story by Ruth Nicolaus
Riley Ruff is a New Mexico transplant, making her life in Nebraska. The eighteen-year-old cowgirl, a member of the Nebraska High School Rodeo Association, misses her home state but enjoys the horse events in which she participates in Nebraska.
She competes in the cutting and the reined cow horse event aboard two mounts: Pixie, a twenty-year-old bay for the cutting, and Delilah, a seventeen-year-old paint for the reined cow horse. Delilah just started her reined cow horse career last year, when Riley took her to a show. “I just winged it,” Riley said. “We went to a show, I had to look up the pattern, and we ended up placing in the middle.” Delilah is a natural at the cutting. “She ended up loving it and so do I. She loves chasing cows.”
Both horses are very laid back, Riley said, but show a lot of spunk when it comes time to compete.
Riley is in her final year of high school and is homeschooled, which allows for plenty of horse time. She is a member of the Bits ‘N Boots 4-H Club of Box Butte County. In past years, she has raised and shown goats and shown horses and cattle, but now she does just the horse events.
She is a natural at painting and uses several mediums, including acrylics and oil paints, creating masterpieces on canvas and cow skulls. As a member of the Oglala Sioux tribe, she loves to paint vintage Native American scenes on the skulls. Word of mouth has gotten her some customers, and she’s sold some of her art work.
Riley Ruff’s artwork – Courtesy of Riley
Riley has two colts, which she hopes to turn into reined cow horses.
Her favorite vacation was a trip to Costa Rica when she was a freshman; her favorite buffet food is sushi. Her favorite snack is chips and shrimp and avocado salsa. Her favorite meal is anything her mom makes (her mom is an excellent cook), and her favorite dessert is her mom’s strawberry cheesecake. Her drink of choice is sweet iced tea.
After high school, she might attend college and pursue a degree in animal science. She hopes to run barrels in the Indian Pro Rodeo Association. She finished the 2016-2017 school year in sixth place in the state in the reined cow horse and is currently ranked third in that event.
She has a younger brother, Paul, who is fifteen, and a younger sister, Shaley, who is fourteen. She is the daughter of Scott and Julie Ruff.
