RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesHorse rider Ella Woolley is swapping the trails of Derbyshire for the Texas terrain as she pursues her cowgirl dream.
The 19-year-old has ridden horses in Wormhill, near Buxton, from an early age and has been learning to ride bucking horses since January.
Despite being a relative beginner, she has made plans to develop her ranch bronc riding skills in America and has ambitions to compete in the world championships.
"It's an adrenaline rush and when you do it well, it's so fun," Ella said.
Ella rode horses in Derbyshire from an early age before trying ranch bronc riding [BBC]
The challenge of ranch bronc riding was born out of the traditional cowboy lifestyle, with riders attempting to stay in the saddle of a bucking horse for eight seconds.
"You're expecting to be chucked off, so it's not as much of a shock," Ella said.
"Most of the time there's someone to pick you up off the horse. But you don't have to fall off, if you do it well."
Her dad, James, has ridden bulls since he visited America at the age of 21, inspiring Ella to learn the skills on bucking machines in her garden, before progressing on to live horses.
In order to do that, she travelled to the Gipsy Horses Ranch in Belgium to ride horses that are specially trained to buck.
She has been guided by her coach, Ilona Bercx, who has competed in the Women's Ranch Bronc World Championships in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
"The first time I tried it, I was nervous but excited because I'd decided I wanted to do it and it's so fun, the adrenaline you get is amazing," she said.
Ella has trained in Belgium with her coach, Ilona Bercx, who has competed in the Women's Ranch Bronc World Championships [Woolley family]
She then applied that training in rodeo competitions against competitors from across Europe.
"There's two judges and they can each give you 25 points for the rider, 25 points for the horse, then you are scored out of 100," she added.
She managed to stay on the horse for the required eight seconds and scored a respectable debut score of 58, which she intends to improve upon.
So far, she has not sustained injuries, but fully expects to in the future and admits: "I'd only have myself to blame."
Ella does not know of any other women in the UK participating in the sport, and said people were "surprised" when they learned about her unorthodox passion.
She said she was "excited" to fly out to Texas in August to study history at A&M University and continue taking part in rodeos.
"There's a world championship you can qualify for, so that is my end goal, to qualify over there," she said.
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