Nineteen-year-old Cassie Eaton has made her mark in the equestrian worlds of cutting and rodeo. Most recently, the Arcola native joined the ranks of the top 15 cutting horse competitors in the world, placing 13th at the National Cutting Horse Association World Finals in Fort Worth, Texas. As a rodeo competitor- in barrel racing, pole bending and breakaway roping events- Eaton has earned numerous awards- among them, winning Canada's High School Finals Rodeo title, captaining the Saskatchewan Girls' Cinch Team and her “biggest accomplishment in rodeo so far” being named Teskey's Top Hand- a prestigious award which is awarded to an exceptional competitor within the entire Canadian High School Rodeo Association.
“It's mental game,” says Eaton of her success. “You've to stay humble but you've also got to believe in yourself. It's a balance.”
“You have to be your own worst enemy and at the same time, be your biggest support system,” explains Eaton. “By that I mean you have to be confident but you have to constantly evaluate yourself and catch your own mistakes as part of getting ready to compete.”
Eaton grew up near Arcola with her parents Chad and Lisa and brothers, Zach and Tucker. She started cutting as a 10-year-old and her first foray into rodeo was as a grade eight student at the Arcola High School Rodeo.
“I love them both,” says Eaton of her dual equestrian pursuits. “I can't leave one behind.”
Eaton had the opportunity to put her full skill set to use- both athletic and mental- when she reached the top 15 at the global cutting horse competition in Fort Worth- on a borrowed horse.
“It was a very quick, stressful trip,” laughs Eaton. “I learned that I qualified two weeks before I was supposed to go. My dad found out that I qualified before I did and asked me if I wanted to go and of course, I said “Yes!'”
“But it meant that I would have to borrow a horse,” she continues. “We had good family friends down there who started calling around. I got a qualified mare but I didn't even know her name until my mom and I got down there. We were told: 'I think she's brown.'”
“Right away, she was kind of like my mare Spook-who I've been riding since I was 12- but different. Her name was Elsewhere, but her barn name was Lexi. We flew in late on Monday; I met her on Tuesday and we showed on Wednesday and Thursday. She was awesome, actually.”
“In the first round, we placed sixth and we ended up 13th overall.”
“It was an awesome experience and one I'll never forget- for a lot of reasons,” says Eaton.
Eaton says that competing in both cutting and rodeo is a challenge she relishes and adds that each discipline requires a different mindset. Cutting is an equestrian event in which a horse and rider are judged on their ability to separate a single animal away from a herd of cattle and keep it away for a short period of time.
“It's kind of the ultimate showdown between a horse and rider and cows,” says Eaton. “In cutting, I almost have to calm myself down before a competition and think through the entire process,” she says. “Rodeo's more gritty and you're reacting to things outside of your control. Both are fast-paced, but in cutting, I slow my mind down a lot more.”
Eaton says the bond between horse and rider is an intuitive one. “Horses have personalities, just like people do. Some riders can have kind of a bad vibe- and horses can sense that.”
“But I have to say that in the rodeo community as a whole, animals are like family members- and if one gets injured or dies, it's devastating to everyone.”
“Right now, my two rodeo horses- Sadie and Itchy- live at college with me. My cutting horse Spook is at home near Arcola, so Spook gets the winter off,” laughs Eaton.
“In Canada, it's hard to rodeo in winter,” she adds. “In winter, you train- but in spring, summer and fall, you go hard- both in cutting and rodeo.”
“I kind of grew up on the back of a horse. It's kind of a family thing,” says Eaton. “It is pretty physically demanding, for the rider and the horse.”
“I go to the gym and cleaning the barn can be a pretty good workout. For me, going to the chiropractor helps the horse, too. Once, my hips were out of alignment and the way I was sitting made the horses sore.”
However, Eaton adds that mental preparation is just as important to compete successfully.
“In some competitions in the past, I was nervous and I kind of talked myself out of it. I was thinking that I wasn't good enough, but my mom told me that I'd put in the work, that I had the dedication and that I deserved the chance to succeed.”
“That helped a lot, but along with improving the way I thought about myself, I realized that putting in the work is what builds your confidence- the training and the time spent training.”
In addition to cutting, Eaton aims to compete in the Canadian Intercollegiate Rodeo Association, to continue her degree studies and to study equine chiropractic and massage therapy this summer.
“One of my short-term goals is qualify for the college rodeo finals in Calgary this spring,” she says. “And I'd like to go pro in rodeo and cutting. It's a lot, but if you love it, you work hard and you find a way to make it work.”
When asked how she does it all, Eaton says: “There's a saying-it's actually a Bible verse. It's Mark 9:23''With God, anything is possible.'”
“There are lots of things I want to do.”
