2024 NLD BUFFALO BILL RODEO SATURDAY, JUNE 8, 2024 PAGE 3 UP TO TRICKS
THE NORTH PLATTE TELEGRAPH
Pint-sized cowgirl packs a punch with trick riding, Roman riding
normal trick riding, adding dance moves: back-flips, straddle jumps, Tinkerbell jumps, and one-foot back-bends while standing on her horses. She’s more than 10 feet in the air when she’s making these jumps! She’s one of very few in the equine world who has combined competitive dance with trick riding, and fans love it! “I can do a cartwheel off my horse, a somersault, and a back walkover,” she said. She also Roman rides: standing on the backs of two horses, one foot on each horse, as they gallop around the arena. It takes a trustworthy horse to carry its rider at top speeds, when the rider is hanging off the side of the horse or vaulting from the horse to the ground and back. Trusting your horse “is very important,” she said. “I would not want to be on a horse that didn’t trust me, and I didn’t
RUTH NICOLAUS For The North Platte Telegraph G The cowgirl, who is thirteen years old, will trick ride and Roman ride to entertain fans, during each performance of the Buffalo Bill Rodeo, June 12-15. Trick riding is a western art form, with cowgirls doing gymnastic-like moves on a horse running 30 miles per hour around the arena. The stunt names are as exotic as the moves themselves: the Cossack death drag, the Apache Hideaway, the Stroud layout, and more. Liberty adds her own twist to trick riding. litz, glamour and sequins, plus horses going at high speeds is what Liberty Cunningham is all about! A competitive dancer since she was three years old, she goes beyond the
trust them, while I’m doing jumps in the air on them. And if they don’t trust me, they’re not going to be willing to let me hang off of them.” Her two main horses are named Blair and Elite. Liberty makes sure the tricks and jumps she does match the horse. Her horse Elite “can be more spooky, so I have to think about which jumps or dance moves will keep her calm and not excite her as much,” she said. As for Blair, her other horse, the mare is a veteran. “She’s been doing it long enough that she’s calm as long as she’s being fed handfuls of treats.” Liberty keeps treats in her pocket that she feeds Blair after her routine is done. Liberty will be in the eighth grade this fall; she is on the honor roll. She is the daughter of Kara Cunningham and Todd Cunningham.
courtesy photo LIBERTY does a foot back bend with her Roman riding team. The thirteen-year-old cowgirl, a native of Kansas, will entertain at the Buffalo Bill Rodeo.
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courtesy photo THIRTEEN-YEAR-OLD COWGIRL Liberty Cunningham does a trick on her horse as she circles the arena. She will entertain during each night of the Buffalo Bill Rodeo.
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