Cloquet ninth-grader is state riding champ

In a room full of Cloquet High School students, Elianah "Ellie" Danger doesn't look like a daredevil. Get her on a horse though, and prepare to be amazed by her riding skills as she daringly zooms around barrels or poles, almost one with her horse, Dunkin.

Just shy of 15 years old, Danger currently holds the fastest time for pole bending for youth (category 1D) in Minnesota and across a five-state area. She's also racked up close to $15,000 in winnings in the past three years, in multiple categories. The ninth grader rattles off all the other events she competes in: barrel racing, pole weaving, jumping figure 8 and keyhole.

""I do like almost all of it," Ellie said, "mostly the fast paced-stuff."

It's not the money or the trophies that drive her.

"I'm a really big adrenaline junkie," she said when asked what she likes about racing. "I love the speed, the dangers. And the horses. The horses are my happy place. That picture says it all," she said, pointing to a photo of her nose-to-nose with Dunkin.

It's a team effort. A girl and her horse. Taking care of him, practicing, riding, racing.

"It's a lot of hard work, it's going out there and just figuring each other out," she said. "It's a lot of teamwork and trust with you and the horse and it's just putting the time in."

Her dad, Tim Danger, jumps in, expanding the team: An instructor who pushes her outside your comfort level. Someone to teach her the basics. Ellie said her parents have been amazing: her dad, Tim, is the one ready to help with anything while mom, Kristi, provides emotional support and acts as Ellie's medical team (and helps others when she can).

Video is a team effort, too.

Early days

Ellie may have been born to ride, but she wasn't born into a riding family. Her big sister's friend sparked her interest by letting Ellie ride her horse once.

After that introduction, 5-year-old Ellie started pestering her parents for riding lessons. It was unexpected, they said. After all, her big sisters played soccer, they didn't barrel race.

Finding a good place to take lessons took a couple years, but once she got started, Ellie loved it. She started out taking lessons in Superior, where she rode English style.

"[English] really teaches them how to use their seat: how to sit on a horse, because the saddle [isn't very wide]," her dad Tim said.

Then the family went to a rodeo and young Ellie was captivated.

"She just sat there for two hours and stared," Tim said. "And she's like: 'I want to barrel race.'"

They stopped a woman who looked like she knew the answers to horse questions and asked how to make that happen, and soon Ellie was learning to ride Western style in Two Harbors, and learning to barrel race on ponies and making strides.

All she needed was a horse of her own.

She met Dunkin the first time in 2020. She was 10 years old, he was five. It was not love at first sight.

"I didn't really jive with him the first time," Ellie said.

The second time was different. "You could see it in her eyes," said Kristi. "We were like, this is the one. And they've been going strong ever since."

Well, not exactly. First they had to learn to ride and race together.

In the early days, Dunkin would buck once in a while. Ellie hit the ground more than once, but she always got up.

Then at a youth show, they talked to a professional saddle fitter and he told them the saddle didn't fit the horse right.

"Long story short, we got a different saddle and it's been night and day," Tim said.

Ellie said Dunkin - only 5 years old when they bought him - is an old soul.

"He acts much older than what he is," she said. He loves kids. He loves people."

And he adjusts to the rider, said her mom.

"If I get on him, he knows I don't ride, so he'll just take it at my pace. But when she gets on him he knows it's game time."

Of course, Ellie still falls off sometimes. But that's part of the game. Just like taking care of the horse and cleaning up after them.

"I've probably fallen off like eight or 10 times on different horses and I lost track how many times on the ponies," she said, adding that she is a fan of helmets. "But I have gotten better at spacing out how long it's been since I've fallen. It hurts a little bit, but I've gotten used to it."

One nice thing about Dunkin: if he dumps her, he'll come back and stand by her side until she gets up.

Adopted family

Many of her riding friends have mothers who also ride, or come from a family where there's a long tradition of having horses.

Kristi and Tim Danger had to learn the ropes without any background. It wasn't easy. Once they got there, however, they said people welcomed them.

"Everybody's like a family," Tim said. "Everybody cheers for everybody. Everybody wants to win, but they're still cheering for you. And they'll come and give you pointers. People will come pick up Ellie or the horse and bring them to a race. It's very supportive."

She rides in many different competitions and belongs to a whole list of different organizations, mostly targeting different events like pole bending or barrel riding. She rides in the Barnum and Chisholm rodeos. She's also part of the Rowdy Wranglers 4-H group out of Carlton, and has competed at the Carlton County Fair and at the Minnesota State Fair.

Ellie and her parents hope they can help other newbies find their way. There are more people doing lessons in Esko and Carlton, where Ellie boards her horses (she just got a second one, named Loki) at Silver Spur Arena.

"A lot of young people like horses and they just don't know anyone," Ellie said. "I'd love to see more kids doing this."

She's ready to welcome the next generation, she said.