BEEBE — There’s a saying about riding a bicycle or a horse — something along the lines of how you never forget how to ride one. Of course, there is no chance for Josie Snelson of Beebe to forget how to ride a horse. The youngster has been riding horses since she was 3 years old and competing in pole bending since she was 5.
Six years of practicing the sport of pole bending have paid off for Josie, now 11. She won the title of world champion in junior girls pole bending the last week of July at the National Little Britches Rodeo Finals in Pueblo, Colo.
Participants in pole bending ride their horses through a pattern of upright poles in the shortest possible time without knocking down any of the poles.
“You run down to the end and weave through six poles,” Josie said.
The first pole is placed 21 feet from the start/finish line, and six other poles are placed in 21-foot intervals, according to the National Little Britches Rodeo Association website. Riders cross the start line at full speed on either side of the poles and ride until they reach the end pole.
The rider then turns 180 degrees and weaves through the poles. After reaching the pole closest to the start/finish line, the participant goes back through the poles until reaching the far pole; then riders race to the finish line, the website states.
Josie’s fastest pole-bending time at this year’s competition was 19.9 seconds, and she said her favorite part of the sport is getting her horse to run fast.
“It didn’t take me very long to learn [how to pole bend],” Josie said.
For the past two years, she has been riding her horse, Minnie, during competitions including two appearances at the National Little Britches Rodeo Finals before this year.
As part of her world champion award, she received a trophy saddle, a saddle pad and a belt buckle to display to others her world-champion status. Josie also competed in barrel racing and the trail course at the Colorado rodeo. In total, she received seven belt buckles — a buckle for each event she competed in and won.
Her mother, Clarissa, said her daughter’s title of World Champion Junior Girls Pole Bender makes her proud.
“It was a huge blessing,” Clarissa said. “[Josie] has worked so hard.”
Clarissa, who grew up riding horses, enjoys watching her daughter compete in rodeos across the state and nation.
“Josie practices two to three times a week,” Clarissa said. “When she won, I asked her, ‘Were all those hours worth it?’”
Josie said the long hours and effort she puts into pole bending are worth it, even in the extreme temperatures of Arkansas.
“[My horse] got lots of treats [when I won],” Josie said.
She rides horses on the same farm where her mother grew up, and Josie goes to some lessons when she is working on techniques for pole bending, her mother said.
Clarissa said her entire family was ecstatic when Josie won the championship, and Clarissa looks forward to what the future holds for her daughter.
Staff writer Lisa Burnett can be reached at (501) 244-4307 or lburnett@arkansasonline.com.