RM | NEIGHBORS The Daredevil Drafts Michaela Redeker and her Clydesdales ride with style by Heather Berry | hberry@ruralmissouri.coop T hey sound like muffl ed thunder as they round the bend. Dust clouds follow as their rider guides them with her reins. The Clydesdales continue galloping within inches of one another and in sync so the rider can stand solidly on their backs. " Most people are unfamiliar with Roman riding because it's pretty rare to see these days, " Michaela Redeker says of the style. Roman riding is where the person stands atop a pair of horses with one foot on each horse's back as they ride, reminiscent of ancient Rome, minus the chariots and armor. Michaela, the driving force behind Daredevil Drafts, says this style of riding is one she performs for crowds across the United States and Canada year-round. While many Roman-style riders use smaller breeds, this energetic 24-year-old horse trainer prefers her moving foundation to be more solid, so she chose Clydesdales. " I've been showing horses all my life, " says the Catawissa resident. " My dad is a real-life cowboy and a farrier and my mother used to show horses, too. I knew what I wanted to do with horses when I was about 12 when I bought my fi rst Clydesdale. " 42 RURAL MISSOURI | AUGUST 2022 Catawissa of