story by Michele Toberer
From the moment Jillian Carter threw her leg over a western saddle, she never looked back to her English riding beginnings, knowing rodeo was where she belonged. The accomplished English riding 13-year-old had no interest in using the western riding lesson gift certificate given to her by her grandmother for nearly two years before deciding to give it a try. Living in Benton, Louisiana with her parents, Donna who is a R.N. but currently is a landlord managing several rental properties that she owns, and her dad Mark, a self-employed attorney; Jillian was immersed in the English riding discipline, winning the Louisiana Hunter Jumper Association title in her division, and wining multiple awards as she rode Who’s That, the 2005 United States Equestrian Federation Horse of the Year. “Everyone knew him, and he was so automatic in the show ring, he knew how to put on a pretty face as he stepped into competition, and winning on him became easy, I was ready for a different challenge.” Jillian found that she loved the challenge of riding in rodeos. “English riding is very subjective when you’re being judged, it’s often one person’s opinion, but in rodeo you are racing against a clock, and no one tells you if the horse wasn’t moving the best or you didn’t look good while you made your run, you beat the clock and it’s a fair playing field.”
Jillian’s parents bought her a sweet barrel pony with one brown eye and one blue, named Spook for her to get her feet wet in the rodeo arena. Shortly after, Jillian stepped up to her trainer, Vivette Middlebrook’s 1D gelding, Flame. Although they bought the sorrel gelding with four white socks, to run barrels, Jillian decided to train him for pole bending also, and after running him in both her freshman and sophomore year with LHSRA, her junior and senior year she started using him mainly for poles as he began winning often, and she won the 2018 LHSRA Champion Pole Bender title on him. For barrels she rides a bay gelding named Scooter, who she rode to win the 2017 LHSRA Champion Barrel Racer title, “Scooter is super cool, but a bit weird, he’s sort of a drama queen and will intentionally walk around puddles, while the other horses run through the mud and water.”
Besides rodeoing, Jillian’s schedule was filled with some of her favorite classes, like AP Biology, AP Chemistry, and Art History, as well as taking part in school clubs at Benton High School, like SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) and FCA, (Fellowship of Christian Athletes). Jillian also volunteered at a local dentist office, getting a feel for what she plans to be her future profession. All of this helped to set the cowgirl in the forefront to receive the National High School Rodeo Association’s largest scholarship award; the Claude Mullins Memorial award of $5,000. “I was so honored to receive the award but had no idea I was about to! They kept reading out names of other scholarship winners, and the room was starting to clear out, I thought maybe they had forgotten about me. Our state secretary, Stephanie Rodrigue, said she couldn’t even look at me as she read the name because she didn’t want to cry, it was really an exciting moment.” Jillian is putting the scholarship to good use as she is in her freshman year at Louisiana State University, in Baton Rouge, studying to become a dentist, and possibly focus on orthodontics in her future. She will be rodeoing in the NIRA Southern Region as an independent, and her parents will be coming to haul her to college rodeos this season. “My dad always helps me in the alley and helps put rubber bands on and tighten my cinch. My mom gives me motivational speeches and will tell me ‘I’m wearing my lucky jeans and my lucky earrings, so you’re going to do just fine,’ I appreciate all that they do for me!” Jillian also appreciates the help and support she’s received from the Murphy family, Julie helps her with barrel racing and Jillian often hauls to rodeos with the family, KC, Macon and Josey.
