A Barrel of Fun: A Business Student Joins the Rodeo with Her Trusty Sidekick
Layla Hanna walks Cosmo on a trail after a practice. (Photo/Katy Clark)
A horse named Cosmo kicks up dirt as he rounds a barrel, completing a turn with his owner, Layla Hanna, riding on his back. On this sunny Sunday, days before the 2025 Poly Royal Rodeo, Hanna is practicing patterns with Cosmo at the Cotton Rosser Rodeo Complex, working drills with her horse to build muscle and discipline.
One muscle-building drill they do is a “counterbend,” where Hanna tilts his head to the right as they turn left around a barrel.
Layla Hanna practices barrel racing with her horse, Cosmo. (Photo/Katy Clark)
“I just try to keep it as calm as possible so that Cosmo is not angry with me that I’m asking for something too hard,” Hanna said. “If he is not doing what I’ll ask him, I’ll ask him a couple more times, and then usually we’ll end it when he does what I want him to do.”
A member of the Cal Poly rodeo team, Hanna, a business administration major, competes in barrel racing, a sport that has athletes on horseback race around three barrels in an arena as fast as they can.
During the 2025 Poly Royal Rodeo, Hanna and Cosmo ran the clover leaf pattern in 17.9 seconds on Friday and 17.39 seconds on Saturday.
Hanna joined the Cal Poly rodeo team this year as a freshman. She brought Cosmo, a horse she’s had since she was 14, to campus so she could compete with him. When Hanna got Cosmo from a horse buyer in Texas, she had never seen or ridden him before.
Cal Poly rodeo athletes pay an $800 stall fee each quarter for their horse to live at the Cotton Rosser Rodeo Complex. With the fee, athletes also get access to hay to feed their horses. When Hanna checked out the rodeo grounds, she was excited to have a place to bring Cosmo. Huntington Beach, her hometown, doesn’t have natural hills like San Luis Obispo, she said.
“It’s very flat, very busy, very surfer-catered,” Hanna said. “There are so many more trails here, so many more opportunities.”
At the rodeo complex, she added, Cosmo has more space and can see the horses in the neighboring stalls, something he could not do back at his place in Huntington Beach.
Hanna has been riding horses since she was eight. There was a barn five minutes from her house, so right after her eighth birthday, her mom signed her up for lessons, and she was soon riding once a week.
Hanna broke her elbow in the fourth grade when she fell off a horse while executing a jump. She switched to the Western style of riding a couple of weeks later, because she could ride in a Western saddle with a cast on.
As the saying goes, she quickly got back on her horse.
“I wasn’t too concerned about my pain, I guess,” Hanna said with a laugh.
Western riding is based on cowboy culture, featuring skills such as rodeo, reining, cow sorting and extreme cowboy, according to Hanna. In comparison, English riding is seen as more formal with events such as show jumping, dressage and cross country.
“I just kind of fell in love with it,” Hanna said.
Layla Hanna prepares Cosmo, her horse, for practice. (Photo/Katy Clark)
When her trainer switched to barrel-specific lessons, Hanna began learning barrel racing at age 12. When she acquired Cosmo two years later, he was “green,” according to Hanna, meaning he had never barrel raced or been ridden before.
As she pursued her passion for horse riding, in high school, Hanna also participated in debate club, where teamwork and problem solving inspired her to pursue business.
“I’m a total people person, and I think it allows me to show off the things that I’m really good at,” she said, “and it allows me to work well with others and build new skills.”
While she has not picked a concentration yet, she might pursue accounting and potentially look into law after earning her bachelor’s degree. Hanna took a business law class in winter quarter, when she participated in a mock debate and mediation.
Photo Gallery: See Layla Hanna preparing for the 2025 Poly Royal Rodeo. (Photos by Katy Clark)
She likes Cal Poly, both for its rodeo team and the education.
“[Cal Poly] has a lot of country and it has a lot of Western, but it also has a really cool education program, and there’s just a lot to it,” Hanna said. “I think it was a very well rounded option, which is why I really fell in love with it.”
During a recent practice day at the arena, Hanna also runs figure-8 patterns with Cosmo. People trot into the arena on horseback with their ropes, calves following, ready to practice roping and breakaway. Hanna dismounts from her horse and starts to roll the barrels back in for the day to give them space.
She then leads Cosmo on a trail that opens up to a view of Bishop Peak. With its uphill walk and secluded nature, this trail has become a peaceful part of their daily cooldown.
During the walk, Hanna directs Cosmo with oral cues, such as “Ho!,” which prompts Cosmo to stop in his tracks. Sometimes, Cosmo tries to eat the grass on the trail with his bit in, a piece of tack in his mouth attached to the rein.
Hanna jokingly reminds Cosmo that he will eat very soon, he just has to be patient.
“You’re attached still, sir,” Hanna said to Cosmo as he still tries to eat with his bit on. “Chunky monkey.”
The duo heads back to Hanna’s trailer so she can remove his reins and bit. Hanna’s trailer is Cosmo’s primary mode of transportation to competitions and back to Huntington Beach. In the storage space of her trailer, rodeo memorabilia, such as awards, and rodeo attire fill the space, along with Cosmo’s snacks and apparel.
Cosmo’s favorite snacks include carrots, watermelon and peppermint.
Hanging in the trailer, ready for use at competitions, is Hanna’s cowboy hat.
Cosmo moves his head impatiently at times and rubs it on the side of the trailer; He is ready for his meal.
Layla Hanna tosses a saddle on her horse, Cosmo. (Photo/Katy Clark)
Hanna then takes him to the stall for his favorite part of the day, mealtime.
On top of being a student, Hanna tries to ride Cosmo about 5-6 times a week – sometimes on the beach in Morro Bay. She feeds Cosmo twice a day: once in the morning and once in the evening after riding him. She also gives him snacks, such as mini muffins, before riding.
Through rodeo, Hanna has made friends, who have helped watch her horse, giving her a break from the daily responsibilities of owning a horse.
“It’s nice to have friends, have people that have the same lifestyle and rely on each other so you can always take a break,” Hanna said.
Fran Carlin, Hanna’s friend she met in rodeo, is teaching Hanna how to rope. She is currently practicing her swings, and using a dummy to practice.
Hanna is interested in breakaway roping, an event where the athlete trots out on horseback and tries to lasso a rope around the neck of the calf as fast as they can, keeping the rope slack. They then stop their horse while the calf keeps on going.
“She’s picking it up really quick, which I was honestly surprised about because some people can’t do that,” Carlin said “But she’s a fast learner. So that’s always nice to have when you’re teaching somebody.”
Looking toward the future, Hanna is excited for the rodeo competition in Las Vegas.
“I’m really excited to see where the next couple years go and how much more fun it is going to be making new friends,” she said. “All the new classes that are coming in, to see how they do with their horses and just have a blast doing it.”
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