Elouise Hemenway, a 13-year-old Cascade Christian junior high student, trains with her horse, Harley, at Rusty Bar Ranch in Roy. Recently,
Hemenway and Harley were awarded Horse Agility Junior Reserve World Champion and the Secret of Success Award.
Following Hemenway’s big accomplishment in December 2024, she told the Nisqually Valley News that the horse agility competition has helped Harley learn to trust her more. Due to their practice and hard work together, the young equestrian believes there’s a strong bond between her and Harley.
“It helped us form a lot of trust between each other. I was excited and very happy to achieve this,” Hemenway said. “Riding was scary at first, but once you get to know the animals, it’s really fun. When I first got Harley, we would lunge him and he tried to jump out of the arena. He was also very scared of the whip that I use. Every time I would touch his ears, he would get very scared because somebody used to twist his ears to get him to do stuff. Now, he’s OK with me touching his ears. When he was tied up, he would go back and forth against the walls, and now he stands straight. He’s come a long way.”
Hemenway believes horse agility is beneficial to the rider and the horse because it teaches how to connect and bond while on the saddle, instead of forcing the horse to do something it doesn’t want to do.
“It makes them want to go, and not forcibly go. It builds a lot of trust between me and Harley,” Hemenway said. “It’s really fun. I’ve learned a lot about riding. It’s hard to ride. I thought it was going to be easy at first, but it was not easy at all. When I first got him, he got scared and bolted off — which also scared me. I’ve learned to trust him, and now I’m riding a lot better with Harley.”
In November 2022, Kathy Richardson and Rusty Bar Ranch brought in Harley after an animal seizure in Graham that saw 26 other horses seized. Richardson said it’s been special to see Hemenway and Harley’s bond continue to grow.
In 2024, Hemenway’s family adopted Harley.
“We were a part of a seizure of a bunch of horses in November of 2022. Harley was a part of that group. Out of 27 horses, we ended up with 12 of them. Out of the 12 horses, we kept five. Harley was one of them, and Elouise fell in love with him,” Richardson said. “She recently just adopted him. She’s competed with him in agility for the last entire year. As a result of that and her hard work, that’s how she became Junior Reserve World Champion in agility.”
Richardson said Hemenway began training at Rusty Bar Ranch just over three years ago. She said her parents attempted to get their daughter involved in different sports, but it was always short lived. Upon arriving at Rusty Bar Ranch, Richardson said Hemenway began to fall in love with the sport of horse agility.
“Horse agility is an international competition. We build a pattern here each month, and my students and clients compete in it. You can record the pattern’s completion as many times as you want, but you can only submit once,” Richardson said. “I got involved in 2012 and realized what a great partnership it is with the horse. It teaches you a whole new level of softness. It teaches the horse to rely on you, look to you for companionship and friendship.”
She said Hemenway originally competed in horse agility with the ranch’s horse, Nutmeg. Overtime, as the young equestrian continued to fall in love with the sport, she’d begin asking for a horse of her own. After working with Harley for over a year and adopting the horse, Hemenway and the animal now compete in medium level agility.
Richardson said the monthly competition features new patterns each month. She emphasized that the scoring system is based on how you handle the horse, not on how fancy you’re dressed.
“You learn the pattern, and then you go out and execute it with your horse. There’s points awarded for the horse, points awarded for the handler, and so it’s not uncommon for there to be more than one placement,” Richardson said. “One month when I competed, there were 11 of us who tied for second place with a score of 99 out of a possible 100 points. It’s not uncommon for there to be ties. We always say you’re competing against a standard, rather than against other people.”
For more information about Rusty Bar Ranch, visit its website at www.RustyBarRanch.com or follow it on Facebook.
