Sadie Lynn performs a trick know as “riding Roman” during the All American Cowgirl Chicks’ show at the Lampasas Riata Roundup Rodeo last weekend. PHOTO BY RICHARD AKRIDGE The All American Cowgirl Chicks are a tough act to follow.

In addition to providing the opening entertainment for the recent Lampasas Riata Roundup Rodeo, the well-known group of horse-riding daredevils has gone beyond simply providing glitz and glamour to an otherwise down-anddirty competition.

With every trot and riding trick, the Cowgirl Chicks not only wow the fans, but they are fighting a disease by raising donations for cancer research.

“It is an unbelievable feeling to go into an arena and actually be able to pull your sleeves up and do something you love to do to give someone hope,” said Trish Lynn, Cowgirl Chicks founder and coach.

While the love for horses and trick riding was Lynn’s initial reason for beginning the Cowgirl Chicks 14 years ago, it quickly developed into much more after the two-year-old son of the team’s horseshoer was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer.

After originally complaining of a toothache, the pain rapidly transformed into a cantaloupe-sized tumor in his jaw.

Having no medical insurance, the family saw its bills mount, and Lynn knew she had to find a way to help.

“That gave us the determination and the inspiration to take our performance into the rodeo arena to see what we could get for a donation,” Lynn said. “He lost his eye and had lots of reconstruction surgery, but his attitude is one that he never quits.”

In the years following, with the goal of raising funds to fight cancer always in the forefront of their minds, the Cowgirl Chicks became one of the most recognizable and respected equestrian drill teams in the nation.

While the squad is perhaps most famous for its stunts, the Cowgirl Chicks are not a one-trick pony.

The group puts on preshows with dancing and singing. They fire off pyrotechnics during their routines, conduct training camps and, possibly most important, donate their time to the community.

“If we can go somewhere and give someone hope that they can live one more day or just give them a happiness without any pain they might be going through with chemotherapy [then we will],” Lynn said.

In addition to putting on an average of 85 performances a year, spending countless hours practicing and traveling -- sometimes driving in shifts for 24 to 28 consecutive hours for a show -- most of the 14 team members are forced to work full-time jobs.

“It is something you definitely have to be dedicated to,” Lynn said. “It is not a hobby.

“Is it a full-time job? Yes. Do they get paid what they deserve? No, but we don’t do it for the money. We do it to help other people, inspire other people and to feed our horses.”

While the Cowgirl Chicks’ performances appear effortless, it is incredibly dangerous work to perform the impressive tricks with ominous names such as the tail drag, under the belly, spin the horn, back bend and cartwheel vault.

Described as “elite athletes” by Lynn, riders must be in complete control of their every movement as they perform difficult routines while riding a horse at full speed.

“Regardless of how prepared we are, we are dealing with nature,” Lynn said. “A lot of people have been killed doing this; people break bones. These are tough girls.”

In the end, the Cowgirl Chicks refuse to be known as just a dangerdefying team.

“It’s one thing to be tough and say you do this and then not ever get to visit with people one on one, but that’s not what the Cowgirl Chicks are,” Lynn said. “It is deep down and personal, it’s not just something we do. We love to do it.”