LEBANON, Pa. — It takes hours of preparation to put together a 20-minute show. Each stunt, each bit requires meticulous planning.
The stakes are high because the consequences can be painful.
“You know which way you’re going if you make a mistake,” Rusty McCray said. “Everything we do, there’s a certain amount of danger to it. A thrill factor.”
Areli Equine Entertainment is a collaboration of two people and their families. McCray is the emcee and host. Laurie Lee is the acrobat.
The two spend the summer traveling and performing. On this blistering July day, they were at a fair in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, delivering their act to an appreciative group of spectators. In the background there was a Ferris wheel spinning and the joyful sound of games being played.
Laurie Lee and Rusty McCray teamed up to form Areli Entertainment, which travels to fairs and other venues and excites crowds with trick riding and showmanship.
McCray and Lee are trained in a wide array of stunts, from Western trick riding to Rosinback riding. All are on horseback. Afterward they offer the audience the chance to ride around the ring for $5.
Both performers have been in the business for decades and their motivation has always stayed the same.
“More than anything else it’s just great putting smiles on kids’ faces,” McCray said. “We get a chance to travel and we get a lot of enjoyment out of showcasing the horses.”
McCray is the voice of the show. He’s quick to engage the audience and offer a funny line. Lee brings the wow factor.
Lee speeds around the ring while maneuvering into different poses. It looks effortless mostly because she has worked so hard to make it look that way. Her background in ballet led her down this path.
“It helps to have an affinity for dance or acrobatics,” Lee said. “But for me, it’s something I saw once and I thought, ‘Oh my word, I could do that.’ And I can.”
Lee, a stay-at-home mom from Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, incorporates her three children into the show. Elder son Shay works the sound board. Daughter Alayna is an assistant in some acts. Younger son Monty completes tricks alongside his mom. Each child has found his or her niche.
This is a side project for Lee. A way to make a little extra money. She wouldn’t leave home unless her children could join her.
“I like that it’s beautiful, it’s funny and it’s clean,” Lee said of the show. “It’s good for your kids. It’s good for adults. Everybody enjoys it.”
Five horses were part of the act in Lebanon: Brother, Puccini, Zoey, Joey and Lucky. They’re owned by McCray and Lee.
McCray’s trick is Roman riding. He stands atop two horses as they slowly patrol the ring. The horses aren’t tethered together, so if they decide to separate it can be a frightening situation. This week of shows was particularly daring because McCray was breaking in new horses.
“So far,” he said, “I haven’t been dumped. I do a lot more talking and a lot less performing now. I’m the voice; she’s the talent. That’s what I like to tell everybody. I can do some things myself as well.”
Once they finished in Lebanon, McCray and Lee parted ways for a few weeks before getting back together for another fair in Perry County in August. The opportunities to perform have picked up after being stalled by the pandemic the previous two summers.
“It doesn’t matter if we have one show for that season or a whole bunch,” Lee said. “We have months of preparation. But I love it or I wouldn’t do it.”
The bleachers were packed for one of Areli’s final performances at Lebanon. McCray and Lee offered several shows each day for the duration of the week-long event.
They stood on horses, draped off of them and sped around the ring at a fast pace. The show is a passion project and a jolt of excitement.
“We do the same thing whether we have a full house or two people,” McCray said. “They all paid the same amount to watch us. We try to make it good for everybody.”
Part of the fun of trick riding is one never knows what will happen next.
