Fourteen-year-old riding sensation Piper Yule is now a star of the small screen with her own reality TV show
Piper Yule has travelled all over North America demonstrating her skill with horses.
Now the 14-year-old from Wardlow, Alta., is appearing on her own reality TV show: Piper Yule — A Cowgirl Original.
The show, which airs on the Cowboy Channel, follows her as she performs feats of horsemanship and works on her parent’s fifth-generation ranch.
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“My family ranched for so long, generations. I grew up with horses and cows and stuff, so it’s honestly just normal to spend the entire day riding horses,” says Yule.
At the age of four, she became interested in other forms of riding. After watching trick riding on television, she asked her parents to enrol her in a course. Once she tried it, she was hooked.
Yule became interested in Roman riding at age five, a style in which a person rides a pair of horses while standing up, with one foot on each horse. She started practising Roman riding with her brother’s mini ponies and her trick saddles, and eventually did it in the barn. From there, she worked her way up to full-sized horses.
Her skills now also include cow horse, cutting, roping and ranching. Another one of her talents is training liberty horses, which perform movements, exercises and complex routines without the usual restraints like ropes, reins or halters.
“It’s about the horsemanship and the connection between you and the horse,” says Yule. “All my horses can lay down because I trained them all how to lay down.”
Her liberty horses can walk around her in a circle without her need for guidance.
“It’s a lot of understanding the horse,” she says.
Talks about a potential show starring Yule began in January 2023. At first, she didn’t believe it would happen, but filming began in 2023 and continued into 2024. Yule says people who watch the show will see her way of life.
“I know it’s unique because a lot of rodeo people, they grow up on acreages.”
Viewers will see life on the ranch, as well as Yule’s performances and activities on the road. At first, Yule felt it was strange to have a camera focused on her 24/7, but she quickly got used to it. She performs in rodeos across North America.
“In the TV show, you get to see all the behind the scenes of that and all the ins and outs of that,” she says.
“I got in a wreck last year, and they filmed that. There’s not a whole lot of filters on it. We get to see the real deal. It’s not just three minutes of performing; it’s the whole behind the scenes of getting to the rodeo, preparing and seeing all the horses.
“I think people like to see how much work actually goes into it,” she says, adding she is looking forward to seeing the show and will see most of it for the first time just as the television audience will.
“I haven’t even really seen all of it, so I’m a little nervous, but excited.”
Yule is frequently on the road and is always away for June, July and August. She is home schooled and does her homework as she travels. Her family has 25 horses, and she has trained several of them.
Yule started competing at an early age and won several awards as a youngster, the first one at age nine. She soon got involved in performing and showing. Since then, she has won numerous awards from the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association and the Professional Rodeo Cowboys’ Association.
The show debuted on the Cowboy Channel in mid-October. It runs Mondays at 5:30 MST, with repeats at 9:30 MST and Saturdays at a yet-unspecified time. The channel is available on cable, satellite and streaming platforms, and through the Cowboy Channel app.
