Rayel Robinson

Rayel Robinson (also known as Rayel Little) is a Canadian horse trainer and Barrel Racing Champion. She won the Canadian Barrel Racing Championship in her sport in back-to-back wins in 1990 and 1991, and repeated in 1999 and 2005. She was reigning champion of the Ponoka Stampede in 2005, 2006, and 2007. She trained Tia, the horse who was awarded the Most Heart designation of the Canadian Finals Rodeo in 1991 and 1992 and in a single year had five horses that she trained qualify for the Canadian Finals Rodeo. She was inducted into the Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in 2017.

Rayel Robinson
Born
Rayel Call

1964 (age 55–56)
Redding, California
NationalityCanadian
Other namesRayel Little
OccupationHorse trainer and barrel racer
Years active1982-present

Early life

Rayel Call was born in 1964 in Redding, California, but moved with her family to 150 Mile House, British Columbia, Canada when she was ten years old.[1] Around the same time, she began competing in barrel racing events.[2] She graduated from Columneetza Senior Secondary School in Williams Lake, British Columbia in 1982.[3] That year, she won all-around cowgirl at the National High School Finals Rodeo, held in Wyoming.[4] Based upon her performance at the rodeo, she was offered a scholarship to attend Casper College in Casper, Wyoming. In June 1983, she won the Central Rocky Mountain Regional barrel racing trophy[3] and the following month, took top honors in barrel racing at the Williams Lake Stampede.[5] While she was in school, Call met Bruce Robinson, a member of the faculty of Casper College, at a rodeo event and they married in 1984.[1][6] Her husband participated in calf roping events[7] and first qualified for the Canadian Finals Rodeo in 1985, two years after his wife had first qualified.[1]

Career

Shortly after their marriage the Robinsons began training horses and located to Sundre, Alberta, where they operated an 80 acre ranch.[1] In the winter months, the couple competed and trained in Arizona, returning to Canada in mid-March.[2] In 1990, Robinson won the Canadian Barrel Racing Championship[8][9] and the following year, repeated as champion.[10] In 1991, she qualified for the first time for the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, having set the earnings record that year in the Canadian finals.[1][8] Her earnings represented the first time a woman had broken the $30,000 barrier in a single season for the Canadian Pro tour.[2] Her horse Tia won the "Horse with the Most Heart" award from the Canadian Finals Rodeo in 1991 and 1992, which is the award honoring the barrel racing horse with the fastest time.[11]

By the end of the 1990s, Robinson had moved to Alix, Alberta, when she repeated as Canadian Barrel Racing Champion in 1999, aboard her Quarter Horse Bud.[10][9] In 2004, she won the Barrel Futurities of America World Championship mounted on Lady Perks, owned by Grant Little.[12] She won her 4th Canadian barrel racing championship in 2005, astride the same horse[13] and that year, won the first of her three consecutive annual championships at the Ponoka Stampede.[9] In 2007, she won her 19th trip to the Canadian Finals Rodeo, a qualifying record among barrel racers.[14]

Robinson married Grant Little after 2010, and the couple resided in Thorsby, Alberta, for half the year and in Maricopa, Arizona, for the rest of the year.[12][9][15] Little continued to train horses and compete, but devoted most of her time in barrel racing to futurities rather than professional racing.[12] In 2017, Little was inducted into the Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame. Among her many accomplishments, it was noted that she had trained five horses who all qualified for the Canadian Finals Rodeo "in a single year".[16]

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References

Citations
  1. Knack 1992, p. C10.
  2. The Tribune 1991, p. 18.
  3. The Tribune 1983a, p. 10.
  4. The Billings Gazette 1982, p. 17.
  5. The Tribune 1983b, p. 7.
  6. Meachem 1990, p. C1.
  7. Moser 1989, p. C1.
  8. Knack 1991, p. H2.
  9. Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame 2017.
  10. Vallis 1999, p. D8.
  11. CPRA Media Guide 2013, p. 111.
  12. Mankin 2019.
  13. Erickson 2005, p. E8.
  14. Stock 2007, p. F5.
  15. Dwyer 2018.
  16. Stovin 2017.

Bibliography
  • Dwyer, Jordie (July 4, 2018). "Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame Inductees Displays Unveiled". Ponoka News. Ponoka, Alberta. Archived from the original on May 22, 2020. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  • Erickson, Dwayne (November 14, 2005). "Texan Treasures First CFR Title". The Calgary Herald. Calgary, Alberta. p. E8. Retrieved May 22, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  • Knack, Marty (November 15, 1991). "Barrelling along to Fame and Fortune (pt. 1)". The Edmonton Journal. Edmonton, Alberta. p. H1. Retrieved May 22, 2020 – via Newspapers.com. and Knack, Marty (November 15, 1991). "Rodeo (pt. 2)". The Edmonton Journal. Edmonton, Alberta. p. H2. Retrieved May 22, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  • Knack, Marty (November 6, 1992). "These Robinsons Rope and Ride to the World's Best Rodeos". The Edmonton Journal. Edmonton, Alberta. p. C10. Retrieved May 22, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  • Mankin, Julie (January 18, 2019). "Rayel Robinson and Dutch". Team Roping Journal. Boone, Iowa: Cruz Bay Publishing, Inc. Archived from the original on May 22, 2020. Retrieved May 22, 2020.Original publication 1 December 2010.
  • Meachem, Greg (April 25, 1990). "Robinson Couple Live in Harmony Ridin' the Rodeos". Red Deer Advocate. Red Deer, Alberta. p. C1. Retrieved May 22, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  • Moser, David (November 29, 1989). "Barrel Racing Gaining Notoriety". The Leader Post. Regina Saskatchewan. p. C1. Retrieved May 22, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  • Stock, Curtis (November 5, 2007). "Canada's Big Rodeos Paid Big for Season Leader Stoney: Rayel Robinson". The Edmonton Journal. Edmonton, Alberta. p. F5. Retrieved May 22, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  • Stovin, Ted (March 16, 2017). "Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame Announces 2017 Inductees". Everything Cowboy. Calgary, Alberta: Everything Cowboy Inc. Archived from the original on May 22, 2020. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  • Vallis, Mary (November 15, 1999). "Horse Gets Second Chance, Barrels Home for Robinson". The Edmonton Journal. Edmonton, Alberta. p. D8. Retrieved May 22, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  • "Call Wins Region Award". The Tribune. Williams Lake, British Columbia. June 9, 1983. p. 10. Retrieved May 22, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  • "2014 CPRA Media Guide: Timed Event Horses of the Year Records" (PDF). Rodeo Canada. Airdrie, Alberta: Canadian Professional Rodeo Association. 2013. p. 111. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 22, 2020. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  • "Call Captures Barrel Racing Crown in Successful Homecoming". The Tribune. Williams Lake, British Columbia. July 5, 1983. p. 7. Retrieved May 22, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  • "Pole Bending Lifts Cowgirl". The Billings Gazette. Billings, Montana. July 30, 1982. p. 17. Retrieved May 22, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  • "Rayel Little". Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame. Calgary, Alberta: Canadian Rodeo Historical Association. 2017. Archived from the original on April 20, 2019. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  • "Robinson Didn't Rest on Her Laurels". The Tribune. Williams Lake, British Columbia. December 19, 1991. p. B2. Retrieved May 22, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.

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