Photo by Samantha Davis Rider Kiesner engages with the audience at the PRCA Rodeo at the Lyon County Fair on Thursday night. He was the rodeo clown throughout the night and also did a speciality act with his wife, Bethany Kiesner.

sdavis@marshallindependent.com 

MARSHALL — The Lyon County Fair hosted a Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) rodeo Thursday and Friday evening. Various events were held like saddle broncs, tie down roping, bareback riding, bull riding, barrel racing and a kids boot scramble. 

PRCA pro announcer Jesse Knudsen called the event, who has been calling rodeos since 2005. A highlight of the night was a show from Rider and Bethany Kiesner, professional speciality rodeo acts. Rider competes in trick roping, whip cracking and gun spinning, and also was the rodeo clown who engaged with the audience throughout the night. Bethany is a trick rider, and performs stunts on her horse like standing and hanging upside down. 

The two first got into rodeoing in very different ways. 

Rider is a fifth generation cowboy and won his first buckle at 5 years old. When he was nine, he was given a Will Rogers trick roping kit for Christmas, and continued practicing tricks until they were mastered. He began performing professionally at 11. 

Rider’s parents and some extended family are originally from Minnesota. His grandfather trained Arabian horses and rode for fun, while his dad rode more seriously. 

“I like doing the show more than I like competing,” Rider said. “I grew up doing an act with my family, and then when I turned 18, I started doing it by myself. Since then, I’ve performed in every state in America and 10 different countries. This is all I’ve done since 2003.”

Rider and his brother, who rides saddle broncs, still compete at rodeos. 

Bethany was not raised in a rodeo family, but still managed to find the love for it when she was first exposed to horses. She started trick riding at 9 years old, and began performing at rodeos with her twin sister at 10. 

“When the stable opened up in my hometown, my mom went and got me and my twin sister some horse riding lessons, thinking it was a little pastime thing we would do,” Bethany said. “Little did she know how addicted we would get. Three months later she owned two horses.”

 Bethany earned her PRCA card at 18 years old to pursue full time trick riding. 

“It was at that stable, about three months after we started riding, that me and my twin saw a lady doing what I do. She was doing gymnastics on a horse’s back,” Bethany said “We were just taken back … I was very blessed and fortunate that the same lady we watched perform, who inspired us, came and gave us lessons and taught us. It was a year later that we were traveling all over.”

Bethany’s trainer is also the one that first got the couple together, without them knowing at the time. 

“We (herself and Rider) both knew my coach, and my coach always thought we would be a very cute couple,” Bethany said. 

Bethany’s twin had to drop out of trick riding due to sustaining career-ending injuries, leaving her with needing a partner. Her trainer called both Bethany and Rider separately, saying each of them wanted to work with one another. 

“I thought he wanted me on the road, he thought I wanted to go on the road with him,” Bethany said. “Somehow, we did end up going on the road together. We did a season of shows. I was still in college … But I came home and we totally clicked. It was after that summer that we started dating. So, that’s how we met. We got tricked by my coach.” 

Bethany and Rider currently reside in Oklahoma, although spend a majority of the year traveling. 

“Rider and I now, this is how we make a living. We’re gone typically from about January through mid-November,” Bethany said. “We’re somewhere almost every weekend, sometimes through the week.” 

Through the acts Bethany and Rider do, there is always a caution of safety with their tricks. 

“I do crack whips on fire. I spin ropes on fire … This is a PRCA rodeo, this is a Barnes Pro Rodeo,” Rider said. “They bring in some top livestock, but they also bring in some of the top contract personnel. Like during the bull riding, when I’m in the barrel, two of the best bullfighters are going to be there. So, they keep me safe. This is a bigger event, this isn’t like a smaller rodeo. Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, this is the big leagues.” 

Bethany hangs from her horse as it runs full speed around the arena. 

“We prepare the best we can … I hang off of them, and then it’s up to them to make the choice of what they’re going to do,” Bethany said. “I’m so blessed. God has given me two of the most amazing horses that really try to take care of me. But, anything can happen … They’re typically really good, but there’s for sure been instances where they’re having to make decisions on the fly, and I can’t.” 

Bethany also said since each arena every week is a different size and ground feel, she will take time to practice with her horses and get them comfortable in the setting. Although with live shows, anything may spook the horse. 

“It’s having trust in them that when I’m upside down doing my thing, they’re going to do their thing and take me where I need to go,” Bethany said. 

The training Bethany and Rider maintain is rigorous, and done through repetition to where it becomes muscle memory. 

“It’s a lot of practice, it’s like juggling … What I do is manipulation arts,” Rider said. “I yo-yo, I juggle, I unicycle … I’ve been really blessed. I’ve carried a rope since I was a kid. Like when I was growing up, we’d rope every chicken, dog, cat, if there was something that moved, we’d probably roped it. I’ve been roping all my life.” 

Bethany partakes in various workouts throughout the week, especially through pilates, weightlifting and yoga. 

“It’s very physical …  I work out a lot, definitely want to make sure my upper body and core can pull me back up,” Bethany said. “It’s physical for them (horses). They see chiropractors, and we have special things we do on them and keep them fed well. So, it’s very physical for both me and the horses.” 

The two together have performed at several big events. They also competed on two television shows, NBC’s Spartan Ultimate Team Challenge and TBS’ Go-Big Show. They also won the 2020 PRCA Dress Act of the Year title. 

Rider also is a two-time all-around western performer world champion, four-time world champion trick roper and two-time gun spinning world champion. 

In addition to the crowd cheers and putting on entertainment, the Kiesner’s favorite part of what they do goes to deeper meaning.  

“I love what I do,” Bethany said. “My favorite part would have to be just the little girls that look up to what I do. I love getting out of a performance and having little girls come back to my trailer and (seeing) how much they look up to me.”  

For Rider, carrying on the family tradition brings him fulfillment. 

“I’ve grown up in rodeo … It is my family,” Rider said. “It’s a family entertainment, it’s a family show. We’re keeping that part of American history alive, you know, this is what we’ve done for generations. I like keeping that part of America alive.”