‘I love the performance side’ - Lead-Deadwood’s Atty Eastman has a passion in trick riding while balancing other activities
Atty Eastman rides into the arena at WIld West Wednesdays at Hart Ranch on Aug. 5. (Matt Gade/605 Sports)
By Matt Gade
605 Sports
HART RANCH — If competing in three high school sports throughout the school year in addition to competing in high school rodeo events and serving as the South Dakota High School Rodeo queen isn’t enough, on Wednesday nights throughout the summer, Lead-Deadwood’s Atty Eastman has showcased her trick riding skills as part of the Wild Wednesdays Rodeo at Hart Ranch.
This past Wednesday was Eastman’s final performance for the 2026 season as the 8-part weekly rodeo wrapped up for the year.
Eastman is a 3-sport athlete for the Golddiggers competing in volleyball, basketball and track and field.
Eastman said that around the same time she started competing in rodeo events, she became very curious about trick riding.
“My mom showed me a video of Roz Sutton, Brent Sutton's wife, showed me a video of her trick riding. She goes, "Oh, look at like this is one of my friends. She trick rides. She showed me a video, and I was like, ‘That is so cool. I want to do that.’”
What started as attending a Sutton’s camp progressed into a full-on production.
Now, Eastman is a regular face for the Wild West Wednesday rodeo shows.
“With Hart Ranch, we had seen it online about little rodeo series, and we saw that they do clown acts and have little things throughout it. So we reached out to Nate (Morrison) about it and told him I'm a trick rider.
“I'm young. I'm still kind of learning. But is there any way I'd be able to come to maybe one or two shows, and he said, for the first year, ‘Why don't we try these two dates, I don't have any acts booked.’ And since then he's asked me to do the full series and asked me to come back every year. It means a means a lot.”
Atty Eastman takes part in the production meeting ahead of the Aug. 5 performance at Hart Ranch. (Matt Gade/605 Sports)
This the fourth year, Eastman has performed at Wild West Wednesdays. She’s also performed at the Custer County Fair and Newell Labor Day rodeos in past years.
Eastman said she’s come a long way since her first performance where she was nervous and a little intimidated to start but enjoyed it so much she was determined to do even more.
“I can practice and run my horse as much as I want,” Eastman said. “And he's used to like the flags, the noise and everything. But my first ever time going out, I was not ready for the amount of noise and how loud the crowd was. My horse was excited. He was ready to run, and I was a little nervous going in. I was like, "Oh my gosh, this is so scary! He's going so fast!
“My favorite aspect is that I definitely love the performance side. When I'm in the arena and I'm on my horse and he's amped up, ready to run, I'm ready to perform my tricks that I've been practicing. Getting the crowd involved is my favorite. When I can get them to cheer super loud and my horses, they feed off of that energy a lot. So when the crowd is super interactive with me, it feels so great because my horse runs great. I feel great. I know the crowd's enjoying it.”
Before each performance, Eastman figures out her performance routine, whether she’s hanging upside down by just one stirrup to balancing on the saddle; Eastman said she wants to put on a show for everyone.
Putting on a solid performance means balancing her time to make sure she is able to practice.
Eastman said she has a lot of early mornings and long nights.
“Even during school and after practices and after lifting, I still go up. I put in 200, 300 shots during basketball,” Eastman said. “I find extra time in the summer to go do volleyball stuff. During track season, I'm always putting in extra work, doing extra stretching for my hurdles. So, even in school, I always will go out and spend time with them (horses), just having that connection with them, and you know, giving them treats, just going on bareback rides with them, just to keep them moving through the winter. But because I usually am busy with sports, I get home late and have early mornings. It's just about finding a balance.”
This past spring, Eastman qualified for the state track meet in both the 100 and 300-meter hurdle events and as a member of Lead-Deadwood’s 400-meter and 800-meter relay teams.
At the high school rodeo ranks, Eastman qualified for Nationals in the short rifle along with being crowned the South Dakota High School Rodeo Queen for a second year in a row.
Atty Eastman goes over her performance list with Chad McCarty before her performance on Aug. 5. (Matt Gade/605 Sports)
Eastman said she just loves to compete in all of the events, and while it can be a lot to juggle. Her family makes it easier for her.
“I'm super grateful to have my parents with me. You know, my dad, Chad (McCarty). He's always there, helping me saddle. He's bringing my tape over, helping me cool down horses. My mom (Kristy Eastman) is always running the gate. She's helping me find flag holders. So, it means a lot to have everyone down there.“
As Eastman closed out her trick riding performances for the season with Wild West Wednesday’s final performance, the incoming senior had little time to take a break as she, along with the rest of the state, started volleyball practice this past Thursday.
While Eastman said she hopes to compete in track and field in college while studying veterinary sciences. But before she heads off to college next fall, Eastman said she’s excited for next summer’s performances.
