Since she could talk, Liberty “Libby” Cunningham wanted to be a trick horse rider. At just 1 or 2 years old, she’d point and was captivated by the show.
“She’s living her toddler dream,” said Kara Cunningham, Liberty’s Mom. “She just always wanted to do it.”
As a third-generation rodeoer, Libby grew up around horses and began riding early. Kara called her a “porta-baby,” with Libby in a backpack sling while Kara saddled horses and helped her two older kids with their events.
At 5, Libby herself began competing in rodeos, then she started performing with tricks at 12, after six weeks of training.
“She’s basically been around the rodeo world her entire life,” Kara said. “She was a natural and started performing at a national scale at just 10.”
Today she rides as a professional and travels the country performing with her four horses. She does both trick and Roman riding, where she stands on the horses’ backs. Together with horses Blair (14), Cletus (19), Elite (11), and Special (7) she flips, kicks, balances, and rides for audiences of hundreds to thousands of viewers.
“They get along for the most part,” she said of the horses. “They’re all a little quirky in their own ways.”
This summer alone, she’ll perform in California, Texas, Washington state, Wyoming, Massachusetts, and South Carolina from their hometown of Louisburg, KS. In 2025 so far, they’ve traveled 26,000 miles and in four years, she’s performed in 45 states.
“I’m barely home,” she said. “We’ve barely been home for over two weeks at a time since May.” In total, she’ll perform at 25 events this year, with some including multiple nights. Just three of those are in Kansas – the upcoming Longford Rodeo, Sabetha, and EquiFest in Salina.
Libby said the tricks began as free performances, until she got more exposure and began getting paid to do what she loves.
“It started out really small then more people wanted to hire me,” she said. “And now this year I’m barely home.”
When they are home, Libby said it’s rest time for the horses, while winter is when they work on new tricks, which is more of an effort for her than the horses.
“The most challenging part is the mental side because a lot of the tricks aren’t actually hard to do but if you’ve never done them it’s nice to go slow and just figure it out,” she said. “But Blair does not go slow she just runs really hard; I have to be fully committed or else I’ll just be chickening out and running around the arena.”
Kara does the driving and researching of where to stay. She said that includes researching where to keep the horses while on the road for 10-hour days. Washington State is their furthest trip with three days on the road.
“Obviously you can’t just pull into any parking lot because we have to let the horses out,” Kara said. “I have to do the logistics side and search for fairgrounds or horse hotels. Sometimes we stay with friends.” Meanwhile, they stay in living quarters in the trailer or a hotel, depending on the location.
Libby’s fees pay for the traveling expenses while the rest of the funds go into a savings account, Kara said. Meanwhile, her income allows her to stay flexible with hours and location; she sells wellness items and owns a vacation rental, and has different ag endeavors.
“I have income coming from different areas that allows me to be able to stay on the road with her.”
Another logistical issue comes with Libby’s schooling; this year she’ll start online with Manhattan Virtual to account for her professional schedule. Last year, while attending public school for 8th grade, she missed 40 days.
“But I still got all As,” Libby said. The pair had already counted 26 days Libby would miss in the fall semester and decided she would need a more flexible schedule.
Libby also brings along a friend for her performances – bringing one or two friends, who also ride horses.
“It’s an adult sport; there are very few youth at pro rodeos,” Kara said. The friends help with show props and preparing the horses.
Libby’s siblings and grandparents also attend more local events when they are able. Sister Lakin, 22, still competes in rodeos and has been named World Champion goat tyer and was a CNFR Rookie of the Year. Brother Lane, 19 – they’re all named for Kansas towns – also competed. The later is the reason Liberty was born, Kara said. The family moved in with her parents when Lane was 1 after he was diagnosed with cancer, as he couldn’t be exposed to germs from a childcare facility.
“This sounds crazy to say but when he had cancer it made me rethink life. If we lost him and Lakin wouldn’t have a sibling. Or what if we needed cord blood; maybe I need to have a third to save the cord blood. Those are things you never think about until your kid has cancer.”
Lane has since been in remission for 17 years, however, the spark for Liberty was born.
At 8, Kara got her trick-riding lessons for Christmas and it took off from there. Within four years she earned her PRCA card at just 12 years old. In addition, she’s a multi-category dance champion, principal aerialist for Cirque de I’air Cascades Company, and placed in the top 20 in barrel racing.
Kara said Libby’s dance background made her the perfect candidate for trick riding.
“She was a natural; when she put her riding experience with her dance, it really set her up well,” she said. “Her core is strong, she’s flexible and balanced.”
Competing in wrestling shoes, which provide both flexibility, grip, and ankle support, Libby is also known for her colorful costumes, with matching adornments for the horses.
“A lot of trick riders wear black because it’s kind of dangerous but she started so young. I’ve always looked for bright, fun colors like pink, yellow or turquoise.” The one exception, they said, is patriotic colors, which Libby also dons regularly. She will draw out costumes to have them made, or look to dance or ice skating catalogs to find new performance threads.
Ironically, her name also refers to horses who do tricks without restraints, just one of Libby’s performance styles.
“I guess it’s just a coincidence that I decided to be a trick rider.”
Above: Cunningham posing with her four horses, Special (7), Blair (14), Cletus (19), and Elite (11). Cunningham will perform at the Longford Rodeo, August 29th and 30th in Longford, KS.
