Charlie Little, a 19-year-old cowboy has just won his fi rst ever World title, becoming the youngest cowboy to ever win the World.
Many of us thought we would see Chad Little, Charlie's older brother, take home the World title fi rst. Charlie used to be,
well let's say “added money.” He would blow through a course missing balloons every run. Within the last year or so
Charlie has become one of CMSA's top competitors.
He earned his fi rst Major title at the 2007 National Championship
where he won the Reserve National Champion Cowboy title, fi nishing behind Matt Sronce by less
than two seconds. At the World Championship in 2007 Charlie missed one target moving him to the 18th position
and 5th in his class, which made him more determined to succeed in 2008. At Festival of the West, the fi rst big shoot of the year, Charlie placed second in the men's class fi ve. Again at the National Championships he had a great shoot and was fi rst
in the Men's class fi ve, also winning the Wrangler Pro and setting a World record. Charlie was becoming
better known in CMSA and when he and Midnight came into the arena people started to watch.
In July, at the North Idaho Freedom Shoot in Coeur d' Alene, ID, Midnight, his main shooting
horse broke a bone in his left front leg. After going through surgery the veterinarian advised Charlie
to stay off him for at least 4 to 5 months.
Being a competitive shooter for the rest of the year now
became an even bigger challenge. Charlie, who's not one to quit, went on the hunt
for a new top level shooting horse. He purchased a grey mare from Montana by the name of Fools
Easy Dipper, better known as Tracker, in late summer. Th e fi rst competition for the two was the Idaho
State Championship in Burley, Idaho. It wasn't the best performance, but to be the mare's fi rst shoot
she showed promise. At the Western Championships in Nampa, Idaho,
Charlie rode Tracker, but a couple stages into the match she came up sore. Charlie fi nished the
Westerns on his Futurity horse, ZZ. He decided to give the sore mare a month off to heal up.
By mid September Charlie tried Tracker again at the MSA World Championship where he won the Reserve
Overall Cowboy title. In preparation for the World, Charlie returned home to his parent's place in St. Michael, Minnesota,
where he roped off of Tracker every Tuesday and Th ursday. She is a fi nished heal horse and
puts all her heart into everything she does. Charlie did not shoot off the mare again until the World
Championship in Amarillo, Texas, where he placed in the money in every event he entered, including
the Overall Champion Cowboy. Going into the last stage, Matt Sronce was leading by over two tenths
of a second. Charlie made an outstanding run to clinch his fi rst ever World title, beating the reigning
World Champion by more than three tenths of second!
For now, Charlie is in the warmth of Arizona where he and his girlfriend Shanda Masterson
train and sell horses all winter long. As for Tracker, she is for sale and Charlie has her training with an
Aqua Passer, a water tread mill for horses, which improves speed and agility.
One thing you can count on, nothing will slow down this young cowboy. He has overcome many
obstacles, including a life threatening bout with cancer. Right now he is on top of the World. So
the next time you are at a shoot and hear Charlie Little's name being called, you might want to take
a second and watch your CMSA 2008 World Champion
Copied from the Dec/Jan 2009 Issue of the Rundown