Meet Taylor Manning, two-time Canadian Finals Rodeo Average and Year-End Champion.
Taylor Manning is a force to be reckoned with, even at 20 years old. Manning dominated the 2024 CFR aboard 2016 gelding Little Sexcee Cowboy, winning or placing second in four of the five rounds inside Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta October 2-5, 2024.
Banking $55,357 at the 2024 CFR, Manning now has more than $700,000 in EquiStat lifetime earnings. Her finals mount, “Archie” thrived in the small setup at the CFR and her goal was to keep the barrels up.
“He really loves those small indoors with walls and likes deep ground,” Manning said. “And I was lucky, the CFR was a really small indoor so it was kind of his setup. And you kind of come from the left side in the alleyway and he goes left. So I it was just really good setup overall for him.”
With seven CFR qualifications, Manning said she still gets nervous, but said it’s also excitement. Manning practices at the open arena times the morning before with her mom, assessing each detail of her run to make improvements and make sure her horses are feeling good.
“My mom always says when you go to the CFR, you never know how it’s going to go,” Manning added. “Some years, you have good years, other years, it just doesn’t go as planned. But my goal always going in is to ride every stride with my horse, just to make sure I’m trying to feel as much as I can throughout the run and try and make sure I got my first barrel.”
“Archie” was purchased by Manning and her mom as a weanling from Grant and Rayel Little. The standout palomino gelding by Guys Casanova Cowboy has more than $260,000 in EquiStat lifetime earnings, all with Manning in the saddle. After hitting barrels on Archie at the 2023 CFR, Manning knew clean runs were important on the small pattern.
“I kind of missed my first barrel in two rounds and I was a little bit disappointed with my timing so Saturday we were allowed to ride at five in the morning,” Manning continued. “So we got up and worked [Archie] and then those two last rounds, he worked really good.”
Proven to be a talented rider and trainer, Manning first won the CFR Average Championship in 2022 aboard Bringin The Bling (Blings Smooth Guy x Six Moons For Nick x Dr Nick Bar).
“I honestly don’t think I would ever do anything else with my life. I love horses. Like everything is horses, every single day.”
Competing since she was 7 years old, Manning grew up around horses as her mom is a barrel horse trainer in Canada. Living and breathing horses, Manning knew she wanted to train horses from a young age. She takes in three to five outside horses each year when she is in Canada in addition to her own horses. This year, she’s spending the winter in Texas to prepare her futurity horses.
“My goal is to futurity more,” Manning added. “I want to train and futurity down here one day, there’s so many big futurities and so much money. I want to become a better trainer and just work on my horsemanship, and hopefully one day I can build a strong enough team of horses to maybe try and make a run at the NFR.”
Only running at a few rodeos in the U.S., Manning noticed that the patterns are usually bigger than in Canada and the ground is different. One of her favorite things is running young horses in rodeo atmospheres for the first time and seeing her training and work come together. Manning encourages other young barrel racers to always keep working hard every day, to love your horses and to always be open minded with learning.
“I think that’s the only way you can get better,” she said. “While I’m down here [in Texas], I can learn more and more. I’ve been trying to ride with Rayel a lot and it’s been really fun.”
Get To Know Taylor Manning:
Barrel Horse News: Who is your mentor?
Manning: “That would definitely be Rayel Little. I love her training style. She’s probably one of the nicest people to be around. She’s just amazing overall. It’s pretty cool to get to watch her ride.”
BHN: If you could run any barrel horse, who would you want to run?
Manning: “That would be a tough one. There’s so many nice ones out there. I really do love MJ Segers Fast Lane, I think she’s very cool. But Brandon is very good jockey. I really like Jarvis (Force The Goodbye) and Hello Stella. They’re pretty cool.”
BHN: Do you have any pre-competition superstitions?
Manning: “I’m pretty superstitious. I don’t ever run with money in my pocket. I believe ladybugs are either good luck or they’re meant to show you how lucky you are and everything you have. But I also believe the harder you work, the more luck you’ll create for yourself.”
BHN: Favorite snack on the road between rodeos?
Manning: “I love Red Bull. I know it’s not really snack, but Red Bull is my favorite drink.”
BHN: If you didn’t barrel race, what sport would you do?
Manning: I probably would play basketball. I got to play basketball when I was younger, and I loved it. I think I’m a pretty competitive person.”
BHN: Do you prefer music or podcasts when traveling?
Manning: “I would say both. I like to listen to a lot of the barrel racing ones, like Between the Reins. My traveling partner, Jennifer Neudorf is kind of the DJ, so we listen to whatever she plays. She’s pretty fun to travel with.”
BHN: What is your favorite rodeo?
Manning: “The Calgary Stampede was really cool to compete at this year. The committee treats you very well, and when you go in for the grand entry, it’s just such a big deal. It’s very cool to get to run there.”
