'It's pretty special': Grant Township sisters qualify for barrel racing world championships

CLYDE TOWNSHIP — Riding a horse is one thing. Riding a horse at full speed, while making sharp turns and evading obstacles, is another thing entirely.

For sisters Cheyenne and Brooke Hillock, the latter is something they do every day. And the Grant Township natives are quite good at it.

Both qualified for the 2024 National Barrel Horse Association Youth & Teen World Championships in Perry, Georgia, which begin Sunday and run through July 27.

While this won't be their first trip, it's the first time the two sisters have qualified in the same year.

"Now we get to do it together, have fun and cheer each other on," Brooke Hillock said. "It'll be more exciting (than before)."

"My horse and I have come a long way since we first went (to the world championships)," Cheyenne Hillock said. "So, I'm excited to see how much we've improved."

"It's pretty special to me that they both made it together," said Jessica Hillock, who is Cheyenne and Brooke's mom. "They're really close (as sisters)."

Barrel racing is an equestrian sport where a rider and its horse must navigate around three barrels in a cloverleaf pattern.

"It's pretty complex," Jessica Hillock said. "You go as fast as you can and try to perfect your turns. It's a timed event."

"You don't want to knock any barrels down," said Kathy Williams, who is Jessica's mom and the girls' grandmother. "So, when they come around, (the riders) have to make sure they get the horses clear of the barrels."

Williams has 48 years of 4-H experience. Jessica, meanwhile, had her own career in competitive barrel racing, which included multiple appearances at the world championships.

To be clear, Cheyenne and Brooke weren't pressured into the sport. But just like their mother, they fell in love with it at a young age.

"We've been doing this since we were little," Brooke Hillock said. "Probably before we could walk."

"I used to babysit when they were little," Williams said. "And everybody went to the barn with grandma and papa. They started off riding Molly, a little pony."

"Then, they worked their way up to a lot bigger horses," Jessica Hillock said. "I taught them how to ride and they got a really good seat. … It's pretty special that they like to do the sport that I like to do. Just to watch them be so passionate about it, like I was — they decided they wanted to do this. I don't even compete anymore. I just love watching them, teaching them and guiding them."

The sisters practice at Williams' horse farm, RK Inspiration, in Clyde Township, which features both an indoor and outdoor arena.

"We ride every day," Cheyenne Hillock said. "We ride in the winter."

"We always tell them (barrel racing) is like being on a basketball team," Williams said. "You can't be first string if you don't practice. Because that's where your winners come from, when they practice, practice, practice. That's what they've done and that's why they've accomplished so much."

For Cheyenne and Brooke, the sport's most challenging aspect — co-existing with the horse — is also the most rewarding.

"You just have to have a bond with the horse and get along with it," Brooke Hillock said. "I enjoy having that bond and being able to connect."

"You've got to trust your horse so that they can trust you," Cheyenne Hillock said. "Because they don't know what they're doing until you teach them."

"They've worked really hard to build that (trust)," Jessica Hillock said. "When you first get a horse, you've got to learn how to ride them and figure out how to run them. You have your ups and downs. There's been times where it's been really tough, where they'd go in and have a few bad months of not being where they want to be. But after all the time and work they've put in, they've come so far."

Come Sunday, they hope to go even further.

"I'm looking forward to clean runs, faster (times) and to try to place," Brooke Hillock said. "If I can't (place), then I just want to be happy that I had a clean run."

"I want them to do their best," Jessica Hillock said. "If they qualify for the finals, that would be amazing. They have just as good a chance as anyone else because they work really hard. They deserve it."

Contact Brenden Welper at bwelper@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrendenWelper.