The WRANGLER Horse and Rodeo News is an equine and rodeo publication with circulation in Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota, Utah and Idaho.
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46 • The WRANGLER • September, 2024 Blazing a New Trail Blazing a New Trail At three yeArs oLd, young Allora Leonard began to foster her love of horses. Her mother, Amy, was training her own cutting and reined cowhorses at the time. "I decided that I wanted to go off into barrel racer land when I got older. So, we started turning all our cowhorses into barrel horses." Allora ran barrels competitively from an early age to about fourteen. She started competitively, showing cow horses at about twelve years old. It was an easy transition for her to go from barrel racing to showing reined cowhorses, because her mom had taught her how to ride like she, herself trained. A family friend had a horse that needed kept in shape, so she began showing in the Stock Horse of Texas Association (SHOT). Allora spent lots of time learning how to do all the different classes involved with the show. That first year she had great success within the youth division. From that moment on, she was hooked! Another opportunity came about for her to keep a different horse in going and continue to show. Shortly after, her parents got her a cowhorse of her own. Her parents found the perfect match from renowned reined cowhorse trainer, Ben Baldus. "My mom and I prayed about it and decided to take a chance on him." She and her horse, Hank, have racked up the gold buckles over the years, including the Limited Youth All-Around World Championship at the Versatility World Show, in Guthrie, Oklahoma. She also won the All Around for the Open Derby in 2022. As a six-year-old, Hank and Allora showed themselves to a year-end All- Around World Title in the SHOT Association. Her goal was to continue showing him this summer, but God had bigger plans for her life. Her music career was about to take high flying, twirling, corde lisse twist. Rewinding for a moment to her childhood, Allora began to find another passion welling up inside. She found a little voice that so delicately came out in the form of music lyrics. She was eight when she was asked to sing the national anthem at a local rodeo. This opened the doors for her to explore the sound of music. Her father, Clayton, always had an appreciation for music, and played it on the radio while traveling down the road. She recalled that their time spent together often centered around enjoying all genres of music. Although Allora was homeschooled, she was afforded the opportunity to participate in music classes at the local high school. These courses fostered her love for music and musical performances. When she was fourteen her parents surprised her with a trip to Nashville. Allora remembers, "It was at that moment that I realized, this is what I want to do. This is what I feel like my calling is; I want to try to go for it!" By Reba Talbott how did A cowgirL end uP singing for cirQue du soLeiL? Left: Allora Leonard-Hank performs on stage in the performance Song Blazers. Photo Credit: Cirque Du Soleil Right: Allora competes in the fence work on her horse Hank. Photo Credit: Kelsey Hellman.