by Ruth Nicolaus
If Emily Robinson wants something bad enough, she knows how to go after it.
When the Springville, Utah, cowgirl was little, she really wanted a horse. But she knew there were no funds for one.
So she worked and saved till she could buy one, all by herself.
The Utah High School Rodeo Association member worked hard, saving her paychecks, then found the perfect horse: a nine-year old dun named Mya. Mya, a former ranch and trail riding horse, had never done the poles or barrels.
So Emily trained her.
Mya, who lives in a barn a few miles from Emily’s home, became her horse in the spring of 2015. Emily put in hours and hours of training. Mya was improving, but not as steadily as Emily would have liked.
Then a freak accident happened. The horse got kicked in the leg, nicking a bone and taking her out of practice for a month. By this time, it was August of 2015, and Emily was about to begin her first year of high school rodeo.
Then another obstacle fell in their path: Emily had gall bladder surgery, putting her out of riding for another three weeks.
And something amazing happened: all of the training and practice seemed to click, and Mya improved vastly at poles. She has struggled with the barrel racing, but in the past month has gotten much better.
At the end of the 2016 spring season, Mya and Emily were placing in the sixtieth place in the poles. Last fall, they were in the twenties.
Emily credits 4-H, her sister Celeste, her niece Dani and Karista Nusink with helping her in learning about horses, training them, and competing in high school rodeo. She’s done all of the work with her horses herself, but she realizes there are people who have contributed.
Not only did she buy her horse, she is responsible for the finances of her horse and rodeo, including surgery to repair the broken leg. But she wouldn’t change a thing. It’s made her more appreciative of what she has. “I know what it’s like to be without.”
The eighteen year old cowgirl, a senior at Springville High School, will finish her cosmetology degree this summer and plans to attend Snow College in 2017. She would like to rodeo collegiately.
She loves the people she gets to know through high school rodeo. “Every single rodeo, you meet someone new. You hang out with the same people, but there’s always someone new there.”
Because of her persistence of getting and training Mya, Emily knows she can handle anything that comes her way. “I’ve always been determined,” she said. “I know what I want, and I’m going to do it. If something gets in my way, I’ll find a way around it.”
In addition to Celeste, she has two older sisters, Jennifer and Jackie. She is the daughter of Alan and Betty Robinson.
