Dancing on all fours

Equestrian drill team steps its way to stardom

By PAT STEMPER VOJTA The Independent

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Bev Vlahos’ students practice her choreographed moves on all fours.

Vlahos’ students are horses, and their riders learn dance moves at “Our Bit of Heaven,” her Woodstock farm.

Vlahos, born in Toronto, Ontario, owned her first horse in her late 20s, after she married and moved to Crystal Lake. Her love of horses has spanned the past 30 years.

After spending time on an equestrian drill team at Bull Valley Stables, Vlahos decided to use her 5-acre farm at 420 N. Rose Farm Rd. to start her own equestrian drill team. In 2004, she started the Midwest Renegades Equestrian Drill Team.

“It has always been a dream of mine to perform with my horse to music,” said Vlahos.

Vlahos choreographs the eight- to 12-minute routines using stanzas from four or five different songs. “I use all different styles of music. It depends on what I’m looking for, for the specific drill,” said Vlahos.

She has used theme songs from “Top Gun,” “Rocky” and “Deliverance” in addition to country music, including her favorite, “The Raggedy Old Flag,” Johnny Cash’s tribute to the American Flag.

Vlahos practices the different maneuvers with Zeke, her Clydesdale/Morgan cross, before she teaches it to the 12-member team. Members range in age from 17 to 55, and their horses include draft crosses and quarter horses.

The drill team members’ hard work paid off in 2006 when they took first place at the Midwest Equestrian Drill Team Championships in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. They also took fifth place in the Open Division and fourth place in the Theme Division at the U.S. Equestrian Drill Championship national finals in Myrtle Springs, Texas, in June.

Teams are judged on the straightness of their lines, the precision of the team, transitions from each maneuver, the crowd response and overall appeal.

The drill team competed at the Walworth County Fair in Wisconsin. The team also performed at Tommie Turvey’s Equine Extremist performance in Sterling, the Hooved Animal Society’s annual picnic in Woodstock and the Midwest Horse Fair at the Alliance Center in Madison, Wis.

Vlahos is adding two more teams: the Midwest Renegade Dare Devils, a high performance adult division that performs to faster music with more technical and trick riding styles, and the Midwest Renegade Dirt Devils, a youth division comprised of 8- to 16-year-olds.

“We wanted to make sure that we opened ourselves up to any age of rider and any riding ability,” said Vlahos. She enjoys her work with the team. “I like the challenge to be able to take 12 different people and 12 different horses and make a performance to music,” said Vlahos. “The camaraderie is fantastic, and it’s a great group.”

For information, call 815-334-0062 or visit www.midwestrenegades.com.

This article was published in the October 3, 2007 edition of The Woodstock Independent.