A Duce Trumps Europe

Trick riders and Cossack riders at the grounds in Berlin. Katie and Jerri are standing with one of the Cossack riding judges on the right.

In April, Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame inductee Jerri Duce was invited to Europe to put on some trick riding clinics, plus judge the German Championships near Berlin, Germany.

Duce, who has a successful trick riding school in Alberta, plus an active movie stuntwoman career, was accompanied by trick rider Katie Connolley who helped at Duce’s clinics. Connolley also competed—and won—the trick riding division of the 2017 German Championship.

“It was a great event,” says Duce. “They treated us very well.” The competition featured ancient cavalry sports such as tent pegging (where a mounted horseman riding at a gallop uses a sword or lance to pierce and carry away a small ground target—a symbolic tent peg), Cossack riding (a lot of trick riding, plus Roman riding skills and sharp sabres), knife throwing from a galloping horse, trick riding and mounted archery.

And you thought the West was wild…