HORSE rider Maddi Allen has returned from the Quarter Horse Youth World Cup in Texas with big dreams, and a job offer to consider.
The 16-year-old spent a month in Bryan-College Station, twin cities in the Brazos Valley region of Texas, where she represented Australia at the global event.
While she brought home medals and helped Australia to finish in second place, Maddi was also mesmerised by the culture and infrastructure and wished she could have stayed longer.
“It was incredible, I loved it, I want to go back already,” she said.
“Just the horse facilities over there are so much better than Australia … it was hot though, close to 40 degrees every day, similar to Mildura in the summer but way more humid.”
Maddi’s mother Lesley Allen, stepfather Paul Henschke and stepsister Riley explored the Lone Star state, including trips to Palo Duro and Caprock canyon as well as many of the state’s national parks.
But Maddi had no time for sightseeing.
“The first week I was there, I was just training, while I was training the rest of my family got to have a look around,” she said.
Mrs Allen said that she very much enjoyed exploring the area.
“We took an RV and travelled around … at Caprock canyon we got to see some of the introduced bison, they roamed right near us, so that was cool,” she said.
One aspect of American life that pleasantly surprised Maddi was the presence of fast food, even in small towns.
“I liked Sonic (Drive-In), no one has really heard of it in Australia but there was like three in each town, a town of Wentworth’s size would have had three,” she said.
“They had this drink called cherry limeade which was a standout for me.”
The Year 11 Mildura Senior College student has grown up on her family’s 8000-hectare farm at Willamba Station in Pirlta.
Although she was born into it in a sense, her passion is ultimately what has carried her to where she is now.
“It’s early mornings, long days and hard work … the horses needs always have to come first,” Mrs Allen said.
“I think she’s become very dedicated to what she puts her mind to.
“She actually got offered a job while we were over there, I have no doubt she’ll get to where she wants to go. I don’t think you could do it without the passion for it.”
When asked about her love for horses and the potential to be a horse trainer in the future, Maddi said both were always on her mind.
“I’d say I’m an animal lover but definitely horses more than other animals,” she said.
“There’s so many options to choose from, I love working with them and gaining a reward from them after teaching them for a long period of time. I’d love to be a horse trainer.”
Both Maddi and Mrs Allen agreed that every now and then, a special horse comes along.
“When you’ve got a horse that you can trust it’s just amazing, one of the horses I used to ride, it just felt like we have this really deep connection,” Maddi said.
“You don’t have to ask them anything, you just have to think about it and they know what you want to do.
“I had my first quarter horse (named Basil) which was a tough horse that would buck, rear and be naughty.”
Mrs Allen added: “We paid a couple of bags of feed for him, they were about to put him on the dog truck, they couldn’t deal with that horse anymore,” she said.
“Maddi was about seven or eight at the time and he was not an easy horse at all.”
Maddi says: “He was the most influential horse for me, he taught me how to ride and how to stay on a horse, he wasn’t the best competitively but he gave me a good taste of what it’s like to compete.”
For the young horse enthusiast, it’s just a matter of getting through Year 12 next year because she already has a good idea of what the next chapter is likely to bring.
