MARYFIELD - Hailey Olson is dedicated to her dream of having a life filled with horses.
Olson, who is 16 years old, lives on a grain farm near Maryfield with her parents Bryce and Tracy Olson, along with older brothers Hayden and Hunter.
According to Tracy, her daughter was born to ride. Tracy rode throughout her pregnancy and the younger Olson began riding before she could sit.
Hailey Olson began to show horses at the age of six, using her mom's horse in the cutting shows.
She showed Tracy’s little mare CD Filo. From there she went on to showing dressage and jumping while still doing all the local horse shows.
Gota Wear My Silks, with the barn name of Raye Raye, is an 11-year-old American quarter horse mare that Olson has been riding for three years.
She had planned to show in the United States at the time in the 13-and-under classes, but all the shows were cancelled when COVID-19 hit the world.
Tracy stepped back from showing when her daughter grew more intense about showing and decided to focus on that.
While Tracy takes her daughter and stays in the U.S., her husband and sons look after the other horses on the farm.
Olson’s family is very proud of what she does and this year she is showing throughout the states.
Although Olson is still in school, her teachers and principal from Maryfield School stand behind her as well with online schooling, and support her achievements while scheduling around her shows.
During show season, Olson rides every day to keep her horse in tip-top shape, but also for herself to be physically and mentally prepared.
Her show season began in May, staying in their horse trailer's living quarters, and will remain in the states during the summer for the shows.
Their first stop was in west Arizona, where Olson attended the level 1 championship.
She did very well, earning silver in showmanship, bronze in equitation, but winning her hunter under saddle class.
The next show was in Byran, Texas, at the end of June at the Youth World Cup, where she rode for Team Canada. They placed sixth overall.
They packed up and went to Minneapolis for the corporate challenge.
Olson won the all-around championship for the youth aged 14-18.
Training is a big part of success and Olson trains through Chris Brown out of Billings, Mont., so they spent a few days there.
It was now off to Oklahoma City for the Youth World Show. Again, Olson did well, placing third in showmanship and sixth in hunter under saddle, and then had to pull out from the show when her horse formed an abscess in her hoof.
With the abscess healed, work began for the National Snaffle Bit Association World Show in Tulsa, Okl.
Tracy is the full-fledged groom, but she is adamant that her daughter does all the other work as it is her thing.
After leaving on Aug. 7 for Tulsa, they will take a few days to settle in, prepare and practise. She will begin showing in Tulsa on Aug. 13, and will compete in showmanship, horsemanship, hunter under saddle and equitation.
It is Olson’s wish to further her riding career and knowledge in the U.S. while training. Although it is in the works, it is not yet determined where Olson will be next.
Showing is not for the faint at heart. Her day starts at 4 a.m. and is not finished until midnight.
“She is always the first in the barn and the last to leave,” said Tracy.
She has a young horse at home that she did all the training on and has a few foals as well for the future.
Olson’s family is very proud of what she is doing and Maryfield School is also excited to see how she does in Tulsa.
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