CODA from Nebraska is a self-taught barrel racer
Renca Dunn, Daily Moth Reporter: There are many different horse riding styles like rodeo, show jumping, or others. For barrel racing, there is a rising talent who is a CODA, Shayla Staab (16), from Broken Bow, Nebraska.
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Shayla is a self-taught barrel racer. She taught herself through YouTube and mentorship. Her Deaf parents, Daisy and Russ, have no horse riding background, but Shayla picked up the passion of horse riding while growing up and has become a barrel racer. Recently, a news article about her story was released and other news picked up that story and went viral in the state of Nebraska. We included several links to these articles. We reached out to Shayla for an interview about her journey.
(Begin interview)
Renca: You have two horses. What are their names?
Shayla: Yes. The first is Kitty. The second is Tega. Kitty is 5. Tega is 13, I think. Kitty’s color is bay. It's dark brown. She has a big personality. She’s full of herself. She’s always laughing. Really… I can’t even get started on her! The other one, Tega, is a buckskin. That’s a tan/brown mix. She is very sweet and laid-back. I would trust anyone on her. She’s a sweet, old soul.
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Renca: You ride both for barrel racing? What’s the difference between these two?
Shayla: Yes. Both are mares (girls). Kitty’s bloodline is more for speed. Tega is more cow-bred. So she’s shorter and smaller. She runs a little slower than Kitty. We’re planning to get Tega pregnant in two weeks. When she has a baby, we’ll be done with racing with her for one year. After her baby has grown up, we’ll see if she may go back running. We’ll see, it depends.
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Renca: What are some challenges you’ve faced with barrel racing?
Shayla: A lot of it is that it’s expensive. Very expensive. Food, vet, traveling. The entry fees. Some of them are $200 or $300. Plus gas, stall, etc. So it’s a pretty big part of it but it’s just a lot of riding and a lot of training. All the time. It’s important.
Renca: How often do you train? Everyday?
Shayla: You do want to ride everyday, but you’re not focused on barrels. Because if you are repetitive, the horses will become bored. So you want to ride them everyday like an athlete. You don’t want to train and then take a break and when you come back again, you become sore. So you try to ride everyday so they can stay fit and stay in shape. So when you do go to race, they will be ready.
Over the last three years, there have been a lot of, sometimes, self-doubt. I feel that I’m not trying hard enough. But you just have to keep on going because in the end, you will be somewhere!
Renca: Right! That’s true.
Shayla: You have to take the hard path to success. You can’t take the easy way and expect to… get lucky!
(End interview)
Thank you Shayla for your time. She also mentioned that one of the top reasons why she loves barrel racing is because of the speed and adrenaline rush. Shayla also wanted to thank her parents for sacrificing a lot to support her in her passion for horse riding. She mentioned that she will always be passionate about working with horses for the rest of her life. We, the Daily Moth, wish Shayla the best of luck for your journey. And for the Deaf community, keep an eye out for her rising talent with horse riding.
Links: https://flatwaterfreepress.org/the-rise-of-broken-bows-self-taught-barrel-racer/