“Never Thought”: Texas Rodeo Queen From Small Town Reflects on Journey Towards Dominating the Big Arena

The third Professional Rodeo Performance Team in the nation is to receive recognition from the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. The Texas Spirit Riders are here to create history. But for the team that started in 1996 with just six riders from different parts of East Texas, the road to this esteemed recognition has not been easy.

A small dream morphed into a reality, and now three teams with thirty-two riders compete in yearly rodeos—a big step up from their hometown origins. Recently, they received a career defining promotion by the PRCA, giving wings to their big arena dreams and also acting as a far cry from the roots they hail from. Their team captain evoked a lot of emotions about their career trajectory.

Rodeo community applauds all-female team

Led by Erica Bednarz, the team has had an incredible journey, conquering challenges and dispelling stereotypes related to being an all-female squad. The Texas Spirit Riders are putting their impugners to rest as they receive their pro-cards reported by ketk.com by Fox51. Speaking about their accomplishment, Bednarz, hailing from a sleepy little hamlet said, “we were those girls that never thought we would make it to this point, and, you know, we look at these young girls and go, you can do this too.”

Erica also echoed her thoughts regarding how bizarre their trip had been, stressing that it didn’t feel genuine until they arrived in Las Vegas for the National Finals Rodeo Convention. The Winnsboro-based team includes players from a variety of East Texas towns, including Paris, Pittsburg, Jacksonville, Rusk, Palestine, Bullard, Tyler, Cooper, Lone Oak, and Hallsville.

The rodeos commit their Sundays to practice, not just a story of individual success; it’s a story of breaking down barriers and redefining expectations in the professional rodeo industry. Apart from the unexpected dirt ground results, the team also underwent the grave loss of their teammate.

Overcoming tragic loss and bereavement

Erica took on captaincy in August 2020. Their goals were to significantly advance the equestrian drill team sport and improve the rodeo industry. But tragedy struck a few months when Lynsey Berger was killed in a head-on collision. Under Bednarz’s direction, the team was already preparing for a new chapter when they suffered an unanticipated and tragic loss.

And the squad was forced to play their first game of 2021 without their beloved member Berger-a leader, friend, and sister to the girls.

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Bednarz and the group made the decision to move forward in honor of Lynsey’s memory despite the intense grief. “Lynsey would want us to make it all the way to the NFR using her memory as our strength,” she stated. In Berger’s honor, the team only found strength to cope with their own loss and turned it to a strong driving force moving ahead. Now, their next stop will be the National Final Rodeo.

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