Written by: Siri Stevens

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Colby Gilbert has one more year of school at the University of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada to become an Registered Nurse. She picked the field because of the flexibility. “You can go anywhere and do anything and there are also so many fields that intrigued me. I really enjoy kids, so I like maternity and pediatrics.”  Although she loves the nursing world,  the 21-year-old loves barrel racing more, and has secured a spot in the Canadian Finals Rodeo coming in November.

She grew up rodeoing through her mom and dad, competing in the amateur ranks and the semipro association, making the finals five times. “Mom is a futurity trainer, and my dad was a steer wrestler, he pro rodeoed, but it was mostly my mom that got me into it.” Andrea Udal raised Colby as a single parent and to keep things financially together, she carefully picked horses, trained them, and sold them to continue to improve on the bloodlines.

“I sold all of our horses so we could buy more and reinvest,” said Andrea. “She made the Finals on three different horses and won the amateur Finals on a six year old futurity horse. There’s not a day goes by that I’m not proud of her.” Andrea has since remarried and now has two young sons. ““They are the funniest things ever,” said Colby, of her two little brothers, Parker and Haye. “They keep me entertained.”

Colby is grateful for her mom’s investments of time and training with the horses. “I fell in love with every single one of them, but my mom has been good for me in that every time we gave one up, we got a better one. It made me more versatile getting on so many. I don’t think I’ve made any Finals on the same horse. I enjoy being successful on different horses – for me that’s a huge accomplishment. She does the great job of training the futurity horses and I’m the jockey that takes them from there. We are great team and hopefully will be for a long time.”

This is Colby’s first year competing on the pro level and thanks to her equine partners, she made it to the Finals. She is riding two different horses from Fulton Performance Horses. “They are outstanding. Their natural ability is like nothing I’ve ever experienced.”  She started the year on a 6-year-old mare, Streakin Ta Corona, and finished the year on a stud, French Streaktorodeo.  “When I got him, they had roped on him, and I derbied him as a six year old. He went to his first rodeo last year.  He makes is so easy. He’s so easy minded and easy going. He loves his job and so gritty. I think he’s one in a million.” Both horses are owned by Corny and Maria Wiebe, and Colby’s mom trained the mare and won high point at the Canadian futurity on her. “We’ve become family,” said Colby of the relationship between her and the Wiebes.

She managed to get to 45 rodeos in spite of her work towards her nursing degree. “It’s been really time consuming, I guess I’m good at prioritizing,” she said. The Canadian Finals Rodeo falls during a week in November that school is out. She will finish her degree in December, work on her practicum until April then she is done. “I’ll come down south with my WPRA card. So look out, here comes Colby and French Streaktorodeo.” She loves nursing and the people that she can help and be around, but her first true love is barrel racing. “I always wanted to be a barrel racer.” And now, thanks to two great horses, she gets to go to her first Canadian Finals Rodeo, as the Resistol Barrel Racing Rookie of the Year.

Cutline for the family photo

It was 2014 CCA Finals. I won rookie of the year and the CCA Finals Ladies Barrel Racing championship and my sister Hallie Anderson (half sister) won Junior Girls Season Leader, Horse of the Year as well as the Finals Championship as well! Very exciting and memorable year for all of us!