Each year, Art of the Cowgirl’s flagship event brings together an award-winning lineup of presenters and performers—experts of their craft who have spent a lifetime honing their skills and are passionate about sharing them with our one-of-a-kind audience. Access to these demonstrations and performances is included with event admission. Please refer to the schedule of events for specific times and locations.
2026 Featured Presenters
Chelsey Bushnell
My name is Chelsey Bushnell, and I am from Red Bluff, California. I am a trick roping creator and cowgirl with over 200K engaged followers across Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. Blending western tradition with high-impact social media content, my goal is to bring brands and music to life through authentic, visually captivating trick roping and roping. I have roped my entire life, and it is truly my passion. I work for Cactus Ropes, Saddlery, Gear, and Cowboy’s Choice Feeds, and I also am an Assistant Rodeo Coach at Cal Poly. I love the western industry I work in and am grateful to have found a unique niche that allows me to share this lifestyle with people both online and in person.
Carrie Hirshberg
Carrie Hirshberg is a dedicated trainer, clinician and coach in the sport of Cowboy Mounted Shooting. Her passion carries forward in shaping mounted shooters into better riders, creating better performers and teammates for their equine partners. "Improve the rider. Improve the horse. Improve the performance." - Carrie Hirshberg
Audré Etsitty
Audré Etsitty is a Diné horsewoman who is passionate about helping others reach their personal and professional goals. As a certified Equine Facilitated Learning (EFL) instructor Audré works to promote healing through horses by providing Diné-centric EFL services.
Alanna Kaivalya, Ph.D.
Alanna Kaivalya, Ph.D. is an author, educator, and women’s empowerment guide devoted to helping women reclaim their worth, vitality, and deep satisfaction—without losing themselves in the process. With a doctorate in Mythological Studies and Depth Psychology, Alanna bridges ancient wisdom with modern life, offering grounded, practical tools for women who carry a great deal of responsibility and care. She is the author of The Way of the Satisfied Woman: Reclaiming Feminine Power, a book and body of work dedicated to restoring resilience, balance, and inner steadiness for women who give deeply to their work, families, careers, and communities. Her approach honors effort and devotion while teaching women how to remain nourished, resourced, and whole. In this 45-minute experiential talk, Alanna Kaivalya, Ph.D. explores what it means to live with a strong back and a soft front—to stay resilient and capable without hardening or burning out. Drawing from psychology, myth, and the lived wisdom of Western women, this session offers practical insights and embodied tools to help cowgirls honor their effort, recognize their value, and reconnect with their inner steadiness. Participants will leave feeling grounded, affirmed, and reconnected to themselves—better able to sustain the life they love without sacrificing their own well-being.
Caitie Holtzman
Originally from Georgia, Caitie Holtzman grew up with a love of horses. In 2006 she moved to Texas with every intention of being in the horse industry. Caitie spent time in college earning a Master of Science in Ag Education and Equine and working part time as a Professor. In March 2012, Caitie and husband Elliot opened Versatile Horsemanship, LLC now in Nocona, Texas. Their operation is a horse training and instruction-based business centered around starting colts, teaching clinics, and training Liberty horses. She competes in NRHA Freestyle Reining, Cow Horse for fun, and is a top competitor in the Liberty horse sport. Along with teaching, training, and traveling; Caitie is also the Director of Clubs for the International Liberty Horse Association. Horses have taken Caitie coast-to-coast, border-to-border, and around the world. She has been a performer and presenter at events such as Liberty Festival, Road to the Horse, Equine Affaire, and is excited to be back at the event that gave her a start as a presenter—Art of the Cowgirl.
Chelsea Sazama
Hello. I'm Chelsea Sazama, owner and sole maker at Rocking S Saddle Shop near Glendive, Montana. I'm also a mother to one beautiful daughter! Being a rancher and competitor in the arena myself, I was always on the lookout for quality gear. I started studying leatherwork in 2013 and would only make items for myself and family/friends. Word of mouth started to expand the customer base and so it began! All glory to God! In 2020, I received the Art of the Cowgirl Saddle Making Fellowship. I got to travel to Idaho to build a saddle with Nancy Martiny. Continuing the saddle making journey from there, I've added silverwork to my resume as well. I now offer custom silverwork/hardware for my saddle builds! In conclusion, saddles and silverwork are now my main focus. I look forward to building quality working cowboy saddles for years to come!
