Page 21 - AEF-AlbertaBits_Fall-2025

“
“She has trained my youngest horse,” Morrison
says. “We practise together. She gives me lessons and
even at finals last year when we were both competing,
we were milliseconds apart from each other. Our times
are so close and we are still screaming and cheering
each other on and videotaping each other, helping
each other.
“At the end of the day, you want to win the money,
you want to win the buckle, but I come out of there
with girls that I compete with and we are cheering
each other on so loud.”
In addition to competing and practising with
McDonald and Hofer, Morrison has also practiced with
Men 4 competitor Matt Nielson.
“I also go over to Matt’s house and practise with
him and his wife,” she says. “We have such a vast
group of people competing against each other so it’s a
really neat diverse group cheering each other on and
everyone’s always offering support. That’s what really
helped me. Last year, I really broke out of my shell.
That’s really when I started to win, really started to
bear down and honestly, I think it’s because I had a lot
of fun and I started practising with everybody.”
Like Mitchell, Nielson first became intrigued with
the sport when he watched a mounted shooting
demonstration at the Ponoka Stampede.
“I remember deciding right then and there that I
There’s a lot of
pressure, but it’s fun
to try your best
and compete
against everyone
and with yourself.”
— Ashlynn Morrison
would do that some day,” says Nielson, who lives in Red
Deer County near Innisfail.
Although he didn’t fare so well at his first competition
in 2016, Nielson didn’t give up.
“I finished dead last,” he says. “It would have
been easy to quit after that if not for the relentless
encouragement and support from the mounted shooting
family. Long story short, it was the people that made me
really take up the sport.”
After he purchased a new horse in 2017 and began
practising every chance he got, Nielson started winning
competitions and was encouraged to attend the World
Finals in Amarillo, Texas.
“I decided to go and even if I didn’t win, I’d have
bragging rights of saying I’d ridden in Amarillo,” says
Nielson, who started the three-day competition by taking
a five-second penalty before eventually coming from
behind to win a Men 1 world title. “It was truly a life
changing accomplishment for me.”
Currently a Men 4 rifle and shotgun competitor,
Nielson set different goals this year.
“I’ve been bringing up a young horse for the last couple
of years and decided this season it was time to focus on
him and start taking him to competitions,” he says. “My
main goal for this year is to keep building confidence and
good habits with this horse. I think a realistic secondary
goal would be a top 10 finish at the Canadian Finals.”
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