Arapaho

Riata Ranch Trick Riding Pony

Arapaho exemplifies the spectacular trick riding horses of the Riata Ranch Cowboy Girls. Since 1957, Riata Ranch founder Tom Maier used the values and traditions of the American Western heritage to build character in young women through disciplined equestrian instruction. The Riata Ranch Cowboy Girls are spectacular trick riders and their renowned performances are guaranteed to keep an audience holding its breath! Their repertoire of tricks includes vaulting on and off horses in a full gallop, dangling precariously from their saddles with their heads just inches from the horses' hooves, and standing tall in the saddle while proudly waving American flags. It’s not all fun and games, though, for these young women. There’s hard work, too – the girls experience all aspects of ranch life from ranch upkeep to roping cattle to catching and breaking young horses. Once a professional rodeo champion and Hollywood stunt cowboy, Maier was in a career-ending accident in 1956. Desperate to make ends meet, he agreed to give riding lessons to a small group of students. Since then Maier and his expert instructors have taught more than 3000 young people the valuable life-lessons of hard work, discipline, pride, and respect. The Cowboy Girls have performed on network TV and in rodeos, Olympic exhibitions, NFL half-time shows, the Tournament of Roses Parade, BreyerFest and have traveled to 17 countries and in 45 years, their program and training endures with great success.

Article courtesy of Breyer horses

Date Retired by Breyer: January 1, 2005