Enterprise-Journal
Laura Sumrall knows all about horses.
The Summit native has been honored many times over for her ability in horse reining, an equestrian sport based on athleticism, agility and grace.
Last summer, she was crowned world champion in reining at the World Championship Palomino Show. She’s been featured in Horse Central magazine and has videos posted on YouTube.
And those are just a few of her many honors. The 16-year-old has a room full of trophies, plaques and championship belt buckles.
Sumrall’s love of horses began when she was still a little girl.
“I’ve been riding since I was 5, and I think I got my first pony when I was 6,” she said. “I originally started showing, and I decided I wanted to be this big rodeo queen. They have a pageant in Jackson — it’s called the Dixie Nationals Pageant — and I had to have a horsemanship horse, and that’s what brought me into showing horses.
“Then, eventually, while I was showing the Western Pleasure Horsemanship and Showmanship, my dad got bored and decided he wanted to start reining and then I picked up on that and loved it also.”
Laura, her dad Hiram and her mother, Dr. Dawn Sumrall, know almost all there is to know about the sport.
“Reining consists of big fast circles and small slow circles. You have to change leads and change direction,” Laura said. “We’re kind of mainly known for the spins and the big sliding stops. The sliding stop is kind of the signature thing. We … compare it to figure skating on horseback.”
While most other high school students are relaxing over the summer, Laura will be practicing with her new horse, Einstein’s Fancy Pine, or “Smartie.” Smartie lives with Laura’s trainers in Arkansas, and she will be there most of the summer.
“I competed mostly with Mini Me for the past three years, and this past December I got a new horse, who is now 4,” Laura said. “I’m really pushing it hard on her — I’ll be gone all summer long for that. I’m going to Oklahoma City, Lexington, Ky., and then I’ll be back in Oklahoma City for the American Quarter Horse Youth World.”
That competition is set for June 23. If Laura places, she’ll compete again on June 26.
Laura, a junior at Parklane Academy, said success in reining starts with the horse.
“The way their body is built — their confirmation — is a huge deal in reining,” Laura said. “If they have certain things that aren’t proportioned just right, injury is a lot more likely to happen. You want a horse that’s going to last and hold up and not have to be fighting injury all the time. They need to have athleticism and heart. Heart’s the biggest. If they don’t want to do it, then they just won’t.”
The Sumralls have 10 horses on their Lazy H Ranch in Summit, and more horses that live on their Liberty ranch.
The horses’ dedication and love make all the difference.
“That’s what makes a good reining horse a great reining horse — if they’re willing and they enjoy their job,” Laura said. “If they don’t enjoy it, they usually don’t make it very far.
“Mini Me loves people and loves me and dad, and she puts it all out there for us. The same thing with Smartie. She’s really got heart. They both do.”
Laura’s mom is said to be the driving force behind her daughter’s success. She choreographs all of Laura’s routines and cheers on her daughter from the sidelines.
“My mom got us into the horses. She wanted to ride horses and have horses at the ranch, and I kind of took it and ran with it,” Laura said. “My brother (Austin) stayed in it for a while and then he dropped off and went into sports. But once I got hooked, I was hooked for good.”
Dawn Sumrall said her daughter’s love of the sport shows in every routine she performs.
“It’s exciting. She loves it so much, and she’s so talented,” she said. “It’s really so much fun to watch her and cheer her on. It’s a very addictive sport. It’s never boring to watch.”
Laura’s father is also “addicted” to reining. Dawn said husband Hiram wasn’t content to sit and cheer from the stands — he wanted to get in on the action and performs too.
“Reining is the No. 1 fastest growing equestrian sport in the world,” Dawn said. “People describe it as the beauty of figure skating with the action and excitement of rodeo. … It’s really elegant and beautiful, athletic and exciting.”
Dawn and her daughter are constantly brainstorming to come up with new and unique performances for the freestyle events.
“We think about them all the time; we listen to songs and get ideas,” she said. “When movies come out and are really popular, we think about that.”
Dawn said she’s filling out the paperwork now in preparation for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Reining is set to be added to the list of sports for the worldwide contest. Laura will be competing in the U.S. Equestrian Federation trials soon.
“Hopefully it will be the next Olympic sport,” Dawn said. “It’s being set up for the next Olympics. … Right now, I’m filling out all this pre-Olympic paperwork. They have to meet all the Olympic requirements. The horses have to be sequestered. The athletes and the horses have to be drug tested, and the horses have to have pass DNA testing.”
The Sumrall family participates in reining not only for the love of the sport but also for the relationships they have forged with fellow competitors.
Hiram said he basks in his daughter’s success. He added that he has gained celebrity as well — as Laura’s father.
“I’m just a proud daddy. They call me ‘Laura’s dad,’ ” he said, grinning.
