Pinnt finds success on the track and rodeo grounds

Small-school Colorado star overcame addiction by working with horses

By Mary Albl for DyeStat 

At a time in Kayla Pinnt's life where she deperately needed a life line, she found the reins of a horse.  

"I have to say, until this day, rodeo saved my life," Pinnt said. "Because I was in a place you can't even imagine."

The summer of 2016 finds Pinnt just a few months removed from a four-gold medal performance at the Colorado State High School Track Championships. She is gearing up to head off to college at Colorado State University, where she'll compete as a sprinter for the Rams. 

"It's been a really busy summer," Pinnt explained. "I wake up in the morning about 8 a.m., and I get to the track about 9 and do my workout, and then turnaround and lift. And then go out to my grandma's house and work with the horses until later that night."

It's a summer chocked full of running and riding, but one Pinnt has learned to embrace to the fullest. 

"I feel like track has helped me a lot with riding, just because I grew up not wanting to lose and so that was something that helped me," she said. 

Help was something Pinnt needed four years ago as she moved back to Craig, a town of 10,000 tucked in the high country of Northwest Colorado. Although she was born in Craig, she had been living in Billings, Mont. and her life there was going off the rails.

Pinnt said the problem began when she fell in with the wrong crowd. She started skipping school and almost dropped out. 

“I got addicted to pills,” Pinnt said. “I stopped coming home. I was in such a bad state of mind that I didn’t even want to do track my freshman year. My life just started to go downhill.”

Her parents decided to make the move from Montana back to Craig inthe middle of her ninth grade year. The abrupt change of scenery was aided by a horse.

"I was having a rough time in life, and my grandparents gave me a horse and her name was Cherry," Pinnt explained. "I fell in love with that horse. From there, I wanted to do barrel racing and all that good stuff. My grandparents put horses in my life, and I realized that was something that changed me."

It took a while for Pinnt to finally break in a horse and feel comfortable. She found a connection with a quarter horse named Angel, the one she credits for making her the rider she is today.

Pinnt started off competing in Little Britches Rodeo and then worked her way up to the bigger circuits. Pinnt competes in barrel racing and pole bending -- both timed events that acquire a combination of athleticism and competitiveness from both the rider and horse.

"My horses loves it just as much as I do, so that's something I enjoy," Pinnt said. "Knowing when we're going in the ring, we're here to win. Knowing that I have a horse that wants it just as much as I do makes it fun for me."

Pinnt said she's never broken any bones, mainly just some bumps and bruises along the way, but did have a scary moment about two years ago.

"I wanted to work with one of our race horses and she did not (want to cooperate). She has not been ridden hard and she bucked me off a couple times. And one time, I did three somersaults in the air and then landed on the ground," Pinnt said. "That was one of the biggest accidents."

Pinnt got involved with track and field in elementary school. She credits her love for running from her mom, Cherisse Murphy, a former sprinter herself.

"My mom, she ran the 100 and 200 in high school, and she got an offer to Kansas, and I just always wanted to be like my mom," Pinnt said. "I look up to her."

Pinnt ended her high school track career at Moffat by winning the 100, 200, 400 (55.01 3A meet record) and running on the winning 4x100 relay.

While Pinnt admits she wishes she could rewind and relive the state meet to relish the victorious moments even more, she's proud of how things ended.

In June, Pinnt wrapped up her high school track career by winning the non-elite sections of the 100 dash (12.03) at the Great Southwest Classic in New Mexico. POST-RACE INTERVIEW

“No matter if you are in a bad state of mind you can be one of the best. I love telling people my story, I like people knowing I accomplished something. I didn’t wake up one day and was fast. Through all my circumstances I put in the hard work," she said.

The transition from a block start to straddling a horse is hard to compare, but something Pinnt has gotten used to.

"You practice track and you're lifting and then you go ride a horse and it has nothing to do with the muscles you were working out," Pinnt said. "It's a big transition as far as athletic ability and learning how to keep your cool and not freak out, because if you freak out, then your horse is going to freak out."

Pinnt has learned to master the art of both crafts. Up until she departs for CSU, Pinnt is competing every Thursday in Carbondale, Colo.

While she won't ride in college, just run, horses will still serve a major role in her life.

"Bringing horses into your life can really change you in your ways," she said. "The horses changed me, and I don't think they realize it."