Equestrian influencer Mathilde Labat has an introduction to Western riding

Mathilde Labat is a French blogger who loves everything to do with horses.
She is followed on the internet as "Mathilde and Sligo" by tens of thousands of followers - over 180,000! - and, for the past few weeks, she has been presenting Kavalkades, a weekly TV show on France 3 Auvergne Rhône Alpes.
As a regular visitor to Equita Lyon and all the major international FEI competitions, Mathilde wanted to move out of her comfort zone and try her hand at two Western riding disciplines.
When the French Cutters had completed their flag work in the packed Texas arena at Equita Lyon, Mathilde took over, riding Smooth Rey Tag, a 12-year-old quarter horse owned by French cutting trainer Etienne Galline and his wife Sylvie. After a few quick adjustments, notably concerning the position of the hands, Mathilde was soon able to enjoy the sensations provided by a perfectly trained horse, attentive to the slightest movement of the flag. The traditional bits used in Western riding are sometimes the subject of unfair controversy, since the riders have little or no contact with the horses' mouths. Mathilde's Cutting experience was the perfect demonstration of this, since as soon as the young influencer put her hand in her horse's mane, it did a great job on the flag, to the applause of an admiring audience.

After this experience, Mathilde headed to the Oklahoma arena in Hall 6, dedicated entirely to reining. The walk took longer than usual, since Mathilde stopped along the way to talk to her many fans, who wanted a selfie or an autograph. The sculptural DS Ottavio Gun, an 8-year-old grey quarter horse with an incredibly long mane, was waiting for Mathilde when she finally arrived, alongside Lynn Thill, the horse's owner from Luxembourg.
After taking a few minutes to get used to the horse, Mathilde managed to perform a few reining manoeuvres, such as spins, stops and roll backs.
When she climbed down from the magnificent stallion, Mathilde said she was thrilled with both experiences, and will be in the stands at the Oklahoma arena on Saturday evening for the big reining evening!