Almost as soon as she could sit up as a child, Cayla Melby has been sitting in a saddle.
The 10-year-old proved her riding skills and her competitiveness by taking first place in the National Barrel Horse Association State Finals.
Melby won the open barrel race - competing against youth and adult riders - and taking top prize out of 217 riders at the Red Horse Ranch in Fergus Falls.
Her feat included winning a horse trailer and a cash prize. And, of course, she has a new belt buckle to join the dozens that her family has earned over the years in competition. Cayla rode to victory on horse "Suree," a 10-year-old quarter horse.
Taking first overall is a big feat for the fifth-grader from Nevis Elementary School.
Her mother, Jane, took second.
As Cayla was making her winning time of 15:40 flat, she had the support of her family. Jane was atop her horse waiting for her turn. The mother and daughter Melbys were the only competitors in the fastest division of the finals.
Cayla's brother Colton, 12, was watching from the sidelines. "He looks like he's going to fall off the fence, grinning from ear to ear," Jane recalls of seeing Colton's reaction.
"I was thinking: here comes the trailer," Colton recalled.
Cayla sat cool in the saddle. "I feel confident and usually I don't get very nervous," she said of competition.
Horsemanship is a family tradition the Melby's Los Gauchos Ranch, northwest of Pine River. The name (Spanish for "The Cowboys" Ranch) is fitting.
Ryan and Jane run the horse ranch full time and train horses. In the summer they'll have between 70-80 horses on the ranch and around 150 horses in the winter.
"Here riding horses is work and we all have to work," Jane said.
The whole family, including Cayla, chips in.
Cayla's father, Ryan, team ropes, calf ropes and competes in steer wrestling. Jane is a barrel racer through and through. Cayla competes in barrel riding and breakaway roping. Colton, 12, does breakaway and team roping.
The family enjoys competing in the Minnesota Rodeo Association (MRA) rodeos because the kids are able to compete as well.
The whole family is ranked leading into the MRA State Finals held Oct. 3-4 at the Red Horse Ranch.
Cayla sits at third in barrel racing and 12th in breakaway roping. She's trailing first place by 4.5 points in the all-around category.
Ryan is leading all-around, steer wrestling, team roping and is sitting seventh in calf roping.
Jane is leading barrels. She just sold her horse and has one month to train in a replacement.
