Shayla Currin is climbing the Columbia River Circuit standings—not on her seasoned chestnut gelding, but on a 4-year-old Tricked Out Spook mare named “Trixie.”
In the past six weeks of ProRodeo, Currin and Trixie have earned $8,944, highlighted by a 1.9-second win at the Payette County PRCA Rodeo in New Plymouth, Idaho. Their run of success has Currin sitting No. 4 in the Columbia River Circuit standings with $12,375.
Trixie’s résumé may surprise some. Her second jackpot came in the lane setup at the Crooked River Roundup in Prineville, Oregon, in late June. From there, Currin hauled her to Cowboy Christmas slacks, with her first official rodeo performance in St. Paul, Ore.
“I would say her athletic ability and her mind are key to how well she’s handled everything,” Currin said. “She not only has the physical ability, but the mental ability to keep it together at these rodeos. For her age and experience, she’s incredibly confident and secure.”
Currin had planned to season Trixie slowly, relying on her veteran horse “Jake” for most of the summer. That changed when Jake came up sore at the Snake River Stampede in Nampa, Idaho. With Jake resting at home, Currin turned Trixie loose on the big stage—with little expectation.
Needless to say, Trixie had other plans.
Finding Trixie
Currin first spotted Trixie in a Facebook sale video on Horsebid.com, an online auction platform. Raised on homebred horses, Currin had never purchased one online—but something about this mare caught her eye.
“She had a very deep, long stop and I could tell she had some speed,” Currin said. “In a breakaway horse, I look for a good stop and speed. If your horse isn’t fast enough, there’s nothing you can do about it. But with speed often comes nerves and hotness. I wanted a horse that had all the qualities, but one I could bring along mentally without blowing her up.”
Nate Ballerino had the mare roping the sled for about a month before listing her. Originally in a reining program, she was sold after her owner’s passing, with Tanya Jenkins—who owns Tricked Out Spook—helping liquidate the estate.
Currin bought Trixie in August 2024. The transition to breakaway roping, she said, was “seamless.”
“I’ve had her less than a year, and she’s already one of the best breakaway horses I’ve ever ridden,” Currin said.
Currin comes from a rodeo family. Her father Tony qualified for the NFR in steer wrestling in 1987, and her mother, Kelli, qualified for the National Finals Rodeo in 1990 and 1991 riding the family’s stallion, Captain Biankus. Currin herself focused on barrel racing until 2024, when she sold her horse.
“Doing maintenance on a barrel horse is a lot, and winning is very horse dependent,” Currin said. “If you don’t have a top horse, there’s not much point in entering. In breakaway, you still need a nice horse, but you can make up for things with your rope.”
Currin started breakaway roping in college. Her only chance at the College National Finals Rodeo came in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, she turned to circuit rodeoing and has since qualified for the Columbia River Circuit Finals three times.
Breakaway Mode
Currin first hauled Trixie to Arizona, where she took months to build a foundation—roping the dummy, tracking calves, and easing her out of the box. After eight months of basics, Jake’s injury in June pushed Trixie into the spotlight.
“My mindset this summer was, ‘No matter what happens, I am not getting mad at her,’” Currin said. “‘This is a seasoning year. If she’s late or makes me look dumb, I’m not going to care. My goal is for her to be a good rodeo horse one day, and I’ll do whatever it takes to give her the confidence to be that.’”
Currin’s 2025 Northwest Winnings
- Basic City Freedom Rodeo, Basin City, Wash. — $1,274
- Sedro-Woolley Rodeo, Sedro-Woolley, Wash. — $560
- Payette County PRCA Rodeo, New Plymouth, Idaho — $2,238
- Omak Stampede Breakaway, Omak, Wash. — $368
- Farm-City ProRodeo, Hermiston, Ore. — $4,509
Since June, Currin and Trixie have been rodeoing as much as Currin’s position at Equine Network as digital marketing analyst allows.
And Trixie has been shining, taking on the July Fourth fireworks and packed summer performances without batting an eye. So steady, in fact, that Currin says sometimes they’ve been late out of the box.
“We still have little green moments, but she’s very flat and quick,” Currin said. “I can see more than some people because I know she’s going to fire to the calf. At Lynden, Wash., she came up when I dropped my hand instead of going flat. It made us a little late, but that’s just her greenness—learning how I want her to leave when I drop my hand.”
As the summer run continues, Currin will be looking for her fourth Columbia River Circuit Finals qualification, all while maintaining Trixie’s confidence.
