Royal Crown Canada Queen

Welcome to the 9th edition of The Arena Feed!

It was an action packed week of Royal Crown Canada events in Claresholm, AB. The team started their event with the roping events and concluded with barrel racing. There was PLENTY of money to be won across Royal Crown and Open events. The Royal Crown exclusive events were open to those horses sired by enrolled stallions.

In the barrel racing, it was Taylor Cherry who came out on top. She won both the Royal Crown Futurity and the Open futurity aboard the Guys Casanova Cowboy daugther - Lynns Honor. See her interview below.

Winning the RC and Open Derby average was Anita Ellis on the Goodbye Lane offspring SGL Rico. The duo were first in the first round and second in the second.
In the second round of the Open Derby, setting a new arena record of 15.829 was Jennifer Neudorf and Canyons Moon Light by Guys Canyon Moon. With this run they also won the slot race and open. Read their interview below.

Not long before the arena record of the day was set, Krystal Grad and A Famous French Kiss set a new record first with 15.851. Being by a Royal Crown stallion, they won the Royal Crown Derby second round. We have a past interview with Krystal here.

Find all the Royal Crown Results here and learn how to get involved in the next event by listening to our previous interview with share holder Randa Nugent here. Their next event is September 8-14 in Ponoka, AB.
 
Welcome to all the new subscribers and thank you to everyone here already that’s been sharing and reading. You’re appreciated.

In this issue:
➡From The Arena Floor: Interview with Taylor Cherry
➡Upcoming Events & Deadlines
➡NEW! Road Recipe of the Week
➡Featured horse
➡Road Apples - tidbits from around the web
➡Featured Ranch
➡Mindset Minute with Michelle
➡Meme of the week

From The Arena Floor with Taylor Cherry

They gave the crowns out a few weeks ago at the Mother of Dragons race, but I think the undisputed (and undefeated) Queen of the Royal Crown Canada Futurity is Taylor Cherry! I’m going to hedge a bet that this may be Taylor’s favorite event of the year. She has won this event on different horses every year it’s been running! That’s simply amazing!

This year it was Taylor and Lynns Honor who won both the Royal Crown Futurity Average and the Open Futurity Average in Claresholm, AB, taking home $18,327! Taylor also took home some coin with her 3rd place finish on Blazin Sugar Daddy.

I caught up to Taylor so that we could learn a bit more about Taylor and her mount Lynns Honor.

Tell us about   𝐋𝐲𝐧𝐧𝐬 𝐇𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐫.      Who bred her, who owns her, who started her, who has been training her, now long she's been with you in training and what she is like to be around. 

Lenny—aka “Lynn’s Honor”—might just be the queen of spunk in my barn. She’s got opinions, she’s impatient, she tells you exactly what she thinks… but she also has the biggest heart and LOVES to be loved on.

Bred by Doug & Debbie Willis, owned by Tracy Scott, started by Keely Durrel, and now stealing my heart (and patience) daily for the last 10 months. She keeps life interesting—and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Taylor, tell us about yourself.   Where you're from, how long you've been training barrel racing horses for and what you do when you're not barrel racing. 

I’m 26 years old, born and raised on a ranch in Quesnel, BC. Horses have been part of my life for as long as I can remember. I was riding before I could walk and started training horses full time while still in middle school.

I’ve always taken pride in riding and training my own horses. I love starting colts and bringing them up into whatever discipline suits them best. While barrel racing is my main focus, you’ll still find me in the saddle every day, whether it’s working with reiners, rope horses, or young prospects.

When I’m not riding (which isn’t often), I’m usually chasing another passion—fitness. I love anything that keeps me active, from boxing to hiking, running, or hitting the gym. I also have a huge love for the water! If I’m not at the barn, I’m likely on the lake or sun bathing in a pool. Horses, hard work, and hustle, that’s what keeps me going.

What kind of obstacles (if any) have you had to overcome while training and prepping this mare to futurity?  How did you do that?

