Local saddle club humbled by national O-Moke-See success

While equestrian takes center stage at the summer Olympics every four years and rodeo events showcase cowgirls shuttling horses around barrels, the sport of O-Mok-See remains obscure to the rest of world.

But in the Flathead Valley, the competition that is derived from a Native American phrase meaning “games on horses”  is alive and well thanks to one small saddle club on West Valley Drive in Kalispell.

O-Mok-See competitions consist of timed speed pattern races which are run in four 30-foot lanes. Events can be as simple as pole bending—where the rider and horse must weave through six poles down and back—or as intriguing as the Devil’s Cowhide event—rider and horse dragging a teammate from behind with a rope, racing down the lane, around a barrel and back.

The Flathead River Riders Saddle Club is taking the O-Mok-See community by storm with their recent success at the 2014 National Saddle Clubs Association National O-Mok-See Championships in Buffalo, Wyoming.

“It’s kind of neat because the Flathead River Riders is a pretty small saddle club and nationals brings in people from all over the U.S.,” Beth Romain said of her recent trek to the national competition.

“It brings together a lot of small saddle clubs. A lot of similar people compete in nationals. The sportsmanship is incredible. Everyone is there trying to help each other out even though they’re competing against one another.”

The 30-year-old Kalispell resident took home the overall national championship in the Women’s division on July 19-25—an achievement that seemed so far away after an unfortunate road to success.

Romain, who posted the fastest keyhole race time out of every age group, was diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome— a neurological disease that can cause chronic pain to any area of the body.

“I lost control of my legs a little bit, and I wasn’t able to ride for two years,” Romain recalls.

“I had been getting back into it and it’s like my therapy. My doctors have seen how its improved my overall well being.

“I don’t do it to win.  It’s for fun, and it’s for the adrenaline rush. I’m in it for fun and I don’t take it for granted.”

Romain wasn’t the only Flathead River Rider to take national accolades back to Flathead Valley.

The dynamic family duo of Amanda and Heidi Schmid had a successful haul in Buffalo as well.

Amanda took home a silver buckle from the national event which is awarded to the second overall finisher in the women’s division. While her partner, Romain, edged her out in the competition, Amanda says that’s not why she got into the sport.

“I like the people. It’s really family-oriented,” she said.

“We’re all friends and get along really well, and you get to run six times a day versus rodeo barrel racing where you get one run.”

She didn’t shrug off her national finish completely, and was impressed with her horse, Joe, who has been improving with each competition.

“I was ecstatic!” she said.

“I finally got a good horse about two years ago and we just clicked. I almost broke the pole record and that was very exciting.”

The Schmid family wasn’t done celebrating in Wyoming.

Amanda’s younger sister, Heidi won the overall national championship in the 12-15 age group. It was her third national championship in her short o-mok-see career.

“It was great.” she said of her championship title.

“I was pretty surprised because I didn’t know I was going to win. It was pretty close down the stretch.”

In a sport focused on family and community, this sibling rivalry may heat up in the coming years. Heidi, now 16, will move up into the same division as Amanda, a reality both of them are excited to explore.

“We always go to events together, and we always travel together, but we never got to compete against each other. But I am moving up a division for next year so we’ll see what happens,” Heidi said.

The Flathead River Riders seek to grow in members for the coming years, and they are getting plenty of help from youngster Madi Wilson.

At just eight years of age, with two years of O-Mok-See experience, Wilson took first place overall in the eight-and under-division.

Riding a horse named Blue, who she borrowed from another member in the saddle club, Madi was in awe of her experience in Buffalo and at the opportunity to compete against riders from across the nation.

“It was pretty tough to compete at that level and it was a lot fun,” Wilson said.

She may be new to the sport but she already has a favorite event—thanks to Blue’s ability.

“Western jumping. I like that because I never tried it before on this horse. I never knew he jumped so high. Now, I really like it.”

The arena on West Valley Drive presents a lot of opportunities for riders in the Flathead Valley. The small saddle club isn’t focused on making money or collecting as many awards as possible. The Flathead River Riders are about family. It’s the community surrounding o-mok-see that Romain believes will help the local saddle club grow.

“It’s kind of unfortunate; it seemed like when I first started the clubs in the Valley were lager,” Romain said.

“But we’re hoping to put our name out there. It was pretty phenomenal for such a small club to go to nationals and bring home three of the seven titles. We encourage new people to come and teach them the different events so they can go at their own pace. That’s a nice way to show people what a great community it is. It’s so family oriented.”