INNISFAIL – After almost eight years of committed rodeoing Amy Shuckburgh is now where she always wanted to be.
On top. A winning rodeo star.
And she is just 17.
Shuckburgh won the ladies breakaway roping competition at this year’s Chinook Rodeo Finals (CRF), which was held in Brooks from Oct. 9 to 11. It’s considered an important win on the amateur rodeo circuit.
“It goes to show I belong with the people on top because I worked hard and I managed to do well,” she said, adding she was able to compete and place well in about 10, two-day tournaments leading up to the Chinook finals but did not win any of those events.
Riding her horse Hook, owned by Olds rodeo man Patrick Cassidy and his daughter Marin, Shuckburgh was declared the winner at the finals after a first round time of 2.2 seconds, 3.2 seconds in the second and then 3.4 in the third.
While Shuckburgh’s winning times are impressive, they were still off her personal best of 2.2 seconds she scored at a Future Champions Challenge in Edmonton three years ago. She also noted that some girls have timed 1.9 seconds, which she said was “really, really fast.”
Regardless, Shuckburgh deserves to celebrate with her big CRF win. She also collected a cheque of nearly $1,000 and a gorgeous handmade, gold-plated winner’s buckle. The young teen, who is a Grade 12 student at Innisfail High School, will have plenty of confidence moving forward, especially since she is getting plenty of support at her family’s ranch, located about 20 kilometres southeast of Innisfail.
She comes from an esteemed rodeo family, led in this area by dad Tom, and big brothers Ryan, who was in the U.S. this past summer rodeoing, and Adam, who is currently going to college in Texas.
And never to be missed is mom Corrine, her biggest fan.
“She videos me every time and she always comes, and supports me,” said the appreciative daughter. “My family is super supportive, and they help me practise before school. Any time I want to practise they are always eager to help.”
She will do plenty of practising with winter making an early appearance. However, the young teen is still looking ahead. She is hoping to secure a spot in the national high school finals in the U.S. for next July. She previously competed at the junior nationals when she was in grades 7 and 8.
In spring, the high school rodeos in Alberta will start and she will be ready to compete.
Although Shuckburgh is not yet rodeoing professionally it’s a goal that is firmly on the long-term radar.
She noted the breakaway roping competition has historically never been featured at the professional rodeos, like barrel racing, the only event girls could enter.
“But now breakaway roping is really starting to expand and become more important, and now it is at the National Finals Rodeo. My next big thing would be to enter the pro rodeos in the breakaway and start working towards the Canadian Finals Rodeo,” she said, adding she’s hoping the event will soon be officially offered at the Canadian championships.
But there is also school on Shuckburgh’s mind. She is hoping to get a rodeo college scholarship in the U.S., one that could mean three years of continued rodeoing along with post-secondary education to become a dental hygienist.
“This coming summer in 2021 I will amateur again and I will go off to college. Hopefully when I come back from college I will be ready for the pros,” she said. “And to keep getting better and striving to get to the top.”
