Young horsewoman dazzles with trick riding

Augastina Lembke doesn’t think of herself as a fancy girl, but she sure does know how to do some fancy trick riding on her horses. At only 16 years old, Augastina, known as “Auggie” to her friends, is well on her way to becoming an expert horsewoman, having taught herself and her horses everything from the basics to jumping to some of the most advanced acrobatic tricks performed on a galloping horse.

Lembke said she can’t remember the first time she rode on a horse’s back, because she was “just a little baby” at the time. She continued riding until she was around 5 years old but didn’t have the opportunity to ride much again until she and her family moved from Nebraska to their farm near Lovell about three years ago. That’s when her love of horses, and all animals for that matter, began to blossom.

She said she was inspired to teach herself trick riding after seeing a video on YouTube of someone performing at a rodeo. With limited resources and no one to teach her, she set out to teach herself.

At the time, she couldn’t afford an expensive $3,000 saddle designed for this type of riding, so she tied a piece of baling twine across her regular saddle and practiced balancing her petite body on the taut piece of string while the horse was in motion. Through sheer will and determination, she not only mastered the art of balancing herself in a standing position on the back of a horse while it moved (a trick referred to as hippodrome), but also learned to do it while holding a full sized American flag flapping in the wind and to do it while the horse jumps over a barrier, in front of a cheering crowd in a rodeo arena.

Since teaching herself that first trick, she saved money from training and selling horses until she found herself a used trick saddle for about half the price of new. With the new saddle, tricks are much easier to perform. Over the course of about a year, Lembke taught herself several more complicated tricks like riding “half saddle” (hanging off the side of the horse) and the extremely challenging “suicide ride” trick (hanging off the saddle by one foot while dragging her hands on the ground).

Though she now owns about 10 horses, most are what she refers to as “project” horses that she buys, trains and then resells for a profit. She does most of her tricks on her personal favorites, 23-year-old Aurora and 12-year-old Lady. She is also teaching Aurora’s offspring Liberty the basics, in hopes that she will someday be a good trick horse like her mother.

Lembke was recently invited to exhibit her trick riding skills at the Cody Nite Rodeo, where she also is a member of the Renegade drill and flag team. She said she’s already taught her three-year-old horse Liberty to perform drills and to tolerate her carrying a flag while riding her.

Lembke also trained herself to ride English. Whereas many English style riders invest a lot of money in lessons and equipment, it was once again her drive and resourcefulness that took her to win the first competition she entered.

Lembke will be entering her senior year at Lovell High School this year. She’s an active member of the school’s FFA club. She also shows her horses and sheep at the Big Horn County Fair.

She said working with animals, especially her horses, brings her inner peace during turbulent times.

“I think if I had a lot of stuff just handed to me it wouldn’t be as satisfying to me,” she said. “Everything I’ve done so far hasn’t been easy, but it’s been worth it for the satisfaction it brings me.”

She said though she hasn’t broken any bones yet; she’s been banged up and bruised a few times during the learning process. Clearly, a few bumps and bruises haven’t deterred her.

“I learn from my mistakes,” she said.

As for the future, Lembke said she wants to have her own “spot” someday and a family of her own with a nice horse barn, of course, because, in her own words, “Life is better with horses.”