''I'm just a typical horse-crazy girl," says Lizzie lwersen, Kalispell native turned host for Equine Live!, a horse focused program on RFD-TV based out of Nashville, Tennessee. "I can't remember a time when I wasn't passionate about horses. It has always been part of my identity." 

If passion is defined as a "strong and barely controllable emotion," then it is easy to say that lwersen has had the rare privilege of combining what she loves most - a love for horses with a career that allows her to get paid to talk to others about them. 

Iwersen always wondered how she might incorporate horses into her career, but claims it was sheer luck that she landed the job at RFDTV. However, when "Rural America's Most Important Network" needed a liaison between the equine market and a television audience, lwersen seemed destined for the position. There is a contagious exuberance in watching her whether it be talking horses on TV or watching her blonde braids fly back against a cloud of dust as she rounds the barrels, grinning from ear-to-ear atop her horse Quikory - her love for riding and all things horse are obvious.

"What I've been hired to do at RFD-TV utilizes both my ability to communicate with professionals in the equine industry, and the English degree I earned at the University of Nevada, Reno," lwersen explains. "I love my job and many of the people I have admired and aspired to be like are now people I call friends. I have to pinch myself when I see I've missed calls from Tyler Magnus (nine-time competitor at the National Finals Rodeo and winner in 1995) or have a text from Pam Minick (former Miss Rodeo America and recent inductee to the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame). Having those sorts of people in my life now helps keep me focused and gives me goals to work toward."

Working in the Equine Marketing division of the station lwersen's professional role mirrors the diversity of her personal interests. On air with various RFD-TV equine programmers, she has the opportunity to interview clinicians and facilitate questions from outside callers from all over the United States about horsemanship training, or technique. She writes for the station's magazine and travels internationally - having just returned from Brazil - and then to Amarillo, Texas to visit the American Quarter Horse Association Hall of Fame and Museum. She laughs that she was like “a kid in a candy shop," being able to immerse herself in the history of her breed of choice, the American Quarter Horse. Currently she's organizing 100 palomino horses to accompany RFD-TV’s annual float in the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California. In addition, one of the most unusual facets of her position is to escort a stuffed Trigger and Bullet, the famous Palomino horse and German Shepherd from The Roy Rogers Show on what RFD calls the "Happy Trails Tour." The tour takes her to fairs and events around the country so fans of The Roy Rogers Show can have their picture taken with the famous 1950s duo.

The youngest of four children, lwersen worked hard to accomplish whatever goals she set her mind to. While lwersen's athleticism enabled her to make her mark as an accomplished snowboarder and tennis player, even winning two state titles for Flathead High, it was ultimately riding horses that captured her heart. Her first real introduction to competition came when she became active in 4-H and began attending a local horse show, in Columbia Falls at age 10. Her mother Teri lwersen explained how caring for an animal furthered not only her daughter's interest in horses, but taught important life skills like responsibility and pride of ownership. Paraphrasing a Winston Churchill quote, Teri said, "there is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man." 

After competing in horse shows for several years, where a rider is subjected to a judge's opinion, lwersen discovered the thrill of rodeo sports, where it is just a rider, a horse and a time clock. By the time she purchased a horse from her best friend Ivy Brown, she was addicted. Lizzie and her mom spent many a mile in their truck, hauling to compete in the Montana High School Rodeo Association in barrel racing, pole bending, goat tying and breakaway roping, garnering a few All-Around Cowgirl titles along the way.

"High School Rodeo was a great time in my life and my mom's as well," Lizzie recalls. "She and I spent time with great coaches and teachers, wonderful horses and we both made lasting friends."

Lizzie generously credits both her parents' support and encouragement for her achievements in the sport, even if her father prefers wielding a tennis racket to a bridle and reins. As you might imagine with its rough and tough image, there are not as many women as men participating in rodeo events, but the interest is growing. Many clinicians have begun offering classes specifically targeted at recruiting women to the sport.  The number of women in team roping has been steadily increasing over the past few years.

lwersen said she fell in love with the overall camaraderie and atmosphere of the rodeos she both attended and competed in while growing up. Giving an overview of the sport of rodeo, she explained that it is generally divided into two basic categories: the rough stock events and the timed events. Professional rodeos comprise of the following events: Bareback Riding, Steer Wrestling, Team Roping, Saddle Bronc Riding, Tie-down roping, Barrel Racing and Bull Riding. Depending on the sanctioning organization and region, other events such as breakaway roping, goat tying, or pole bending also may be a part of some rodeos.

Shortly after college, lwersen traveled to New Mexico to learn the nuances of team roping, an event that features a steer and two mounted riders. The first roper is referred to as the "header." the person who ropes the front of the steer, usually around the horns, but it is also legal for the rope to go around the neck, or go around one horn and the nose resulting in what they call a "half head," the second is the "heeler," who ropes the steer by its hind feet, with a five second penalty assessed to the end time if only one leg is caught. Team roping is the only rodeo event where men and women compete equally together in professionally sanctioned competition, in both single-gender or mixed-gender teams. Recently, she was featured as a guest on an episode of "All Around Performance Horse," demonstrating the heading and heeling technique with host john Klam. Despite her busy work schedule, lwersen stays active in her limited free time as a team roper in Nashville. Most weeknights lwersen can be found horseback, in the roping pen working to perfect her skills. Many weekends, lwersen travels to both compete as well as help put on ropings with JX2 Productions, a southern team roping association. 

The line between work and play has been blissfully blurred for lwersen. Work may have moved her from her western roots in Montana, where she proudly credits as the launching pad for her current success, but she happily hangs her hat in Tennessee now. She says the South, jam-packed with kind-hearted, friendly folks, is a way of life that suits her well. Practicing her Southern drawl, lwersen can be heard telling people that she's 'Montana raised, but Southern by the Grace of God.'

Smiling broadly, lwersen admits, "Not a day goes by that I don't say to myself, 'I'm a lucky girl.’”

 

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Article courtesy of 406 Woman Magazine