Horse cutting may have a certain degree of luck involved, but it’s no coincidence young Emma Reinhardt followed her father Doug into the sport.
Doug Reinhardt, of Irricana, has been cutting since 1992, four years before daughter Emma was born.
He said he doesn’t know what he would do if he wasn’t cutting.
“I’m getting too old to do anything else,” he said.
At 45, Reinhardt has his six-year-old horse Reyligious rounding into prime form, all the more reason to keep at it for the time being.
“By the time you get to six, you got what you got,” he said of cutting horses.
“Six to seven is usually their prime.”
Likewise, 14-year-old Emma has her six-year-old horse Kit Date, or Cheeseburger, his nickname after being a bit pudgier in his early years, to look after at showings.
So far, Kit Date is doing everything right but they “just haven’t had the best of luck” with the cattle.
The most common pitfall is for a cutter to lose the cattle during the event.
“It’s happened to lots of people, you just kind of calm down and keep going,” she said.
The community of cutters is a small, tight-knit group, something the younger Reinhardt appreciates.
“All the cutters, we’re just one big family — we all look out for each other.”
She joined the unique family at age nine when she finally had enough of being a spectator.
Despite having great admiration for barrel racing, she said her father “didn’t really agree with the idea” and she stuck to cutting.
“It’s kind of a lot of a pressure, people expect you to do really well as a trainer’s kid.”
Living up to the pressure is something she has done with ease when she won the cutting event at the 2008 Calgary Stampede.
This year’s cutting event had more American competitors that are older and more intimidating, according to the teenager.
“When I looked at the draw I saw some people from the (United) States, it kind of gets you a little worried,” she said.
“They just look more serious.”
Father Doug isn’t concerned for his daughter, he knows she is already a savvy veteran of the game.
“She is way farther ahead of me when I was her age,” he said readily.
“These kids are lucky ‘cause they get to ride such nice horses.”
What Doug enjoys most about her performance is the continued improvement and study of what it takes to be a great cutter.
“It’s kind of cool to see Emma get better and better all the time.”
Doug finished 10th in the open finals and Emma placed sixth in the youth finals.