Dr. Aleisha Shirley
Dr. Aleisha is a physical therapist, CSCS-certified strength and conditioning specialist, and lifelong horseback rider who helps riders become stronger, more stable, and more confident in the saddle. As the founder of Solid in the Saddle, she bridges the gap between rehabilitation, performance training, and real-world riding demands—something most riders never get access to. With a deep understanding of biomechanics and the unique physical challenges of riding, Dr. Aleisha has helped over 1,000 horseback riders improve their balance, core strength, and overall riding stability through her online workout programs and 1:1 coaching. Her approach is practical, rider-specific, and designed to fit into busy lives without sacrificing results. As both a clinician and an athlete, she understands firsthand how strength training directly impacts confidence on a horse, especially after injury, motherhood, or time away from the saddle. Her mission is simple: to make home-based strength training the norm for riders and help them feel solid, capable, and secure every time they swing a leg over a horse. Through Solid in the Saddle, Dr. Aleisha empowers riders to build their bodies as intentionally as they train their horses—because great riding starts with a strong, stable rider.
Dr. Ellis Farstvedt DVM
Performance Equine Specialists is dedicated to providing knowledge and experience to the equine athlete and their riders. Lead by Dr. Ellis Farstvedt, a nationally recognized board certified Equine Surgeon, our team is composed of multiple veterinarians with a variety of interests and specialties. His wife, Dr. Mandi Holland is a certified veterinary acupuncturist and specializes in equine sports medicine. Her background has always been with the performance horse and was boosted by her extensive experience on the Race Track at Turf Paradise in Phoenix, AZ. The husband-and-wife duo compliment each other by bringing a different piece of the puzzle together for the equine athlete. We have a unique practice in which we service locations in Montana, Arizona and Alaska to bring our experience and services to the equine athlete. You will find an open minded, friendly and collegial atmosphere amongst our team members.
Britain Mills-Dawes
Britain Mills-Dawes is an equine professional that wears many hats such as practitioner, writer, clinician and podcast co-host. Based in Alberta, Canada, she’s known for blending hands-on expertise, her sharp insight and an approachable teaching style. Through her business, Stable Instincts, she focuses on equine bodywork, spinal alignment, and performance-focused nutrition—helping horses feel and perform their best while empowering owners with clear, practical knowledge. As a clinician, she has presented at major events in Canada including Horse Expo and the Calgary Stampede, where her sessions draw crowds for their clarity, practicality, and engaging delivery. Outside the arena, Britain lends her knowledge through her writing and has articles featured in publications such as Saddle Up Magazine. She’s also the co-host of Uncinched: The Unfiltered Horse Podcast, where she dives into honest conversations about the horse world with insight, advice and a little bit of humour. With a mixture of expertise, quick wit, drive and genuine passion, this cowgirl brings a refreshing voice to the western and equine community. Britain is always striving to inspire stronger partnerships between horses and the people who love them.
Judy Wagner
Judy Wagner is a pragmatic innovative leader with a demonstrated ability to motivate, market, and develop brands. Her expertise includes bringing to market innovative products, projects, strategies, and teams while influencing consumers in industry trends.
Judy has long noted her marketing style as Ranch Grown Logic, a common sense, value based, approach to marketing and branding inspired by the authenticity and spirit of the West. Judy loves to tell stories and weave together the common sense of Ranch Grown Logic with cowgirl empowerment.
Lisa Barnes
Lisa Barnes has been in the horse industry for over 45 years. She currently works full time as a Certified Equine Dental Technician. Living in Alaska for over 30 years, Lisa worked as a farrier, an outfitter, and managed rodeo grounds.
During her time managing the rodeo grounds in Alaska, Lisa found how important and efficient it was to have a good obedient stock dog to help move livestock during an event. After moving to Arizona, Lisa met Joe Escobar who became her mentor and encouraged her to show her dogs.
Brittany Mayer
Brittany Mayer is a second-generation trainer and riding instructor from Cumberland, Rhode Island. From the time she was a young child, she always enjoyed teaching and she grew up immersed in the equine industry. Combining her love and aptitude for teaching with her love of horses has been Brittany’s lifelong dream and she gets to live that dream every day. Throughout her life, Brittany has had the opportunity to ride and show many disciplines and breeds with a background first in hunter/jumpers and then several western events. She has specialized in colt and mustang starting, ranch versatility, trail/obstacles, dressage, and all-around events. Brittany is an Extreme Mustang Makeover champion and holds several world championships in a variety of events. She has also helped several of her students have great success competing from local to world levels and achieving their own world championships. Brittany’s eclectic background helps her tailor a program to help each individual horse she works with reach its potential. She believes that a great horse is one that is doing the job its mind and body are best suited for. Helping troubled horses find their calling is Brittany’s favorite part of being a trainer. She also loves to help owners be able to reach their goals with their own horses whether that be walking down the trails or competing at the highest levels.