She hasn’t exactly thrown big obstacles my way, but she hasn’t been the easiest either. Lenny is incredibly gritty and aggressive on the pattern, which meant I had to really slow things down and keep her in check until she learned how to channel that intensity and figure out where to put her feet. She’s one of those horses with so much heart she can almost try too hard at times.

What has been your training and fitness program to get Lynns Honor ready for the season?  

Lenny gets worked 5-6 days a week as part of my fitness-focused program. Everything I do is centered around keeping my horses physically prepared and capable of doing their job well.

With Lenny, I incorporate the pattern into our routine almost every day, but I typically only take her through it 3-4 times unless I feel there’s something specific that needs tuning. That’s been the key to success with her.

Lenny absolutely loves her job and takes it seriously, sometimes a little too literal, which means I don’t need to tune on her much. Which I do love about her. My main focus is keeping her fit, sharp, and mentally ready. When I do need to address something, it’s usually speed control and helping her slow her feet down in the turns, since she naturally wants to attack the pattern with a lot of grit and intensity and not to mention the SPEED again. lol

Tell us about your gear setup for her.   What are you riding in for a saddle, pad, bit etc?  Shoes or no shoes?

Lenny runs in a wide Usher saddle, paired with a zone saddle pad and J9 splint boots for leg protection. She runs in a tie-down and a 1:1 locked shank JD Morrow bit with a copper twist and a small chain in the center. She’s also shod with rim shoes all the way around.

And how about her feeding and maintenance plan? What fuels her?

My feed program is pretty simple and straightforward. I focus on quality and consistency.

I feed the best hay I can find, along with alfalfa pellets for added protein. For grain, I keep it basic with Manna Pro pelleted rice bran and rolled oats. Sometimes I’ll spice it up with a little sweet feed on the road to keep them eating their supplements.

Supplement-wise, I use:
• Daily Gold
• 4CYTE
• Lysine
• Electrolytes
• Hoffman’s Mineral

This combination keeps her feeling good, recovering well, and ready to perform at her best.

As a barrel horse trainer (and not specific to Lenny), how do you balance the progress and needs of the horse with those of the owner?

For me, it’s always about the horse first. I focus on doing what’s best for the horse at all times, and I work hard to reassure owners that their horse’s time will come, when the horse is ready.

They all have their own timeline, and more often than not, it’s not the same as ours. It’s about patience, trust, and letting the horse tell us when they’re ready for the next step.

Can you offer any advice to a young person with a dream of training barrel horses full time?

Work hard and KEEP GOING, even when it feels like nothing’s going your way, because truth is, it probably won’t for a while. Take the small wins, cheer yourself on for the little things, because those little things will add up to everything you’ve been working for.

Do you have anyone you'd like to thank or sponsors we can promote for you?   

I’d love to give a huge thank you to my amazing sponsors who continue to believe in me and my program: Usher Brand Silver & Saddlery, J9 Equine, and Pro Earth Animal Health Canada (Zesterra).
Your support means the world to me and my horses. I couldn’t do what I do without you!

From The Arena Floor with Jennifer Neudorf

Setting a new arena record of 15.829 in the Open Derby of the Royal Crown was Jennifer Neudorf and Canyons Moon Light With this run they also won the slot race and 2nd round of the open. You can watch the blistering fast run HERE.

I caught up with Jennifer to ask her a few questions that I’m happy to be able to share with you!

Tell us about  Canyons Moon Light - Febe     Who bred her, who owns her, who started her, whos been training and what is she like to be around.   Inquiring minds want all the details about Febe.

Bear creek QH bred and owned her until the end of her 4yr old year, Jolene Montgomery rode and trained her. This will be the 4th year I’ve owned Febe, she has the kindest heart out of all my barrel horses and is by far everyone’s favourite to deal with at the barn, she loves people, attention, and butt scratches. She’s so forgiving over all my mistakes, She can get worried but throughout the years I’ve felt her put more and more trust into me as her rider. I’m excited to keep learning and growing with such a special horse

Tell us about yourself.   Where you're from, how long you've been barrel racing for and what you do when you're not barrel racing. 

