Riley Walburn – Up and Coming Youth Exhibitor

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414 – July/August, 2023

By Susan Winslow

Eleven-year-old Riley Walburn is quickly making a name for herself in the show pen. As the middle child of parents Katelyn Rice Carruth and Seth Carruth of Beebe, Arkansas, she has a five- year-old sister, Abbi, and a thirteen-year-old brother, Connor. The active fifth grader at Liberty Christian School loves school, taking trips with her family, swimming, and riding in the family’s side-by-side, but her main love is horses. It’s a passion she shares with her maternal grandparents, Butch and Robin Rice of Beebe, Arkansas, who have fostered her interest from the moment they saw her interact with their racehorses when Riley was just a tot.

Riley says, “I’ve loved horses since I was a little girl.” Her grandfather, Butch Rice, explains, “Robin and I have had horses since we got married thirty-five years ago. We had a business raising and selling Thoroughbreds. Riley first started going to the barn at three years old, petting on the mares, and we would place Riley on their backs in the stalls. She was a natural. It was Robin’s mom, Patsy Weaver, who introduced Riley into learning more about horses and spending time with her at the barn.”

Riley has come a long way from the fearless toddler on her grandfather’s racehorses. Her grandfather says, “We got her some riding lessons with Corey Everhart, owner of Corey Everhart Show Horses in Ward, Arkansas, and he spotted innate talent in Riley. Corey said to me one day, ‘This girl can ride, and we should get her into showing.’ We started out with Riley in Walk/Trot and Trail competition on a horse named A Lopin Sweet Dream.” Robin Rice adds, “We have to thank Corey, as well as Dream’s owner, Kay Hardin, because Kay was gracious enough to lease Dream to us for Riley for a season to see how it was going to go. It went really well, and Riley was hooked!”

Realizing that Riley’s interest was much more than a passing fancy, they then purchased Back Alli Invitation, Riley’s all-around horse. Working with Everhart, Riley made steady progress to national competition. Butch recalls how Riley learned very quickly to memorize patterns, saying, “I’ve ridden Trail, so I know how hard it is to memorize and ride a pattern, but Riley picked it up very quickly. She has an excellent memory, and I think learning to memorize patterns has made it even stronger.”

Click here to read the complete article
414 – July/August, 2023