Piper Yule
Piper Yule, known as the young gun of the rodeo industry! This spitfire is 14 years old and is known for her signature cow horses and her cowgirl heart and true horsemanship. Known to be as kind as she is tough, she comes from the hard grass country in Southern Alberta and is a 5th generation cowgirl. When not performing roman riding, liberty horsemanship and trick riding, Piper spends her time team roping and competing in working cowhorse and helping on her family ranch and community. Join Piper at Art of the Cowgirl, as she demonstrates a true connection with her horses in natural liberty horsemanship and how it can be incorporated from everyday horsemanship to starting colts. See how she uses her horsemanship to perform with her team of horses in true western traditional arts of roman riding, trick riding, trick roping and more!
Steve Hebrock
Master Hoof Care Professional Steve Hebrock’s engineering background has given him a unique perspective and valuable insights into hoof function and biomechanics and their impact on issues of health and movement. He is a retired Ohio State University ATI faculty member, where he taught hoof care and farriery; equine marketing and facilities management; and a number of engineering and other technical classes. Certified by two major hoof care organizations, he has held a number of teaching positions for both associations. Mr. Hebrock now focuses his time and energy on his hoof care practice, ongoing hoof research, his educational outreach efforts via "Enlightened Equine,” (a blog dedicated to bringing science to horse management and hoof care), his podcast (“The Enlightened Equine Podcast”), and his teaching efforts with Enlightened Equine Workshops, which regularly conducts comprehensive hoof care clinics for students from all over the world, including veterinarians and equine chiropractors.
Dora Hebrock
Dora Hebrock studied equine management at the Austrian Landwirtschaftliche Fachschule Tullnerbach while obtaining her licenses in dressage, jumping, and driving, as well as her instructor’s license in vaulting. In 2016, she moved to the USA and qualified for training to become a Straightness Training® Instructor. In 2017, she completed her certifications as both a Hoof Care Professional and Straightness Training® Instructor. Dora has taught Straightness Training® throughout the USA, Canada, Austria, and Slovakia, and has also taught a worldwide community of students and training instructors online as an Evaluator, Academy Coach, and Mentor Instructor. In 2019, she was invited to become a Field Instructor for Liberated Horsemanship, where her experiences included one-on-one trimming instruction as well as group instruction at Liberated Horsemanship’s international clinics. She is also a Certified Rider Seat Instructor under Hanna Engström, a Swedish riding seat specialist. For the past several years, Dora has co-taught hoof care at The Ohio State University ATI and to veterinarians and doctors of animal chiropractic at the American Veterinary Chiropractic Association’s annual conferences, and, in addition to her hoof care and riding instruction practices in northern New Mexico and Ohio, she is a regular consultant to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado.
Francesca Carson
Francesca Carson has been teaching Liberty Horsemanship for 15 years. She is the owner of “Dally and Spanky”, the famous Dog and pony duo. In 2019 Sony Pictures produced a feature length movie titled: “The Adventures of Dally and Spanky” (available on DVD and amazon prime). They have performed live all over the US and Canada at major rodeos and International jumping shows, wowing the crowds with their amazing feats. They have been featured on a number of TV shows: the Late show in NYC, National Geographic and Animal planet. Francesca’s children’s books about the Duo are available on Amazon. Francesca teaches liberty clinics and lessons in Wickenburg during the winter and up in the northwest during summer. You will not want to miss these educational and entertaining demonstrations as well as a performance at the Ranch Rodeo prelims. Fun for the whole family!
Chet Nicholas
Chet Nicholas grew up in Corinne, Utah, where he developed a love for horses at a young age. After attending Utah State University, he turned his passion for ranching, riding, and craftsmanship into a career. As the creator and builder behind The Stirrup Shop, Chet handcrafts each stirrup with a strong focus on durability, comfort, safety, and style. His goal is to create unique, high-quality products that enhance a rider’s experience in the saddle—whether for work, competition, or leisure. Chet enjoys collaborating with clients to bring their ideas to life, and finds the most rewarding part of his work is seeing the excitement of customers using stirrups designed specifically for them. He values hard work, quality craftsmanship, and strives to deliver exceptional products and customer service. He also enjoys meeting people from around the world who share his appreciation for the simple life, quality gear, and good horses.
