Between the north Louisiana hills and the southern state’s well-know swamps is a woodland where dense trees hide the treasures that lie off the beaten path. One such treasure is 29-year-old Chrystal Ainsworth, an avid cutting horse competitor and entrepreneur who lives in Georgetown, Louisiana.
The Ainsworth family’s 110 acres house not only a beading shop but also several talented cutting horses. It wasn’t always home to cutters, but ever since Joe Ainsworth married Chrystal’s mom, Christy, horses of any kind have been a mainstay.
“My dad is a first-generation horseman,” said Ainsworth. “He is one of those tenacious people and decided he wanted a horse when he and mom got married. We have probably done every wrong thing imaginable to get to the right thing, but he did it all on his own through trial and error. They had me on a horse at 4 months old; at 4 years old, they turned me loose with this old, old barrel mare who was the ultimate kid’s horse.”
Rodeo Roots
Rodeo was the family’s path into the equine industry, and even into college, Ainsworth kept on the rodeo road. She competed in barrel racing, goat tying and roping events as a youth.
At Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, Louisiana, Ainsworth pursued a chemical engineering degree, forgoing horse activities for a year. But, that didn’t bode well for the young woman who was used to riding and running the roads.
“It was terrible! I didn’t talk to anybody on campus. I called my mom that first semester and she said I needed to move to south campus and get back with horses,” recalled Ainsworth. “They helped me get my old roping horse up to school and I got to rope with some really good people in North Louisiana.”
After graduating college with a bachelor in science in 2014, Ainsworth moved home to work for her father’s company in the oilfield industry. Then, she followed the oil industry to work in West Texas. That is when her beading business, CA Clazzy Beadz, really got started.
Beading Business
Today, Ainsworth and another employee bead tack and jewelry as well as work with leather, something Ainsworth recently added to her repertoire of skills. Custom creations and stock items are always ready for customers. Ainsworth offers a warranty on all her items. She creates from her home in Georgetown, splitting time between riding cutting horses and creating works of art with beads.
“In March 2019, my dad offered to let me come home to do horses and work,” said Ainsworth. “He had started to ride and train cutting horses about 10 years ago. He said his horses needed to be shown and wanted to get something done. It has been riding and beading full time since.”
NCHA World Standings Race
Though she got into the cutting pen just a short time ago, Ainsworth pursued it whole-heartedly. She shows Pepto Stylish Fox (Peptoboonsmal x Foxies Secret x Docs Stylish Oak), a 14-year-old red roan stallion, and SDP Hydrive Royalty (Hydrive Cat x CD Royalty x CD Olena) , a 2011 sorrel mare. Both horses are ranked in the top 15 of the National Cutting Horse Association World Standings.
As of August 5, Ainsworth sits fourth in the $2K Limit Rider with earnings from Pepto Stylish Fox and SDP Hydrive Royalty, as well as seventh in the $15k Amateur aboard SDP Hydrive Royalty. She is also in the running for Rookie of the Year, currently sitting third with $3,114 in earnings.
Cutters in the top 15 of each World Standings category are eligible to compete at the NCHA World Finals, which is held in conjunction with the NCHA Futurity show at Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth, Teas.
Ainsworth credits her father for keeping the horses tuned up, and gives a nod to many NCHA trainers such as Lloyd Cox, who helped her father, Mark Coie, Casey Crouch and Corey Trammel.
“I am blown away with the cutting family—they show up, help and tell you what you want to know. They are good people,” she said.
Cutting Lifestyle
A thriving business and hauling for world titles often create stress, but for Ainsworth, the lifestyle has been a blessing. She has a new clientele for her work, expanding from barrel racers into cutting horse competitors.
“A lot of youth rodeo when I was younger I was hauling on my own. This cutting thing has really brought us together,” she said of her family’s pastime. “The oil field has closed down so [my dad] is home working. It’s odd to be 30 and driving around with your parents every weekend, but it has been a blast. It’s really brought us a blessing.”