I’m from Rimbey Alberta, I barrel raced off and on growing up but Reining always caught my eye so from 12-18 I was on a reining horse or working for my trainer as much as I possibly could. When I got to ride as a non pro with Craig Schmersal I started online schooling. I would fly and stay with the Schmersals as much as I was able, all I wanted to do was be at their barn learning and riding. When it wasn’t lessons on my own horse I was bathing, braiding, every other horse I was able to put my hands on. Once in a while I was allowed to get on other horses and get a lesson which was the most exciting for me! Throughout the time I was reining my mom was still breeding, raising, and sending her barrel horses to trainers/jockey's. In 2021 when Chubbs last derby year was over I stayed home full time and started barrel racing and became my moms jockey and trainer instead. I take a lot of pride in my reining background and have used so much of that knowledge and feel to help me figure out the barrel world.

Have you had to overcome any challenges with this mare to keep her running at this level?

One challenge is knowing the amazing things Febe is capable of and trying to be the jockey to take her there. I realized I need to trust we can go win not try to go win. Not to attach myself to the outcome or placing of the race. I found when I attached to winning on her I was relying on that title in a way instead of running our own race and having fun doing it.

How did that record setting run feel?  Did you make any adjustments going into it that you could give credit to for being so fast?    Give us a play by play of the run. 

It felt smooth, that feeling when you and your horse are just with each other every stride of the run is the most addictive parts of the sport to me. It always brings a huge smile to my face, even if I didn’t want to I can’t help it. I am an over analyzer and it gets me into trouble of doing too much sometimes but Wade Marshall who has a cutting background gave me some pointers of letting them work and leaving them more accountable. When I left them more accountable I could feel all my horses confidence in themselves grow with every run I made on them at the royal crown. My run in the first round we went by first barrel a bit so the second round I just wanted to be smooth and stay out of her way, she likes to bury her butt a bit too much in that arena sometimes so made sure I was with her riding the hip to keep her forward around all three barrels.

Tell us about your gear setup for Febe.   What are you riding in for a saddle, pad, bit etc?  Shoes or no shoes?

I took a long time this winter finding the perfect angles and plan of action for Febe’s front feet. I took her tie down off, lengthened my reins to where it felt uncomfortable and shortened my stirrups to all help me stay back and ride the hip more.

And how about his feeding and maintenance plan? What fuels this speedy horse?

We have over 45 horses on our property so grain gets expensive. Instead we buy big totes of oats rolled with peas, mineral, flax, and some other things. We soak beet pulp and mix 50/50 for their grain Supplements I use:
Race today (help strengthen the capillaries for bleeding)
Vetline electrolytes
Excell EQ
Vitamin E
Magnesium
Ashwagandha
I also have a megnawave that I use on them and myself and I always feel a big difference

You ride a lot of fast horses!  How do you adjust yourself and your timing to ride right for each horse you're jumping on?

When I started it did take a bit to learn how to adjust especially when I was running 10 different horses. It was tough to learn running a dishonest horse then getting on one of my good horses I know could win and not getting any bad habits or trusting I don’t need to do anything extra I have also jump jockeyed a lot of random horses at big races without knowing anything about them or how they run so I think all that was the best thing for me because now switching between the horses I have I don’t even have to think about it.

Do you have anyone you'd like to thank or sponsors we can promote for you?

