Horse & Rider USA – September 2019

64 / HorseandRider.com

W

hen you see Alex Bauwens’ Insta-

gram page, you get the real deal.

No filters, no Photoshop, just photos

and videos showcasing her daily riding

adventures. Sometimes it’ll be a video

of her doing a trick shot off the back of

a horse with her bow and arrow, other

times she’ll have her drone in the sky

to follow her as she treks through the

untouched desert terrain, and occasion-

ally you’ll see photos of her most recent

artwork as a professional painter.

It doesn’t matter where she is or what

she’s doing, Bauwens always finds a way

to enjoy life from the back of a horse.

Horse Crazy

For as long as Bauwens can remember,

she’s been horse crazy. Growing up

in Northbrook, Illinois, her love for

horses started at 3 when her mom,

Julie, got a horse:

an appendix Quar-

ter Horse named

Diamond Dancer.

“I was the kid that

insisted on wearing

their riding clothes

to school,” Bauwens

jokes. “Since then,

my whole life has

involved being

around horses.”

From the first

time she had a

chance to sit on

Diamond Dancer,

horses were all

Bauwens could

think about. And to

prove to her family

that she had what it took to be dedicated

to the sport, Bauwens began spending

as much time at the barn as she could,

pulling weeds and mucking out stalls.

From there, she began taking jumping

lessons and immediately fell in love

with it. However, shortly into her riding

career, her mom was in a riding accident

that left her in the hospital.

“I still remember the accident like it

was yesterday,” Bauwens shares. “For

some reason I decided to drop what I

was doing and run to the arena to watch

my mom show. Right as I got there, I had

this weird feeling, and when I looked

up, I saw her coming around the corner

and head toward an in-and-out fence.

Her horse dropped a toe and stumbled

to his knees, throwing my mom into the

second fence, back first. He then jumped

the second fence, nicking my mom’s face

in the process. She had to be taken out of

the arena by ambulance.”

After a full recovery, her family

decided to trade the English saddle for

a Western one and was introduced to

the world of AQHA all-around events by

trainer Diane Eppers.

The beginning of her all-around

career started when Bauwens had the

opportunity to ride AQHA high-point

champion and All American Quarter

Horse Congress

champion, Sleepy

Cloverdale—a

horse many riders

could only dream

of riding. By the

ride's end, her

family was hooked,

and shortly after-

ward, Bauwens got

her first horse, Just

A Kiss Of Class.

“‘Ladybug’ was

only 3 when we got

her and she only

did the Western

pleasure,” Bauwens

says. “She taught

me a lot because I

had to learn how to

do the all-around with her.”

Their ability to work as a team

showed, and Bauwens and her horse

went on to place at some of the top

events in the country, including a third-

place at the Congress. But her favorite

win came from an event Bauwens and

her mare typically didn’t enter in.

“I remember being at a horse show

and seeing the trophies they had on dis-

play—they were beautiful sculptures.

I found out they were for a halter class,

and I decided I was going to show my

little horse against all these real halter

horses,” she says with a laugh. “When I

told everyone I was going to enter that

class, they looked at me like I was crazy.

I ended up winning grand champion

mare and took home eight trophies.”

Introduction to Reining

After seeing some success in all-around

events, Bauwens got a taste for reining

thanks to her grandfather, who had been

involved in the sport for a few years.

“My grandpa was at Jose Vazquez’s

house and they had Smart Like Juice out

of his stall,” she shares. “I remember my

grandpa asking me if I wanted to spin

him, and that was the first time I ever

rode a reiner.”

It’s a feeling that sticks with you for-

ever—the first time you spin a reining

horse—and after that ride, Bauwens

knew she wanted to compete in reining.

Soon after, she found out that her grand-

pa was going to sell his horse, and de-

cided to buy his horse and say goodbye

to the all-around. Not long after buying

her first reiner, she was introduced to

reining trainers Dan and Wendy Huss.

“I would see Dan and Wendy at the

horse shows, and remember one of their

customers, Ian Barnard,” she explains.

“He was such a good rider and always

looked like he was having fun. I knew I

wanted to train with them after seeing

the way they helped their non pros.”

Bauwens credits the Huss group

with helping her become the rider she

is today —allowing her to break out of

her comfort zone and start working

with horses that vary in experience

and trying out different disciplines, like

mounted archery.

“Dan and Wendy don’t try to fit a horse

to their program. They always taught

me to adjust my program to fit the needs

of the horse,” Bauwens says. “The horse

always comes first with them. And that’s

very important to me. It’s one of the

many reasons I look up to them.”

Many competitions stood out to Bau-

As a kid, Bauwens insisted on wearing her

riding clothes any chance she could.