Leah Hunter Hare is a natural leader whose care and desire to build others up shines through the business she and her two younger sisters proudly run.
The Greer, South Carolina breakaway roper and barrel racer didn’t grow up in a horse family and hopes to be an example for others that you don’t have to have been born into it to make it. You just have to have the desire and drive.
Leah was the first one in her family to ride horses. When she was two years old she adored horses and not long after her Poppy Gene bought her one. Her first horse, Rosie, taught she and her sisters how to ride. Later, they bought a step-up buckskin pony mare named Prissy that Leah and her sisters learned to barrel race on.
As she started working with her barrel horse trainer, Bill Jenkins, she realized there would be many horses on her journey and she tried to learn from each of them and then be okay with letting them go. This philosophy has worked well for her and her sisters, but there is one that has stayed around: Jack, her main rope horse.
Leah barrel raced until she was 17 and then decided to learn to rope. She worked and saved her own money to buy her first rope horse and changed her main focus to breakaway. She had an offer to go out west to rodeo but decided to stay local and went to college to get her accounting degree.
While she has always gravitated toward the barrel racing and the breakaway roping, she feels roping has a few stand out benefits. The first of which being that in barrel racing, practice is often slow work, whereas with roping, you do the same thing in practice you’d do in the rodeo.
She continues to keep a foot in both realms, and do so successfully, as the National Barrel Horse Association (NBHA) director for her area and with recent wins in the breakaway. She mainly sticks with the Southern Rodeo Association (SRA) and the International Pro Rodeo Association (IPRA) for her personal competition these days and prefers to stay semi-local.
Since she is around it full time she has to carve out her own time to practice, roping 2-3 times a week, using the Speed Trainer in the barn, and anytime she gets a break roping the dummy. Leah understands that it takes a team to win. She is very thankful for her husband, Colton Hare, for always pushing her to practice and supporting her goals. Being able to rope and enjoy her sport with her sisters has been a blessing. Leah also recognizes how important it is to have your horses feel 100% and thanks Dr. Jamie Carter and farriers Shearer Wludyka and Reggie Lemoine for their handwork.
Today, Leah and her sisters have a business together where they run a boarding barn, teach lessons and do summer camps. Her favorite part of the job is helping people find the right horse. It’s a full service, from understanding their needs to negotiating the price, vet check, trying the horse, etc. She jokingly says she is like the horse version of a real estate agent. She gets to travel all over the country to different places with clients to try horses. Leah finds it so rewarding to watch others win and excel on a horse she paired a client with and meet new people along the way. She’s learned a lot about vet care too. With all the PPE’s (Pre-Purchase Exams) she’s been a apart of she has witnessed it all and has an idea of what is manageable and what isn’t.
In addition to LH Performance Horses, Leah also runs LH Shows and Events, and hosts barrel races and breakaway ropings. Her favorite event each year is The Annual Skyla Strong Benefit Barrel Race and Breakaway roping. The last two years they have been able to raise $20,000 (+) each year for children and families battling cancer. Leah also hosts the Carolina Cashout. A first of its kind breakaway roping modeled after the barrel slot races. The first one they held was this past January and it paid out over $40,000 in one night. The winner took home over $15,000. While there is a larger entry fee, she takes a payment system where contestants just make 5 payments of $150.
One of the niche roles their barn fills is providing an avenue for people who didn’t grow up in the western world to access it and begin to understand it. She guides people through the culture shock of how rodeo events work and what different clothing, tack, and traditions are while they also learn to ride. Many of their students become passionate about the western world and choose to be involved in rodeo, starting at her LH Series and transitioning into Junior High and then High School Rodeo, the Southern Rodeo Association (SRA), the International Pro Rodeo Association (IPRA) and even competing at the national level for the different organizations.
As she works with the next generation of rodeo stars, there are a few things she has learned and observed. She believes that heart is something that can’t be taught. Those who succeed are the ones with the desire to do it and get to the next level–a rare trait and something she looks for in a student. She also looks for a love of the horse and a drive to be competitive.
Many times, she starts her students in the barrels before they switch to the roping because she wants them to work on their horsemanship and riding skills before they add a rope to the equation.
Leah also wants others to feel welcomed into the rodeo culture and offers some advice:
“Don’t be afraid to ask for help. You’ve got to want it in order to win and be willing to put in the work and time and effort that it takes to do it.”
“You don’t have to have the fanciest rig or saddle. It doesn’t matter what you pull up in, it’s about what you pull out of the trailer. Be thankful if you do have fancy stuff but know you can do it without it. I did.”
You can follow her upcoming events on LH Performance Horses Facebook Page.
All photo credit to respective photographers.
