Features

The Will To Win

 

 

Chad Little & Ricocet

 

Every once in a while the perfect combination of horse and rider come together and create such an unbeatable team that folks stand up and pay attention. In the case of Chad Little and his champion quarter horse gelding, Ricochet, the anticipation of watching the two perform brings an excitement to the sport like never before. It is a perfect storm mixed with equal parts of strength and determination.

 

Check this out. Go to YouTube, and in the “Search” box, type “2006 Minnesota AA wrestling champion 145.”  What comes up is a grainy video, 2:58 long and fueled by the beat of the rock band Maroon 5.  You’ll see a series of clips of a brown-haired teenager, dressed in a blue and white singlet, fighting his way to a state championship in the 145 lb. class. The kid is fast and aggressive, adept at reverses and takedowns.  The whole thing is entertaining; the video has been viewed more than 14,000 times.

 

And just what, you ask, does this have to do with cowboy mounted shooting?

 

Answer: the wrestler is Chad Little, one of the top riders in the sport.  And after you see the video, you’ll have a better understanding of the young man and his competitive spirit.

 

He lets his actions speak louder than words.
Matt Sronce, 2007 CMSA World
Champion, on his friend Chad Little

 

That’s not saying much.  Chad Little is not a talker, for the most part, especially in crowds or with folks he doesn’t know.  Interviewing him for a story is like, well, pulling teeth—with your bare hands.  He doesn’t show his emotions, whether he’s just won a big competition (he’s got CMSA Eastern, Western and National Championships under his belt) or blown a run (as he did on the first course at the 2007 Worlds).

 

He does blush when you mention the YouTube video, which he most certainly did not put together and post. You might think that he’s too reserved and shy to compete with the big boys. 

 

You’d be wrong.

 

His father, Pat Little, says, “He’s always been very competitive, from a little kid on.” Chad competed in baseball, football and wrestling—he was a varsity grappler in 7th grade.  At about that same time, back in 2000, some neighbors talked the Littles into trying mounted shooting.  Everybody in the family had been riding for several years, and they’d done a fair amount of hunting, but this was different.  Chad wasn’t completely sold on it, at first: “You need the horse and the shooting to succeed.  And when I first started, I didn’t have either.  So I wasn’t real interested in it to start, but after the first couple of shoots, it seemed like it just grew on me.”

 

Chad didn’t follow the usual path as he gained experience in the sport.  “Most people start off on an easy-going horse, then by the time they get their shooting down they get on a faster horse and have to start all over.  Me, I started on a horse that was too fast for me to begin with, so the shooting part of it came easier when I got a faster horse yet.  ‘Cause I was used to the speed.”
Kids, don’t try that at home.

 

The faster horse came along five years ago. Ricochet was an eight year old registered Quarter Horse—and nobody had ever fired from his back before.  But he took to it with no problem, and as Ricochet got used to the sport, Chad Little worked on his gun handling.  Matt Sronce says, “He could always ride extremely well, but for awhile his shooting wasn’t up to his riding level. Now his shooting has caught up—and he’s an extremely fierce competitor.” 

 

Don’t let his looks fool you—Chad Little is a baby-faced assassin when it comes to competition.  He rides hell-for-leather on every run.  Pat Little explains, “When you’re young and running wild, you’ve got no fear and you’re running harder than you probably should.”  That riding style has led to 10 world records, including four that still stand.

 

Some more experienced riders wonder if the need for speed doesn’t ultimately lead to some uneven performances by the younger set.  Chad admits that it can be, but he’s worked on greater consistency over the years.  Rider and trainer Jimmie Allen says the work has paid off: “A guy like Chad has to beat himself; it’s hard to beat him.”

 

And that gets back to competitive spirit—the will to win—that he’s shown on the mat and in the arena.  “In wrestling, the mental part of it is huge—way more than any other part of it,” he says.  “And this sport here, 95% of it is mental.”

 

Little says preparation is the key: “In wrestling, you can practice all week and know what your opponent is going to do, but it never happens the way you plan.  Same thing in mounted shooting.  Every time you go into that arena, you talk yourself into shooting good and riding good.  I don’t really visualize the run.  But I do look over every part of the run, focus on every little thing that could go wrong and have a backup plan, just in case.  In the level 5s and 6s, that’s what makes them good.  When something goes wrong, you have to be able to figure it out and figure it out quick and get back to where you’re supposed to go.”

 

And while he looks totally unflappable in the saddle, Chad says he’s not really that calm.  “I like to get myself a little nervous before each run—put a little pressure on me.  I tell myself that I just don’t have a choice about missing [a target].”

 

That puts a bit of extra pressure on the other riders, says fellow competitor Wes Walton:  “He’s just really remarkable.  You can’t follow Chad Little and then sit back on your haunches.  You’d better be standing up, charging, just like him.”

 

Just like all the Littles.  Father Pat competes.  Brother Charlie is a champion in his own right.  Youngest sibling Shaun was a top Wrangler competitor (and has followed in Chad’s footsteps as a prep wrestler).  Chad says that support system is an important advantage.  “You’re not really on your own [having family members in the sport].  You’re trying to help them and they help you out. You learn by watching everybody, but you learn more by watching your family.  You pay closer attention, pick up the details more and pick it up for yourself. I’d hope they’d be able to pick some things up watching me, too.”  What they don’t pick up, Chad gets through watching videos of his runs.

 

With all that he’s accomplished, you have to remind yourself that Chad Little is just 20 years old (and won’t be 21 until October).  It can be a difficult age, when a person tries to “find” himself and wants to know what the future holds.  Chad still lives at home, working some with his dad’s landscaping business and helping to care for about 35 horses at their ranch near St. Michael, Minnesota.  He also sells trophy saddles and other items he’s won in competition.  So…what does he want to do with his life?  “Goals?  You know, I don’t know,” he says.  “Hopefully, sometime there’ll be enough money that I can do this [mounted shooting] full time.  Right now, it’s just not there.  But someday…”

 

In the meantime, he’ll continue to compete.  He won’t talk big; he won’t show much emotion.  He’ll fool you, on first encounter.  But just remember: Chad Little has the will to win.
 

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