Horsewomen 'Peel-the-Apple' at the fair

From April until August, a group of women mount their horses and practice a bevy of maneuvers weekly in order to put on a special show once a year. he show is the Mineral County Fair, and the women belong to the horse drill team called the Skyline Drifters.

Armed with silver flags and decked out in special costumes, the eight-member team delights rodeo fans with a five-minute choreographed show before the competition begins. They trot, gallop and spin their way around the dirt arena — performing things like “Peel-the-Apple,” Circle Pairs” and “The Arena Sweep.”

This year, long-time team member Ashley Blaylock choreographed the show, while drill master Mary Jo Lommen helps to direct from the crow’s nest perched above the arena.

“‘Peel-the-Apple’ is new this year and is a difficult maneuver,” said Blaylock. “If the spacing isn’t correct and the horses are too close then they can get bunched up. If that happens they need to slow down because you want to keep two horse lengths in between each rider.”

To do it, the group rides in a big circle and then gets smaller and smaller until they get to the center rider, who then backs around and “unpeels” the circle. Another new maneuver this year is the “Circle Pairs,” which is two big circles and then the riders meet in the middle at the same time. Another difficult move is “The Arena Sweep,” because the riders are at a faster lope with the horses head to butt all done at a faster speed.

THE SKYLINE DRIFTERS makes the performance look easy, but collisions do happen. The horses may get too close together, they may kick each other, or get spooked by the flags, the audience or even the rodeo chutes that are being loading with livestock for the upcoming rodeo.

During practice a few years ago, a horse reared-up and landed on its rider, and on another incident a horse tripped and rolled over the rider.

Though there were no serious injuries, these types of incidents may happen. “Horses have a mind of their own and you can’t always predict what may happened,” Blaylock said.

Prior to becoming a member of the drill team, the women have to learn safety procedures and do a safety ride before the safety committee.

Members are 12 years and older, and must be skilled horsewomen.

This year’s youngest rider is Emma Hill, who will be a senior in high school this fall.

In addition to the fair, the group also rides in the 4th of July and fair parades. This year, they were dressed in red, white and blue outfits and won first place in their category in St. Regis.

The Skyline Drifters will perform on all three nights of the Mineral County Fair, just before Family Night on Thursday, Aug. 2 and during the Superior Lions Club Rodeo on Aug. 3 and 4.