WEEK OF MARCH 20, 2025
VOLUME 23 | ISSUE 15
FREE
Parker makes itself known at state Capitol Advocates head to Denver for updates on legislation BY HALEY LENA HLENA@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
The Blazing Saddles Drill Team in action. The team performs at local rodeos as well as events across the Front Range.
COURESY OF DANI TARIN
Blazing Saddles Drill Team reaching out Elizabeth-based group will hold open house on evening of April 1 at Messer Arena in Kiowa BY NICKY QUINBY SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
The Elizabeth-based Blazing Saddles Drill Team will be hosting an open house on April 1 at Messer Arena in Kiowa. The team of young women performs at rodeos locally and across the Front Range, including the Douglas County Fair Parade and the Rocky Mountain Horse Expo.
Dani Tarin, coach and board vice president, said the open house is for anyone who is curious or wants to join the team so they can see what Blazing Saddles does and try it for themselves. Joining a drill team can seem daunting and the event is a low-key, low-pressure way to try it out. “People can bring their horses and play some games, try out some of our maneuvers and drills, meet the
VOICES: 10 | LIFE: 14 | CALENDAR: 17 | PUZZLES: 18
team, and see if Blazing Saddles is the right fit for them,” she shared. Tarin moved to Elizabeth in 2014 at the age of 13. A neighbor asked if she wanted to do Blazing Saddles and even though Tarin had never ridden a horse before, she said yes. Tarin borrowed one of her neighbor’s horses, stuck with it, and ended up riding on the team for seven years before becoming a coach.
Around 40 of Parker’s elected officials, town staff and business owners spent a day at the state Capitol to learn how and why they should lobby for the town’s interest. The group heard from state representatives and the executive director of the Colorado Competitive Council, which is a nonprofit organization focused on economic development and public policy, about bills that could impact Parker businesses and ultimately the citizens. “Businesses are affected by the policies that get set in the gold dome,” said Mayor Joshua Rivero. “We need them to be aware of how these policies get made, where they come from, what those effects would be, and to be vocal.” Rivero is no stranger to the Capitol building. He has been vocal for Parker as he is a member of the Colorado Municipal League, which helps lobby for the interests of cities and towns like Parker. With policies and state fees trickling down and impacting everyday citizens, Rivero said there needs to be checks and balances of the public interest, in which business owners can look at different perspectives of a policy and testify for or against a bill. “The average citizen of Parker needs to know that their businesses are on top of what polSEE CAPITOL VISIT, P8
Blazing Saddles currently has about 18 riders but the performance team can have up to 24 riders at a time. Riders come from Elizabeth as well as Parker, Castle Rock, Colorado Springs and sometimes even farther. Though the young women on the team range from 9 to 20 years old, Tarin said they all get along very well and even do
VOTE NOW
SEE DRILL TEAM, P6
March 1st - April 15th
2025
PARKERCHRONICLE.NET • A PUBLICATION OF COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA