Watch the next generation of women’s freeriders show off at Dark Horse

Twelve women, ages 12 to 33, got together in Revelstoke, British Columbia, from Aug. 17 to Aug. 21 for the first ever edition of Dark Horse. The brand new, all-women freeride event was cooked up by Casey Brown, who had long dreamed of building jumps in her hometown and giving up-and-coming women freeriders space to learn from veterans and push their abilities to the next level.

Mission accomplished on both fronts. The event’s first ever “Dark Horse” — a.k.a., the little-known rider who was most impressive — went to 12-year-old Tayte Proulx Royds, who drew rave cheers for how she sent it down the jump line. Proulx Royds’ week in Revelstoke embodied everything Brown hoped to accomplish.

You can watch Proulx Royds ride and Brown’s impressions of Dark Horse in the video below:

“I’ve been thinking about having big jumps in my hometown for a really long time, and to bring the event to a bunch of my friends and young girls that are coming up in the sport, I think that was just inspiring,” Brown says in the video. “Especially with the momentum behind women’s freeride right now, I just want to help foster that. And I hope that more events like this will pop up and we’ll have more opportunities to get these girls doing what they love.”  

Brown wants to make Dark Horse an annual event that keeps growing year over year. Based on the enthusiastic reaction from the event’s youngest riders, it’s a safe bet she’ll have scores more women ready to take part next year, eager to learn from one another and show off on a stage that’s all their own.