Olivia Train endured a rocky road en route to her first Ruby Buckle experience in South Jordan, Utah, but it paid off to the tune of the $14,025 Derby Win aboard Fame Aint Easy.
Train and the 2017 buckskin mare by Aint Seen Nothin yet and out of Beholda Star Is Born by Behold A Beduino clocked a 16.077 in the first round of competition at the Ruby Buckle West, then returned to clock a 16.231 in the second round. Her sixth-place finish in Round 1 earned her $1,020 as the owner of “Addi,” plus $128 for breeder Kelly McCormmach and $128 to Aint Seen Nothin Yet. In the aggregate, she earned $10,200 for herself, and $1,275 each to McCormmach and ASNY. In total before rollovers and sidepots—including Train’s rollover to the Rookie Ruby competition—she added $14,025 to the horse’s lifetime earnings.
“I don’t even think this has sunk in yet,” Train (32) said. “This is our biggest win ever. I’m just so proud of her. She was so confident, and just did amazing.”
The win felt like a perfect alignment in the stars to the Myrtle Point, Oregon, native after the fact—but it nearly never had the chance to happen.
“I almost didn’t make it here to even exhibition,” Train said. “My parents and I left a barrel race in Powell Butte and headed toward Utah, but on the way a distracted driver came into our lane and sideswiped our trailer. It was crazy. People were stopping on the side of the road to help us, then some of our friends drove three hours out of their way to come get us and take us back to Powell Butte because our trailer had to be towed.”
Overwhelmed with concern for her horses and the stress of the accident, Train made the decision to head home, return to her full-time job as a dental hygienist and skip her first Ruby Buckle event.
Well, almost.
“My friends told me (going home) wasn’t an option,” Train said. “Once we knew the horses were okay, somebody brought us a living quarters trailer and informed us that they weren’t letting us miss this opportunity. At that point I was questioning if it was even meant to be. So many people showed us support and encouraged us to try, and we ended up heading to South Jordan and barely made it in time to exhibition.”
From there, Train turned heads in the building on her aggressive mare in a heavy pair of leather split reins. On her second run, she even blew her outside stirrup early on and was seemingly unphased.
“I didn’t even realize I’d lost it because I was focused on just staying with her,” Train said. “She’s hard to ride and very touchy. If I sit down or drop my outside rein she snaps back hard. I’ve hit a lot of barrels on her. So the split reins are kind of my crutch with her—it keeps me square when I ride two-handed and I can ride her more honestly.”
It’s no surprise that Train knows the mare’s every button—she purchased her as a yearling from McCormmach and did all of Addi’s training on her own. Columbia River Circuit barrel racing fans likely recognize the Oregon cowgirl and Addi’s maternal bloodlines. Addi’s late maternal sibling, Ought To Streak was the same mare Train qualified twice to the Columbia River Circuit Finals aboard and earned the 2019 CRCF win on.
“Losing Streaker was hard,” Train said. “She gave me my first taste of winning and taught me what a great horse felt like. I think that made this win even more emotional. I loved that mare so much that I bought Addi, and another sibling from Kelly out of the same mare, and I’m grateful she allowed me to do that.”
Olivia has competed along with her mother, Kelly for many years. After rising up the junior and high school rodeo ranks, Olivia earned a scholarship to New Mexico State University to compete on the collegiate rodeo team while earning her bachelor’s degree in chemistry. Now, she’s enjoying her shot at training her own horses and raising up two babies out of Ought To Streak by Aint Seen Nothin Yet—a cross she believes will fit her well.
Click here for full Ruby Buckle West results at www.TheRubyBuckle.com.