Ilyssa Riley spent most of her childhood in the saddle. Growing up on a ranch in New Mexico, helping gather cattle was just everyday life. Even though Ilyssa didn’t care much for the cattle side of ranching, these long hours in the saddle laid the foundation for her horsemanship and genuine love of the horse.
Ilyssa has been making a splash in professional rodeo for the last couple of years. However, she is making big waves as her quest for her first National Finals Rodeo seems to be within reach. Ilyssa knows that a happy horse is a winning horse, and that is why she trusts SUCCEED to keep her horses happy and healthy.
The Love of the Horse
Most kids thrive on the competition, and the love of the horse comes secondary. For Ilyssa, the love of the horse always came first. She didn’t care much about roping or goat tying like most girls; she just wanted to spend time on the back of a horse and go fast. This would be where her passion for running barrels was born.
“I just loved spending time on a horse; I would even offer to exercise my brother’s calf horses just to spend time in the saddle. They were more than just a tool to me.”
Even though Ilyssa had a strong foundation and superior horsemanship from a young age, it did not mean her young career was one boasting prestigious wins. Ilyssa followed the path that most rodeo kids do, competing in junior high and high school rodeo, but these were plagued with struggles for her.
When college rolled around, Ilyssa broke her bad luck spell. Ilyssa attended West Texas A&M while also being a part of the rodeo team. Ilyssa’s time in collegiate rodeo also resulted in a College National Finals Rodeo qualification. This was just the beginning of Ilyssa’s pivotal turnaround in her Barrel Racing career.
“I didn’t have a very glamorous rodeo career growing up. I’m just a girl that has stumbled across great horses.”
Mindset Matters: Key to Dreams Unfolding
Rodeo is a constant roller coaster of wins, losses, and uncontrollable aspects. In 2022, Ilyssa had a great start to the year during the winter rodeos, and it looked like her dream of making the NFR was within reach. When Ilyssa headed out for the summer run, she was sitting 15th in the World, a great spot to be heading into the most profitable months of the season.
“I left for the summer run sitting so well in the standings that I found myself making my barrel runs about not messing up instead of running like I had nothing to lose every run.”
Ilyssa experienced the humbling lows of rodeos during the most critical time of the season. When the season ended, Ilyssa went home and regrouped, and that’s the moment it changed. In just a few short weeks of rodeoing close to home, Ilyssa won over $9,000, more than she won all summer. It wasn’t that her horses worked that much better or that her riding improved; it was as simple as changing her mindset.
“I have my husband, Jess, to thank. I kept saying Money wasn’t an outside horse, and he would tell me to make him an outside horse. I had to believe that he could do it, throw fear out the window and stop playing it safe.”
The Year of Redemption
After many lessons learned in 2022 and a strong start to the year at the Fall rodeos, Ilyssa was ready to take on a new season. 2023 started with a bang for Ilyssa when she came out and won the very first rodeo she went to. That momentum didn’t stop; she continued to place at many of the Fall rodeos leading into the Texas Circuit Finals. At the circuit finals, Ilyssa was the picture of domination and consistency, winning a round and ultimately winning the average when the dust settled.
“In the fall, I accomplished in one rodeo what I had tried all year to do, and that was qualify for Houston. Money was on a heater in the Fall, and we made the most of it.”
The amazing Fall was just the beginning for Ilyssa. Heading into the summer run, Ilyssa sat outside the Top 15 but remained confident in her horses. That confidence changed everything from the year before. In a little less than a month, Ilyssa won over $45,000, skyrocketing her back into the Top 15 in the World Standings. $22,000 of that came from one single week in July. Now, in the final hours of the regular season, Ilyssa has officially crossed the $100,000 mark and is sitting 6th in the World, and it looks as though she will clinch her first NFR qualification for this December.
“Everyone keeps saying I have the finals made, but for me, I want to keep my head down and keep pushing as if I don’t. I’ve seen how fast things can change; I am going to keep grinding it out until the end.”
Success with SUCCEED
When Ilyssa bought her horse Money a couple of years ago, she was introduced to SUCCEED for the first time. Money’s previous owner had him on SUCCEED and told Ilyssa about it. She thought that since he was used to having it, she would keep him on it and see what her thoughts were on the product.
“I had never heard of SUCCEED before this, but I couldn’t believe how much he loved it. I have never seen a horse love a tubed product so much.”
After seeing simply how much Money liked it and how well he did on SUCCEED, Ilyssa thought it couldn’t hurt to start her other horses on the product. Ilyssa was amazed at the changes she began to see and how each horse experienced their own unique changes depending on what challenges they had been facing.
From Ilyssa’s nervous horses, ones that didn’t want to take a bit, and those slow eaters that were hard to keep weight on, SUCCEED was the missing component. These are a few of the individual issues Ilyssa faced with her equine partners, and after a few short weeks on SUCCEED, she saw all these issues become less of a problem and eventually go away completely.
“Champ used to be so nervous he would walk his stall even at home; since SUCCEED, he is much calmer. Rowdy had some teeth problems, and we couldn’t even get a bit in his mouth. We used SUCCEED to show him that not everything in his mouth was bad, and he began taking a bit after we used SUCCEED to show him he could and that his teeth no longer hurt.”
SUCCEED is Key to Stability on the Road
“If you don’t have a healthy gut, you don’t have a happy horse; if you don’t have a happy horse, you don’t have a winning horse.”
When traveling, your horses experience so many changing variables, stress, and competition. It can take a toll on their digestive health if not properly managed. Ilyssa knows that a happy horse is a winning horse, and a happy horse begins within their gut.
“When on the road, there is not much stability. With SUCCEED being once a day, every day, I believe it provides stability for their digestive tracts amongst all the other ever-changing factors.”
With Ilyssa’s extensive travel schedule, especially in the summer, her horses will be on the trailer for many hours at a time. It is vital to Ilyssa that her horses eat well while in the trailer and drink every time she stops to water them. In the past, Ilyssa has struggled with her horses drinking when she stops and offers them a drink. After SUCCEED, all her horses drink every time she stops for gas and offers them water. Keeping her horses hydrated during these long hauls is Ilyssa’s primary concern while traveling.
When their gut is healthy, it has a domino effect on their overall health. When their digestive health is functioning properly, they drink well, eat well, haul well, and, in turn, perform well. Ilyssa knows that her success in the arena starts on the inside of her horse.
“What I love about SUCCEED is that it is a daily supplement, not a quick fix treatment that wears off.”
