story by Lily Weinacht
Myah Anderson has been around horses most of her life, and she’s spent her fair share of time in the audience at rodeos until two years ago, when she decided to become a competitor. “I thought it would be cool to try it out, and since my grandpa Charlie roped and was really good at it, I decided I wanted to do something he did,” the nine year old explains. Myah hails from Billings, Montana, and joined the Big Sky Little Britches franchise when it began in 2015. She qualified for the 2016 NLBFR in goat tying, barrel racing, pole bending, and flag racing, accompanied on the 18 hour drive to Guthrie, Oklahoma, by her dad, sister, and grandma. “It was really fun to go down there! My great-aunt and uncle, and my second cousin and her sons also came to watch me, and it helped a lot to have everyone there cheering me on.”
Myah proudly wears her NLBFR qualifier buckle, and she’s keeping up her riding through the winter, even though Little Britches doesn’t start until February. “I’ve always wanted to do barrel racing, so it’s my favorite. My best friend, Maddie, rodeos with me, and I like competing with her,” says Myah. “I’m going to the NFR for the first time, and I’m hoping to see lots of barrel racers there.”
She competes in all of her events on Blizzard, a 25-year-old gelding. While Blizzard has a white coat, he’s named such because he was born in a Montana blizzard. “My grandpa gave him to me, and he’s a really good horse – I love him a bunch. I want to keep using Blizzard for goats, but I need to start looking for a new barrel and pole horse so he can start calming down,” Myah explains. “We have another horse, Little Pete, but he’s naughty, so he mostly keeps Blizzard company.”
Myah rides and practices when she’s with her dad, Kirk, while she spent Thanksgiving travelling and visiting family with her mom, Carlie. Myah has three siblings, Jordan (18), who is in basic training for the Marines, Maci (13), and Reese (12). “Reese has ridden horses, but now she plays volleyball and basketball. Maci is legally blind, and she goes to school near Great Falls (Montana). She has a bunch of friends there and really loves it, and she comes home to visit.”
A fourth grader at Alkali Creek Elementary School, Myah especially loves art class. She enjoys drawing, and recently finished a project for art bingo. “Since it’s getting really cold up here, I’m hoping to find a volleyball team to play with for the winter,” she adds. “When I get home from school, I like to play with my dog, Hazel, who’s nine months old. She’s an Australian Shepherd and we like to play fetch in the backyard. We also have a ten-year-old collie, Lad.”
Myah’s goals for the new season of Little Britches include running a 15.9 or faster in the barrel racing. “When I’m running home, I wiggle my hands in front of me, but I’m working to hold them still and let Blizzard go,” she says. “If I can fix that, I think we can do really good on barrels and poles!”
