With some impressive accolades under their belt, the two youngest members of the Duke family, Karter and Halle, have made everyone sit up and take notice at venues such as Spruce Meadows and Rocky Mountain Show Jumping.
The Duke family’s roots in the horse industry run deep. Jay’s father, Fred Duke, is a champion cowboy who has won the Canadian Cutting Horse Championship four times and was inducted into the Canadian Cutting Horse Hall of Fame. His mother, Cheryl Anderson, counts Mark Laskin among her long list of successful students. Jay’s daughters are a product of the generations of horsemanship that have been passed down to them. “Both are excellent horsemen, something that is rare and disappearing in the sport,” he says proudly.
When business duties are shared by family members, it can be difficult not to bring work problems home to the dinner table. “There are ups and downs, but to always have family there is invaluable,” Lisa says. “My father-in-law taught us this when we first started dating: no horse talk at dinner, don’t answer your phone at dinner, and before dinner, sit down together by yourselves with a glass of wine and discuss your day. It can’t always happen, but thankfully we have two older kids that are not into horses and they keep us grounded.”
Professionals coaching their own children is another challenge. “I love that my kids have their dad as a coach – and he is an amazing coach,” says Lisa. “On the other hand, I have fired him at the side of the pony ring when I know it’s getting too emotional. Other times he has been the only one that could understand where his daughter is at, and how to draw upon what she’s feeling for a breakthrough in the riding.”
Karter, 15, was the youngest person to compete in international competition at Spruce Meadows when, at the age of 13, she placed an impressive fifth in 2011’s Atco Double Slalom aboard her Connemara mare, Jewel. She began riding at four, and has been named Canadian Pony Jumper Champion two years consecutively and Alberta Pony Jumper Champion three years running. “Horses have taught me so much. I think the best horses are the ones that you can teach, but at the same time they teach you,” she muses. “You go a little their way and they go a little yours. I think the most important lesson a horse or pony has taught me is that nothing comes easy. If you want something you have to work for it.”
Younger sister Halle, 9, began riding before she could walk by insisting loudly that her parents put her on the saddle with them: “I would cry when they would stop!’ With many pony championships across the Pacific Northwest, Halle is an accomplished young competitor, yet her favourite moments with the horses are decidedly more laid-back. “I love when we bareback ride and trail ride with friends,” she explains. “I really like to look after the horses: I clean my own stall and I love to come early and feed my pony, bathe her, and tack her up by myself. Showing is just a part of what I like to do. I just really enjoy spending time with my ponies and our family’s horses.”
Halle is quick to point out some of the perks of having a horse show family, however. “My dad can always introduce me to my favourite riders and even arrange to let me course walk with McLain Ward.” Do Jay and Lisa have any reservations about their children pursuing horses professionally? “All our kids know that we want them to do something in their life that makes them happy … right after they get a degree!’ laughs Lisa. ‘I love that my children enjoy the animal first and foremost. They understand how to care for them and treat them with kindness and respect. I know they learn mental strength, responsibility, humility and compassion, but words really cannot explain what the horses teach us and give to our family. For us, they are an emotional connection that cannot be explained, just experienced.”
