Young Riders Maintain Family Traditions
By Craig Reed
8-year-old cousins Teagan Cline and Eva Gow love to go fast on horseback.
The girls may be young—and only weigh about 60 pounds each—but they are already adept at kicking their 1,200-pound horses out of the starting gate, reining them around 3 barrels, and racing to the finish. Their average time for completing the runs is about 14 to 16 seconds, depending on the size of the barrel pattern.
The girls are not only passionate about barrel racing, but they want to advance in the sport.
Teagan qualified to compete in barrel racing events during the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas in December. She rode her horse, Stunner, to a 10th-place finish in the Junior World Finals in Vegas. The event for ages 12 and younger drew 70 riders.
“I felt pretty good,” Teagan says. “I could have been snappier around the first barrel, but it was a good run. I like to barrel race because you get to run really fast. If he (Stunner) doesn’t go, I kick him. If he doesn’t go, he knows he’s going to be in trouble.”
Eva entered an open barrel race at the World Expo in Las Vegas. She won a division in that competition with a time of 15.0 seconds on her horse, Kirby. Eva says Kirby received a horse treat for his effort during the run.
“I like barrel racing because I was born to race,” she says. “I do my job, and he does his. My job is to keep him in line around the barrels.”
Both girls were born into families with backgrounds in rodeo competitions. Teagan is the daughter of Bailey and Nick Cline, who live near Winston. Bailey was a rodeo competitor during her Roseburg High School years and then at New Mexico State University. She was a 4-time all-around cowgirl in high school and a 4-time national collegiate rodeo qualifier. She won the collegiate national barrel racing championship as a New Mexico State senior.
Eva is the daughter of Colton and Kelsey Gow of Lookingglass. Colton competed in high school rodeo events and at the collegiate level while attending Cal Poly- San Luis Obispo, California. He qualified for the college national finals in team roping during his senior year at Cal Poly.
Bailey and Colton’s mother, Sharon, is also a longtime barrel racer. Last year, she was the final barrel racing champion in the Columbia River Circuit— a professional-level competition. In Las Vegas, Sharon and Teagan competed in the shoot-out round of the all-in barrel race. Each finished in the top 20 out of 625 riders.
Eva and Teagan took their first trips around the barrels at age 2, riding ponies their parents led. At age 3, they were reining horses around the barrels and entering game show rodeo events.
At age 5, the girls entered peewee rodeos, competing in barrel racing, pole bending, goat tying, and breakaway calf roping. Last year, they added team roping with a parent to their rodeo event schedule. Teagan ropes with Bailey, and Eva ropes with Colton.
“We want the girls to be more than barrel racers,” Bailey says. “We want them to be cowgirls. We want them to be able to gather cattle, to rope, to work with cattle. This is part of our lifestyle.”
The girls’ grandparents, Bill and Sharon Gow, were cattle ranchers until retiring.
Colton and Kelsey now own and operate the family’s cattle business, Screamin’ G Cattle.
In addition to the cattle, Eva and her brother, Pacen, have 25 ewes. Teagan’s family has 30 goats and six ewes, as well as chickens. The children help with ranch work.
Eva and Teagan have their parents’ support as they compete. “We want to help them chase their dreams,” Kelsey says.
“If they work hard, if they progress, we’re all in on it for them,” Bailey adds. After making their barrel runs in Las Vegas, the girls and their parents attended the National Finals Rodeo. They watched the top 15 barrel racers in the world compete.
Asked what the girls’ goal is, Teagan is quick to say, “To make it to the national finals.”
“I have a feeling this will not be our last trip to Las Vegas,” Bailey says.