story by Lily Weinacht
Jillian Carter and her horse Scooter are leading the barrel racing in the LHSRA. The 17 year old from Benton, Louisiana, purchased the horse four months ago and they clicked instantly, placing in or winning most of the rodeos they enter. “The first time I ran Scooter at a rodeo, he beat everyone by a second and a half,” says Jillian. “He’s not like any other horse I’ve had – he thinks different and he’s speedy.”
Jillian entered the equestrian world through English riding, and at first, she had no interest in barrel racing. “I credit my balance and skills to starting English, and then I switched to Western four years ago. My parents begged me to barrel race for the longest time, but I didn’t like it. My grandma got me barrel racing lessons for Christmas one year, and I held off for a year. But I finally did it, and I fell in love with barrel racing!” Jillian’s first barrel lessons were with Vivette Middlebrooks, and they continue to work together several times a week. Her other trainer is Julie Murphy, whose kids also high school rodeo. “I’m at Vivette and Julie’s places two or three times a week riding and training, and I keep my horses there,” says Jillian. “Rodeo teaches you real-world skills, sportsmanship, and how to work smarter, not harder. I like putting effort in and getting results out.” She also competes in pole bending, sitting third in the standings, and enjoys the speed and hard work both her events require.
In addition to high school rodeo, Jillian competes in the NLBRA, NBHA, and BBR, while the IFYR is always a highlight of the summer. Along with Scooter, Jillian rides her other gelding Flame and her mare Bo in the pole bending. “Bo is faster, but she’s younger and harder to ride, and Flame clocks a bit slower but is much more consistent. He’s cowbred, and he knows his job and sticks to it.” Jillian also has a Border Collie, Dally, who loves to travel to the rodeos with the family, play Frisbee, go swimming and go boating.
Jillian and her parents, Mark and Donna, make their home outside of Benton. “It’s a little neighborhood with about seven houses on the lake front, and I enjoy fishing there or boating and jet skiing,” says Jillian. She’s a junior at Benton High School, where science is her favorite class. “This year I’m doing AP chemistry, and it’s difficult but fun. I have a 4.0 GPA right now, and my goal is to keep that up with these hard classes. I’d like to study biology at Louisiana Tech and become an orthodontist.”
Once she’s out of school, Jillian does homework and goes to ride and feed horses before heading home. She and her parents love to travel, and they’ve gone as far as South Africa and Mexico. “One of my favorites is Big Cedar Lodge. My parents got married there, so it’s a trip down memory lane. South Africa was really fun, and I hope to go back there.
“Rodeo wise, I’m sitting pretty good in barrels and poles, and I hope my horses stay healthy and that we continue performing well. My freshman year, I was positioned well going into state, but my horse pulled both back muscles and our year came to an end. Then, all last year, we spent rehabbing and training new horses so that we could be competitive,” Jillian finishes. “This year, my goal is to qualify for Nationals in barrels and poles. It would be the biggest blessing to have the opportunity to compete at Nationals.”
