Freshman takes home Extreme Cowboy Championship title

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jumping to victory: Danali and her horse Juliette are jumping towards victory at a competition. The two put in many hours of practice for the title.

Horses neighing and stomping their feet. The yelling of the crowd and the ringing of the buzzer. Feeling the adrenaline coursing through the veins while thinking of what comes next. This is a typical scene for freshman Danali Cramer. She recently won the Go Round Championship, by competing in obstacles and bridge jumps.

Danali has been around horses since she was born, so it was no surprise when she decided to compete in the kids division at the age of five. Her mother drives her from lessons to clinics all the way to competitions. She says her mom keeps her on track.

Four to five hours of every week is dedicated to improving her skills. The dedication does not just end with hours of practice, Danali has attended school in the Seaman district since elementary school, but was homeschooled for the first semester of this year. This allowed more free time to participate in shows and practice without missing a large portion of school. After all these years Cramer continues to compete due to “the passion for it.”

Danali was able to start this passion of hers as she was fortunate enough to get in touch with the right people and everything fell into place after that. She describes the others she rides with as “[…]more of a family and really fun.”

There are risks when it comes to competing and riding horses. Horses are large animals that can weigh up to a couple thousand pounds and can be as tall as six feet and on occasion even taller. These horses tower over this five-foot-four freshman.

Cramer has two mustang ponies named Juliette and Newt as she is afraid of larger horses. Since Juliette and Newt are ponies they are only around four to five feet tall, but can still cause some damage to the body if a rider falls off them.

Danali revealed her back is messed up from all the strain put on it, she has “never broken any bones, but have been bucked off a lot,” which causes yet more damage to her back. Although her back has suffered, this does not stop her from doing what she loves.

Competing has taken Danali to many different places on the map such as Texas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. In May she will be traveling to Tennessee. When participating in these competitions she rides in the intermediate division along with her age division. As of right now Danali is not individually sponsored, but one day could and hopes to be. The moment she found out she won the title she “was really proud of Juliette, since she is a pony she has to try really hard.”

Danali and Juliette’s next move is to take on the world in October at the EXCA World Championship in Texas.