18/ DECEMBER 2010 THE RIDER Lauren Cuts A Path To Success


By Kelly Bowers Name: Lauren Minshall Age: 20


Student at the University of Guelph in Animal Sciences Hometown: Hillsburgh Ontario


Discipline: Cutting Lauren Minshall is a cutter. What is


Cutting? It is a western event where a horse and rider are judged on their ability to separate a single animal away from a


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cattle herd and keep it away for a short period of time. A ‘run’ lasts 2 and a half minutes during which the participant cuts 2-3 cows. You are judged on the ability to separate (cut) an animal from the others with the least disturbance to the herd as possi- ble. Also important is the eye appeal of your horse while working, degree of difficulty, and time worked. Her titles won include 2005 Eastern National Championships Senior Youth Champion, 2006 East- ern National Championships 20,000 Non-Pro Champion, 2006 Music City Futurity Derby Amateur Cham- pion, 2009 All American Quarter Horse Congress Cutting 50,000 Amateur Champion, 2010 Music City Futurity Classic/Challenge Non- Pro Champion, 2010 Music City Futurity Non-Pro Reserve Champi- on, 2010 Music City Futurity/Derby/Classic Challenge Limited Champion, 2010 All Ameri- can Quarter Horse Congress 15,000 Non-Pro Champion, 2010 All Ameri- can Quarter Horse Congress 5,000 Non-Pro Reserve Champ.


When a young person earns this many titles, there’s always more to it than luck. The road to success often involves a combination of opportuni- ty, support, ability and a determined personality.


Lauren Minshall started in her sport of Cutting, the same way many get involved in their chosen sport. It was in the genes. Her parents and brother were already involved. So, there was definitely an opportunity. Even her grandfather, Aubrey Min- shall was a cutter from the 1970’s and 80s and the Minshalls still live on his old farm in Hillsburgh, ON. Her grandfather showed with Lau- ren’s dad who now competes at shows with Lauren. It’s been passed down as a family tradition. She showed for the first time at only 6 years of age and has kept with it. Currently, she travels to 10-15 big competitions every year.


Her parents, Shawn and Lisa Minshall, provide the support, any are always behind her. Lauren credits them for giving her the opportunity to do what she loves and says she


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knows she could not be successful without them. As well, she adds “My trainer, Gabe Reynolds, always makes sure my horses and I are pre- pared. He knows just what to say to get my head in the game and he helps me make sure my horses are on the top of their game. He picks my cattle at competitions. I couldn’t do it without him either.”


Once upon a time, she was just a little girl who loved horses, but Lauren has always had a real com- petitive side to her. She is often determined and committed to do her best. Still, her abilities needed to be developed. She explains “I practiced and practiced and I went to the US to ride with some top trainers. You have to put in a lot of hours of prac- ticing if you want be very competi- tive. I really took advantage of my youth career and got on as many horses as I could. If I was at a show and someone asked me if I wanted to show their horse instead of mine I would say yes in a heartbeat. I loved switching up horses. It a good way to learn how to adjust quickly”. Her dad, Shawn Minshall was her first coach. “He’s my biggest fan and my biggest critic. You must be able to accept criticism if you want to improve.” Her first trainer Zeke Entz, was also instrumental in her refining her showmanship skills, starting from when she was 8 years


old. She used to spend every sum- mer at his place, and his daughter Katlyn Entz is still her best friend to this day. “When I started to redirect my program to aged event horses, I switched to my current trainer, Gabe Reynolds who also does an awesome job.” At the present time, they are working on Lauren learning how to train horses and compete, and they’ve had a flurry of successes recently.


How do you know a good cut-


ting horse? Lauren knows what she likes. When I pick a horse, I look for one that is strong. I like smaller hors- es because they feel more coordinat- ed and agile. They need to be quick and very very smart. I look for a horse with a short back, low hock set, strong hip, strong gaskin, and a light front end.” Lauren loves Amer- ican Quarter Horses and has a prefer- ence of bloodlines. She explains “They have to have the blood lines - That’s where they get their natural “cowy” instinct.” Two of her main mounts right now are “Bad Dogs And Guns” and “Fraggle Rocks”. They were chosen partly because she likes the fact they are both out of a Smart Little Lena mare.


Lauren attends The University of Guelph. She has a house in Guelph but goes home to the farm on weekends in Hillsburgh. Asked about other interests, Lauren admits “ I played basketball a little bit in high school but gave it up because it inter- fered with my training/show sched- ule. I eat/sleep/breath horses.” Doing what she does best, Lau- ren travels North America to com- pete. In a typical year she will go to Augusta, Georgia; Tunica and Jack- son in


Mississippi; Fort


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Worth,Texas; Tulsa and Oklahoma City in Oklahoma; Louisville, Ken- tucky; and Nashville, Tennessee for major events. One year she made the trip to New Mexico for the national high school rodeo finals. Her biggest shows so far have been the NCHA Summer Spectacular in Fort Worth, Texas where she was 3rd in the Amateur division and 4th in the lim- ited non-pro division. The other was the Breeders Invitational. She earned 9th in the Non-pro division and 4th in the limited non-pro division. Lauren has always set goals for herself. Her first long term goal was set when she was 10 years old. She wanted to earn $100,000 in competi- tion by the time she turned 20. She celebrated her 20th on October 11th, achieving her goal with lifetime earnings of $166,462.10. So, now she has new goals. “ First, I want to make the National Cutting Horse Hall of Fame by the time I am 30 years old - and at some point in my career, I want to win the NCHA World Championship Non-pro Futu- rity.” With determination being the deciding factor, it’s not a matter of if, but when she’ll get there and we’ll be watching.


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