story by Lindsay Whelchel
Christy Dorsey – Kevin Goodman
Wild Horse Pictures
Christy Dorsey is living a dream that on more than one occasion almost didn’t happen. First, the Cajun Rodeo Association Barrel Racer from Louisiana was not born into a rodeo, or even a horse owning, family. The dream of having her own horse would never have happened for Christy without her strong passion for the animals from a young age and her parents going to special lengths to make owning a horse a reality for their daughter.
“My mom and dad made that happen, and we just took off from there,” Christy explains. By the mid 90s Christy was fully involved in high school rodeo, but was sidelined her senior year after her horse reared up and fell on her. The accident took Christy away from competition for the rest of the year.
Despite this, she bounced back and started barrel racing again. In fact, Christy has a history of returning to the sport that she’s always loved, no matter the time away.
She loves the thrill of barrel racing, the lights of the arena, the announcers and music that accompany rodeo. “That adrenaline is irreplaceable. It’s just a totally different feeling, a different atmosphere,” Christy says.
Life’s milestones like college and marriage meant that Christy had to put barrel racing on the back burner again for several years, but now she’s back into the sport full force with her horse Gus, an appendix Quarter Horse of First Down Dash heritage. Also joining Christy on this adventure is her friend, trainer and fellow barrel racer in the CRA, Stacey Richard.
The two travel together and Gus stays at Stacey’s place while Christy and her husband David, a third generation independent insurance agent, build a new house and barn on their property.
A third cowgirl will join the women soon. Christy’s 8-year-old daughter McKynzie, will start competing in the youth division of the CRA next year. “It’s going to be really nice next year getting her involved,” Christy says and adds of the CRA, “It has been extremely awesome and convenient. It’s really nice to be able to go to a good rodeo, good people, good competition, but yet still close to home.”
This season was focused on getting Gus seasoned to the rodeo world, explains Christy. She credits Stacey with helping her and Gus with their barrel racing tuning and Steve Archer, a reining trainer whom her husband trained with, with putting a solid foundation on Gus.
“Next year we’ll be bringing it on with a vengeance. We’re going to put up our dukes and hopefully be able to push through,” Christy says of her and Gus’ quest for the CRA finals.
When she’s not in the arena, Christy works as a producer at the family insurance agency and spends as much time as possible outdoors with her family and their pets, grilling and fishing.
Christy has learned to always keep an open mind for new knowledge and stay committed to what you truly love. “Do not give up. If you have a dream and a passion, and it’s really something deep down in your heart you’re wanting to do, keep persevering, keep moving forward, and eventually it will make itself known.”
