By J1 Reporter Reilly O’Brien

Almost every day after school, no one will have any troubles finding junior Emily Berthelsen. More often than not, Berthelsen can be spotted working at the American Legacy Complex, tending to her horse, Mango, teaching riding lessons to kids and training different kinds of animals to be shown at fairs and competitions. To Berthelsen though, it doesn’t feel like work. “I spend so much time there. It’s kind of my favorite place to be,” Berthelsen said.

Berthelsen has always loved animals, the interest in horses and barn animals started from a young age. “I’ve shown horses since I was 10, and then I’ve shown cows the last three years,” 

She has participated in the 4H club for just as long.  “4H is dedicated to teaching young people how to work with their hands and appreciate the Earth more,” Berthelsen said. It is through this organization that Berthelsen is able to attend fairs and learn the intricacies of showing cattle, which means displaying the health and ability of the animal to follow instructions before a panel of judges. Each animal is then scored and ranked by their performance.

Training Mango helped Berthelsen learn the value of patience. “When I bought him, my horse was not trained very well, he was kind of nuts,” Berthelsen said. She struggled a lot with keeping him from wanting to run all the time and being calm when it was time to be shown at the fair. “He is a lot better now, I just have to make sure to work with him every day,” Berthelsen said. 

The barn is located at 7193 Country Rd. 40, during the school year Berthelsen drives from Marian straight there, this takes around 15 minutes. The time commitment is tough to balance with her other activities like club and high school softball, but she isn’t deterred by this. “I enjoy both softball and my job so much that it isn’t really hard for me to balance them, I feel most like myself when I am doing either activity,” Berthelsen said. 

One thing Berthelsen does to make her life easier is organizing and scheduling all of her own lessons. This is so that she can plan out her week and be without surprises if she were to get scheduled at the last minute. 

During the Fall when the Marian season is going Berthelsen doesn’t often go to the barn, “it is way too hard to get there at 6 and then stay until feeding time” Berthelsen said. Once Spring starts Berthelsen will go from the barn straight to her softball practice which goes from 6-8 P.M. Then she will head back to the barn to feed the animals for the night, getting home around 9. After that she has time to do her homework. 

Once the sun starts shining and the school year winds down Berthelsen is truly in her happy place. “The summer is really when I can dedicate as much time as I want to my job,” Berthelsen said. During these months she can take as much time as she wants to stay at the barn and can be less picky in competitions to go to. 

Barrel racing, which is a common event at rodeos in which the person riding the horse directs it around barrels to show how fast and well trained the horse is, is her favorite event.“I love barrel racing so much because of all the amazing people I’ve met through competitions,” Berthelsen said. 

Through these activities Berthelsen has met a few interesting people. In 2024 at the national rodeo in Las Vegas she met one of her biggest inspirations in the barrel racing world, Ashley Castleberry. “She is just so cool because she had to work hard for everything she accomplished,” Berthelsen said. Castleberry is well known for bouncing back after a traumatic accident that left her without a horse to ride. She ended up acquiring a new one and training it back to the form her previous horses had been in, Castleberry has now won over $400,000 as a national competitor. 

It’s no secret that equestrian activities cost more to participate in than the average after-school activity. Berthelsen’s parents make sure that she knows that to participate in these things she needs to pay for it herself, “I get money from my job, save up, and then I get more money because I sell [the show cows] at the end of the year.” This also applies to any equipment or feed that might be needed at any given time. 

There is no shortage of work to be done at the barn. Berthelsen makes most of her money giving horse riding lessons, running summer camps, helping prepare animals for shows, and training her own horse. This hard manual labor resulted in thousands of dollars which almost goes completely back into the barn. 

In the future, Berthelsen plans to continue her interest in caring for big animals and barrel racing. “I want to go on the pre-vet track with an emphasis in equine studies. I’m also planning to participate in college rodeo,” Berthelsen said. Berthelsen is undecided on what exact school she will attend but is leaning towards the University of Wyoming because of its strong veterinary program. However, Iowa State, and the University of Nebraska at Lincoln are also contenders. She plans to keep Mango by her side in college and hopes to eventually get a younger horse to run more competitive barrel races with.

Berthelsen’s interest in horses and her involvement in the 4H club have helped her learn hard work. She has learned the value of saving up, manual labor, and working for what you wish to accomplish. Berthelsen is excited to see what she can do next while making sure to never forget her home at American Legacy Complex along the way.