Giddy up: Danada equestrian festival showcases drill teams
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the title of a forest preserve employee.
The Stateline Hotshots Rodeo Drill Team paraded into the arena to the opening notes of a Shania Twain song.
This was their “Fire Flag” performance a few years back at the Danada Equestrian Center in Wheaton. The team wears matching outfits and cowboy hats, and there’s a certain level of pageantry — a rodeo flair — to their routines, but there’s no horsing around: The maneuvers are highly choreographed.
“There's competitions in every state and a lot of local stuff. The rodeos like them a lot for entertainment as well. And it's just kind of become almost more of a sport than anything,” said Heather Johnsen, cocaptain of the Hotshots.
The team practices year-round out of Double B Stables in Wonder Lake. Members opened the season on a high note — performing at the Midwest Horse Fair in Wisconsin. They’re now gearing up for their season finale at the Fall Festival at Danada, a two-day gathering this weekend for horse lovers and the largest event of the year in the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County.
Danada’s main outdoor arena will also showcase Arabian breed demonstrations, therapeutic riding demonstrations, trick riding, barrel racing and other skills during the festival. Among the featured groups are the Midwest Renegades, Chicago Vaulting, the Stateline Hotshots, their sister team, the Stateline Spitfires, and Danada’s own drill team.
“They do some really good stunts and some incredible riding, and they're well practiced. They just do a fantastic job,” said Wayne Zaininger, equestrian experience manager, of the drill teams.
If you don’t know the difference between a bridle and a halter, you might think of the spectacle as something like a dance team production on horseback. The Hotshots run in red, black and silver. Photos of the group show the team in a “pinwheel” move or what is known as a “Flying V” formation.
“It really takes each individual horse playing their part and being where they need to be so that the moves come together and you see the dance come out as you watch,” Johnsen said.
To join the team, as indicated by a tryouts invitation on Facebook, you need to be comfortable riding one-handed at canter or gallop and — here’s the kicker — while holding a flag in the other hand. And as for the equine team members, “they need to learn how to regulate their speeds,” Johnsen said.
“Sometimes we have fast turns, so they need to be very responsive to the rider and … have a good attitude,” said Johnsen, whose horse is Magnolia, an 8-year-old black-and-white paint mare.
The festival is also a celebration of Danada’s equestrian heritage. Visitors can stroll through the barn that once housed Lucky Debonair, the horse steered by Hall-of-Fame jockey Willie “The Shoe” Shoemaker to the Kentucky Derby winner’s circle in 1965. Horse-drawn and tractor-drawn wagon rides will take a scenic route through the Danada Forest Preserve. And there will be kid-friendly entertainment, pony rides and a straw maze.
“Everyone loves going out in the fall. They love the cool breeze. You get the fall colors … it’s a great time to have a festival,” Zaininger said.
Johnsen and fellow cocaptain Bona Heinsohn have been original members of the Hotshots since its inception in 2020. Johnsen enjoys the camaraderie.
“For the most part, with horses, you … ride individually,” she said, “and it's just you and your horse, but in something like this, you really have to work as a team to make everything run smoothly, and it's just a cool feeling.”
If you go
What: Fall Festival at Danada
When: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, rain or shine
Where: Danada Equestrian Center, 3S507 Naperville Road, Wheaton
Cost: Admission and parking are free, but there are fees for some activities