Yes my sponsors:
Vetline
Excell EQ
Zestarra
Usher Brand saddle

I’m forever thankful for all the people in my corner, If it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t be able to do this interview I’m doing right now  

Upcoming Events:

If you want YOUR event listed free, please reply to this email or use the “hot tips” form on the website. Everyone is welcome to help me out and submit events whether you’re the producer or contestant. ;)

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The Westman Challenge Series (Western Manitoba) continues to add new locations and date to their series. See additions post HERE

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The 20th Twirl and Whirl in Brooks, AB set their dates for September 19-21st and announced $15,000 added. Info here

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I started a spreadsheet with many of Western Canada’s barrel races listed including 4 Provinces. It is a work in progress, please send changes or additions. Have a look HERE

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Use this post to buy and sell slots for the Red White and Gold Slot race in Biggar, SK

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Find info on each of the Canadian Barrel Futurities Events HERE 
the next CBF approved event is the Grace and Grit in Saskatoon, SK June 5-8

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Supernova Productions announced a move from Wetaskiwin, to Red Deer - Westerner Park for their event The Big Bang Aug 5-10, 2025

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The Calgary Stampede Ladies Barrel Racing Qualifier will be June 10 &11, 2025 at the Nutrien Western Event Centre. Competitors will have the opportunity to run for a chance at competing at the 2025 Calgary Stampede Rodeo. Entries Open April 15th and Close May 15th. Enter HERE
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CBHI announced and exciting 2D Slot Race to be added to their weekend. More info HERE The CBHI Flagship event is October (9TH-12TH) 2025 in Ponoka, AB. The have indicated this event and their approved race derby age is continuing to be 7 & under.
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The Rope & Race in Brandon, MB is scheduled for May 23-25. More on their FB page here. It is CBHI approved.

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The Prestige Barrel race is also noted as CBHI approved and scheduled for June 21-22 in Brandon, MB. There is a post running for those wanting to buy and sell slots. FB page here.

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Don’t Give A Buck Barrel Race and Roping is slated for May 17-19 in Virden, MB. The event kicks off with a wedding fundraiser jackpot for Janet and Ory, on the 18th, the 7th annual Don’t Give A Buck Barrel Racing $2500 WF approved JP in the 18th, concluding with a fundraiser team roping.

Road Recipe Of The Week

Taco Salad Jars

• Ingredients:

  • Seasoned ground beef or turkey

  • Shredded lettuce

  • Diced tomatoes

  • Black beans

  • Corn kernels

  • Salsa

  • Tortilla chips (packed separately)

• Instructions:

  1. In a mason jar, layer the ingredients in the following order: salsa, ground meat, black beans, corn, diced tomatoes, and shredded lettuce.

  2. Seal the jar and refrigerate.

  3. When ready to eat, shake the jar to mix and top with tortilla chips.

Presented by: Rodeoclassifieds.com

RodeoClassifieds.com is 25 years young this year! To celebrate we are having an ad sale. Post now, pay later.  Free upfront, pay only if we have helped to sell your horse. Stallions and businesses only after 500 views. Post today, pay later.

🍎Road Apples - tidbits from around the web this week

🍎A nightmare situation out of Comanche Texas where horses and their owner will attacked by African Killer Bees. Trigger warning if you’re got a bee phobia. All 3 horses passed away and the owner treated. HERE

🍎 Marci Powell shared her 10/10 approval and affiliate link for this soap sprayer/horse washer. Looks super handy. Apparently also available at Walmart if you’re up for that adventure.

🍎 In this reel Sharp Sports Medicine shared about processing the horses own blood and converting it with 𝐀𝐋𝐏𝐇𝐀𝟐𝐄𝐐 to be used for nebulizing for lung health. Not sure we can get this in Canada but interesting nonetheless!

🍎 Delaney Vet is continuing their “coffee talk” series. Next up is horse insurance May 28. Call the office by the 3rd to register. FB post.

Featured Ranch

Would you like your ranch or business featured? We’d love to promote yours, get in touch.

Mindset Minute with Michelle Davey

“You will become what you think about most; your success or failure in anything, large or small, will depend on your programming — what you accept from others, and what you say when you talk to yourself.” - Shad Helmstettler

Pay attention to how you speak to yourself, how you treat yourself and how you allow others to treat you. This dialogue shapes your reality and will influence what you’re able to create within it. You can start by being a better friend to yourself. Don’t accept treatment or conversations in your head that you would walk away from if they were happening in the chair beside you.

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Until next week,

Michelle