Senior McKenzie Ludwig has been riding horses since 2020, and it has brought so much joy into her life. Her rodeo journey has not only taught her dedication and perseverance, but also patience and love.

¨I’ve always loved horses and the moment after I started riding I was the happiest I’ve ever been. I had tried a million other sports but none had made me that happy ever,¨ Ludwig states.

Her journey all started due to her fear of roller coasters. When offered a trip to Disneyland she was too scared so instead she decided to take an all day trail ride in Bryce Canyon. This is where her love for horse riding was first developed.

Ludwig states, ¨After that ride I decided that I needed to continue to work with horses.¨

One of the biggest challenges that Ludwig has encountered with horse riding is the amount of injuries that happen to her horses. Horses get sick, they get hurt, and age. Ludwig has had to learn how to work around these setbacks and also had to learn to adjust to new horses if the injury is too bad.

Ludwig explains, ¨Every time each horse had problems, I had to basically start from scratch reform a bond, figure out their quirks, and how they work, and figure out how we work together.¨

Though horse riding for Ludwig isn’t like any other sport. In the rodeo she is surrounded with a positive atmosphere where she is constantly given support and encouragement. Unlike playing with a team, she does not have to feel like she is letting anyone down, instead she is constantly being built up and building others up.

¨The thing I love most about rodeo is probably just what a good atmosphere it is,¨ Ludwig says, ¨No matter how bad or good you perform. Everyone is really supportive. No matter how many times you fall off everyone always make sure that you’re okay and everyone is very willing to help you and to give you tips and tricks and especially since I’ve jumped around from horse to horse everyone has been so willing to help me figure out that horse and that’s amazing.¨

Over the years Ludwig has gained many accomplishments including becoming Las Vegas Gymkhana Association Champion of the 2024 to 2025 season. This title was not easy to gain, she had many obstacles to overcome but in the end she was gifted a fifteen hundred dollar saddle that she got to completely design herself.

Ludwig stated, ¨It was the coolest thing ever because I had been through a lot of hard things with different horses dealing with my own nerves and that season was not easy because my horse was 30 years old had a bone chip and really shouldn’t have been running, but he loved it.¨

Ludwig hopes that she will be remembered as an athlete who was not only hardworking but also a great companion in the rodeo. She dreams of becoming a coach where she can help others who share the same dreams and love for horseback riding as she does.

Ludwig explains, ¨I don’t remember a single instance where something was handed to me in this rodeo world, and I hope people in and out of the arena remember that I never made fun of them for falling off, I never made fun of them for screwing up. I want them to remember that they fell off and I came up and hugged them and bought them a soda so they could keep going.¨