story by Michele Toberer
Botsford Performance Horses represents a lifetime of horse passion for Emily Botsford of Sparta, Michigan. Horses have been a constant in Emily’s life, which started out in Bailey, Michigan where she competed for many years in Appaloosa breed shows in multiple disciplines. However, she moved to Sparta 12 years ago, and in addition to showing, Emily started barrel racing approximately 7 years ago, and rodeo has become a major part of the 23-year-old’s life since then. “We have a 25-stall barn where I give riding lessons and do training and boarding. My mom, Becky Botsford, manages and runs the barn, and I do lessons and training. I was homeschooled my senior year and graduated in 2014; homeschooling enabled me to focus on my passion and ride and show horses full-time.”
As a third-generation trainer, Emily has learned much about the business from her grandfather, Sam Bull, who owned a breeding and training barn in Bailey. “He gave me a strong foundation in horses and in helping build the horses’ foundations.” She has also ridden with a multitude of different trainers and in different disciplines to help build her foundation along the way. “I believe we never stop learning and can always learn something from others. You have to be open minded.”
Emily joined the Mid-States Rodeo Association 3 years ago, and took her liver chestnut gelding, Refined Cowboy, to his first rodeo. She bought Cowboy off the track and raced him at barrel racing jackpots for over a year before joining the MSRA. “His first rodeo he got scared at the first barrel and I wasn’t sure he was going to make a rodeo horse, but I was determined to do it and started going to rodeos and getting him used to the sights and sounds. He settled in and we started doing well at the rodeos, but then he was hurt in November of 2017, and he was off for 6 months. He wasn’t quite the same horse when he came back last year and we were working through it, but then I had a freak accident at a barrel race, and broke both my tibia and fibula and had my own 6-month recovery to deal with.” After her long recovery, the pair started out together once again and Emily found out how mentally tough coming back from injuries can be. “It’s not an easy road, and I’ve had to take baby steps in gaining my confidence back. I actually thought about selling Cowboy and had the ad written up, but I couldn’t do it, he’s my special horse and I knew I needed to keep with it.” She was able to get back to her first barrel race again this past April, and after getting back in the saddle both physically and mentally, she and Cowboy have found their way back to themselves. “I had a tough year last year, but I’ve got my goal set on making the MSRA finals this year, and I’m raising some barrel racing bred babies that I’d like to do some futurities with, and I’d like to see how far I can get in the rodeo industry.”
Emily is appreciative of her supportive family; her dad Tracy who works in excavation, and her brother Connor, 17, are not into horses, but cheer her on in all she does. She’s also grateful for her boyfriend, Dallas Winkelman, who helped her immensely during the time she was injured.
Emily enjoys the friendly people in the MSRA and likes traveling the rodeo trails. As a youth competitor, she went to the Appaloosa Youth World Championships many times and has been in the top 5 and 10 in the world. She’s grateful to be sharing that passion with many of her students today, as she coaches them at horse shows and barrel races. “There’s a big difference between the rodeo and show world, rodeo is a little more laid back and doesn’t require the same level of grooming. But the foundation of horses is the same, just movement and carriage is different. I’m on the road a lot with horses for work and play, but I love it and am passionate about it, so I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
