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Danielle off-stage is like most any other 17 year old, she has plenty of chores and
hobbies to keep her busy when she's not performing.
With a little prompting from her mother, she is up at the crack of dawn feeding horses and cleaning stalls before school. When a lot of teens would rather be indoors watching T.V. or on the computer during the cold winter months, she'd rather be out riding and spending time with the horses. She also enjoys swimming, water skiing and playing board games with her family. |
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Danielle loves family gatherings, especially Christmas. She must have been a really
good girl this year because her big surprise gift was a banjo from Santa "Steve". Its
something she has wanted for a long time, but says that its going to be a new challenge -
its a lot different than the guitar.
Being a cowgirl, Danielle was even excited about getting her first pair of spurs. Her Grandmother was a bit hesitant about giving her the spurs - worried that Danielle might accidentally get her head stuck in the ground if she's not careful with them. |
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And Grandma would know. Danielle comes from a line of real cowgirls. The picture at
left shows Grandma Joyce Clark on her mare Miss Holly Pacific in a cutting competition,
doing what she loves best!
Joyce started with barrel racing and went on to training and excercising race horses until she fell in love with cutting. She owned and operated a Western Store for many years and to this day deeply loves all that's country. |
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It must be a family thing. Danielle's aunt Cheryl also became an avid competitor in the
cutting arena and is shown (at right) on her mare Fanny during a cutting competition.
Following in her sister Joyce's footsteps, they traveled together all over the midwest to compete in non-pro cutting competitions. It took Cheryl's mare (formerly a race horse) many months to realize the idea was to trap the cow in the middle of the arena, not try and out run it. |
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Danielle's Aunt Cheryl has since retired her mare Fanny off the race track, I mean from
cutting competition. The sisters say they could write a book about some of their
experiences, some of which are hillarous. Both admit however that learning to show a
cutting horse was a real challenge, but was one of the most rewarding adventures of
their lives.
They are looking forward to Danielle's first experience on a cutting horse. If they would have had videos of their first experiences on a cutting horse, they would have won the $100,000.00 prize on America's Funniest Home Videos. They have their camera ready, maybe Danielle will win the money yet! |
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Danielle's love of country and antiques sometimes surprises her friends. On a recent outing at a large antique mall she purchased an old leather sofa from the 50's with wagon wheel ends and a large saddle carved on the back. She has a fascination with the old west and believes its an era she would have loved to live in. Her family laughs and teases her about being a bit eccentric at such a young age. But, she is a good sport about it and just laughs along with them. |
| What you see is real Danielle. Not some labeled executives fantasy of what a country girl singer should look and sound like. She is the real deal, it's no wonder she appeals to audiences of all ages. |