The Ponoka Stampede loves to showcase world-class entertainers for the thousands of fans attending. Organizers didn’t have to look far to find one of this year’s featured stars!
Piper Yule is an accomplished cowgirl, who is Alberta born and raised. But she’s building quite the reputation across North America for her exceptional horse talents. Already, she’s received Canadian Pro Rodeo’s prestigious Dress Act of the Year award… four times! Three times she’s been a top five nominee for a similar award by the PRCA. She’s been part of a National Finals Rodeo opening in Las Vegas, NV and has performed at the Canadian Finals Rodeo numerous times. She’s taken her talents to the biggest rodeos in the U.S. as well as across Canada and has also competed in prestigious cow horse competitions. She’s been a hit at The Art of the Cowgirl and Road to the Horse events in the U.S., and interviewed on The Cowboy Channel.
She’s done all that … and is just 14 years old!
Maybe it’s not surprising this young gun of the rodeo and equine world has such a connection to horses, given she’s a fifth-generation cowgirl and has her roots in the challenging, but beautiful, wide-open spaces of short-grass country in southern Alberta. Yule started trick riding as a toddler and was doing competitions at four years old.
“When I got older, I started training liberty horses, and now I ride cow horse too,” explains Yule.
READ MORE: Funny, fast and flying: Infield entertainment set for Ponoka Stampede
2024 marks the first time Piper Yule will have the Ponoka Stampede stage to herself and her horses. She was at Ponoka as part of group of trick riders a few years back, but she’s excited to show Stampede fans all she’s learned since then.
A unique aspect of Yule’s show is her Roman Riding. It’s an amazing feat where she rides barefoot, standing on the backs of two horses at the same time, keeping them in sync while they gallop along.
“I started doing that when I was six or seven, jumping on my brother’s (mini) wagon ponies and standing on them,” says Yule. Having seen Roman riding at rodeos in the U.S., and knowing no one in Canada was really doing it, the entertainer in Yule was sparked.
“When we figured out what it is, I thought ‘Oh I’ve actually got something here,'” she smiles. With some help from a North Carolina trainer, Yule was soon doing drills and honing her Roman Riding skills, building her act, and coming up with new challenges, like doing jumps, and even riding the duo of horses over fire!
“The muscle that you have in your legs, and the balance that you have to have literally cannot come from anything else but that. You just have to do it so much, to where you get the muscle and you get the balance, then you’re fine. But even when I haven’t done it for a couple weeks, my legs are so out of shape!”
Adding in the liberty demonstration, where her horses obediently follow her voice and action commands, adds another impressive element to the show Yule brings to rodeo audiences. Plus, the trick riding remains a fan favourite.
“I’m always working on something new,” says Yule.
There’s more to this horsewoman than just performing to the roar of the crowd. Piper Yule is also an active participant in her family’s ranch life at Cessford, Alberta, where riding the range, roping, and working with cattle form the foundation of her skills. She puts it all to the test as a competitor in working cow horse classes as well.
Having so many facets for her relationship with horses really helps, according to Yule.
“I think it does. It changes your perspective on them, on what they can actually achieve, so you can push them a little further too.”
With such a demanding travel schedule, the teen switched to online schooling for this spring. She keeps her fans up to date on social media, where she has nearly 10,000 followers for her Instagram site, @thepiperyule.
At Ponoka, Yule is bringing her Roman riding horses Dixie and Speck, along with three more she uses for her liberty training demo. As well, she’ll carry the Canadian flag on Speck as part of the Thundering Herd to open each performance. Organizers are as excited to bring the many talents of this true cowgirl to town as Piper Yule is to be part of the legendary Ponoka Stampede.
Ponoka News is your source for all things Ponoka Stampede leading up to and during Stampede Week June 25 to July 1. Find more Ponoka Stampede stories here and follow us at twitter.com/PonokaNews.
