding to the Western style seen on a ranch and at a rodeo.

“The adrenaline rush,” is what Zastrow likes, “doing a hot lap around the arena during a barrel run,” onboard her horse Luna. “I just found a love for it.”

With wind and rain kicking up, an interview shifted inside a horse trailer, out of the elements. Eventually, Zastrow, her parents, a reporter and Luna were packed together inside, with Luna seemingly intrigued by the questions being asked.

Zastrow, who attends Hope Christian Middle School in Albuquerque, quickly took to the lifestyle around the rodeo arena, earning the title of BFRA Sweetheart twice and is currently the reigning Valencia County Princess. There are big goals for the future that include winning Miss Rodeo America and competing at the National Finals Rodeo.

Even to the casual observer, Western and English riding have obvious differences, including the type of saddles and how the rider sits. Zastrow believes the rodeo arena offers more freedom, including in the way the reigns are held and the number of events that are offered.

A short gallop away is Top Notch Farm, where Zastrow originally trained in English riding.

Laurie Mauderly has owned the facility since 2008, boarding and training horses and offering lessons for riders.

“A horse will be too frisky for its owner, too wild,” said Mauderly, who teaches the horses to “jump mannerly so that its owner isn’t terrified, so they’re safe.”

Mauderly says her clientele is evenly-split between adults and youth, mostly female. There are novice riders who train on the farm’s calm “school horses” so they can “learn basic control; go, stop, left, right. How to sit on a horse. It goes from there.”

At the other end of the spectrum is the serious rider, who wants to compete at Hunter/Jumper shows, judged on their performance over a preset course, navigating fences and other obstacles.

“I have some people who are very competitive, who take lessons three times a week,” she said.

Watching intently outside the fence line was Mary Guelvenzoph, a Los Lunas High School graduate who now lives in Albuquerque. Of interest to Guelvenzoph was her 14-year-old granddaughter, Naura Sumruld, who was in the arena getting pointers from Mauderly over a speaker system.

“I gave her a choice between swimming lessons and horseback riding,” Guelvenzoph said of the birthday present for her granddaughter.

With the selection of horseback riding, Sumruld started traditional lessons in the South Valley that, at times, included walking over little poles.

“One of her horses did a little bit of a jump and I think she liked the way it felt,” Guelvenzoph recalled.

After that, the two started driving to Top Notch Farm for lessons four times a week.

“It’s hard,” Guelvenzoph said about the time commitment, but “It’s important for Naura. She has learned a lot of responsibility and confidence. That was the biggest thing.”

Michelle Servantes, 15, makes the trip to Top Notch Farm from Los Chavez, where she started riding almost a decade ago.

“My dad grew up with horses, so he wanted us to grow up with horses too,” Servantes said. “If I fell off, he would put me back on and say, go again.”

The Belen High School student took a reverse trail from Paisley Zastrow, jumping from Western riding to English instead.

“I thought it was really cool,” Cervantes said when she learned about English-style. “Wow, going over jumps? You can do that?”

Multi-tasking is a must for those who train on the compact course, according to Cervantes.

“Doing everything at once,” is difficult, she says, making sure the horse has the correct lead and gait while monitoring distance, speed and the next jump.

No matter what style of riding these women prefer, there seems to be at least one common theme.

“I like the connection you make with the people around you — it’s a blast,” Cervantes said.

“It’s kind of a community,” is how Mauderly describes it. “The people like to hang out, watch each other ride, ride together. That’s what’s really neat about it.”

For Zastrow, the horse fraternity gives off a special vibe.

“The feeling like you belong somewhere,” Zastrow said. “It’s your people, your community. There’s something to love about that.”