Jill Barron
Jill Barron is a lifelong student of horsemanship and equitation, the horse being her greatest teacher. She believes horses have a universal language and our job as riders, is to learn how to speak and understand this language. Through a blend of classical dressage techniques and natural horsemanship, her focus is encouraging a deeper connection between horse and rider. All disciplines. All levels. Barron is Canada’s most decorated Working Equitation rider and is an International Working Equitation competitor, Clinician and Judge. Her recent accomplishments include Championships at Haras Cup, Cross Nations Cup (Advanced), Andalusian World Cup (Advanced), Western Canada Regional Champion (Masters) and WEUSA National High Point Reserve Champion (Masters). Jill empowers riders by equipping them with the skills and confidence to enhance their partnership with their equine. Her instruction aligns with the training goals for individual riders. She shares knowledge that is transformative and embraces positivity.
Katie Hollingsworth
Katie Hollingsworth is an ICF Certified Professional Coach specializing in mental performance optimization and authentic leadership development. She is the trusted coach behind high-performing athletes, innovative entrepreneurs, and forward-thinking leaders. A lifelong rodeo athlete, Katie combines her Western heritage with over two decades of entrepreneurial success. Before becoming a professional coach in 2018, she owned a marketing agency for 17 years, creating international branding campaigns and securing sponsorships for some of the most influential brands in the Western industry, including WPRA, IPRA, Cactus Ropes, Cactus Saddlery, Platinum Coach Trailers, and more. She also produced major rodeo events and served on the executive board of the Mountain States PRCA Circuit. Today, Katie leverages her unique blend of rodeo experience, business acumen, and coaching expertise to help clients set meaningful goals, overcome negative self-talk, and unlock their full potential. She has coached collegiate rodeo teams nationwide, partnered with the Western Sports Foundation, and spoken for organizations including Fancy Lady Cowgirl, the National Reining Horse Association, and the National Snaffle Bit Association. Known for her authenticity and actionable strategies, Katie inspires audiences to embrace resilience, build confidence, and achieve extraordinary success.
Lee Smith
Lee Smith lives on a cattle ranch in Estancia, New Mexico. She and her husband Mark raise quality Quarter horses at their Harmony Hills Ranch. Lee has conducted hundreds of clinics and demonstrations throughout the U.S., Canada and Australia since 1991 as well as teaching ranch horse classes the HHR. Lee considers herself a student of the horse, and lucky to have shared her experience with thousands of horse people from throughout the world. Lee is a gifted and eloquent teacher who has extraordinary insight into horses and people. Teaching people to learn from the horse. Lee leads people on a pathway of discovery to the essential elements of horsemanship and a better level of performance. She helps them to unlock their potential to understand the mind, body and spirit of the horse.
Madison Shambaugh
Madison Shambaugh, also known as Mustang Maddy from her work with wild horses, is a 3x Extreme Mustang Makeover Freestyle Champion, Mustang Magic Champion, and Colt Starting USA Champion best known for her awe-inducing bridleless and liberty performances. Maddy is passionate about teaching and sharing her horsemanship journey with others, and especially enjoys helping folk find an approach that feels authentic to them, drawing on their sensitivity as a much needed superpower. Maddy's ability to speak both the language of pressure & release and clicker training methodologies allows her to help students find the training style that resonates deepest for the individual human, animal, place, and context. Maddy can be found working with her various horses, zebras, and camels - as well as tending to her goat herd - in the Sonoran Desert where she lives alongside raven, hare, snake, owl, and coyote as part of the Agua Fria watershed. She has recently begun teaching inside her new academy, The School of Equus, as well as researching, writing and speaking inside her passion project, Equus Opus: a deep dive into the intersection of horses, ecology, myth, culture, animism, land-based lifeways, depth psychology, and women’s history.
Wylene Wilson
Wylene began riding competitively at six yrs old and has since become a celebrated Mustang trainer and Colt starter, known for transforming wild horses into willing partners with fearless grit and creative horsemanship. A multiple Mustang Makeover finalist and champion, her journey has been featured in Wild Horse, Wild Ride and Nat Geo Wild’s Mustang Millionaire. Today, she continues to inspire through her Mustang Mentorship Program, offering a unique classroom instruction and immersive training that explores the wisdom and warrior spirit behind working with wild horses.