Your Location (where do you ride mostly): For snowboarding: Silver Star Mountain Resort, Big White and Revelstoke in Beautiful British Columbia

Weapon(s) of choice: My snowboard is a capita danger pony - a Jess Kimura pro model that I got signed by her. It's super rad with kittens and lasers and galactic stars!!! My horse is a zan parr barr bred, red AQHA mare. And I am also really into taking pictures with my Nikon Camera. I also have a vintage yamaha125 that gets fired up when I am bored.

What’s an average day for you like? In the winter, before heading up the hill, I feed my mare Galaxy her hay, give her a good brush, then we get the whole fam loaded up and drive 45m to our local hill. Once there we all hit the bathroom and head out to shred! We break for lunch, having the usual, and hook up with my teammates on the snowboard team! The winters are best on a bluebird day with fresh POW!

What is the most difficult part of your activity/sports for a beginner? The easiest?Learning to turn for snowboarding, and balance is hard to get nailed down, but once you do you've got it, you're off to the races!! Snowboarding has a steep learning curve, you have to have patience and perseverance - everyone catches an edge!! The only way to get better is to get back up!! I laugh when I look back at the bunnyhill and remember when I used to be afraid to get off the chairlift. It's intimidating learning new things....but it's also very rewarding when you prove to yourself that you can do it!!

What is the best and worst thing about being female in your sport? I think that some of the best things are is the community and positive influences from other girls! everyone is super welcoming and helpful. The hardest part would probably be that quite often we are grouped in with the guys. Snowboarding is a male dominated sport and even thou I think riding with the guys helps me push myself to step out of that comfort-zone... I really think there's no better feeling then mobbing it with the ladies!!

What would you like to see change in your sport to make it better for you and other female athletes? Maybe more pros? I think it would be nice to see more ladies supported by magazines and movies. females are stepping up a lot more lately and it's really fun to see us all lift each other up and inspire other ladies to do the same.

Besides your ability and style factor as an athlete, how would you describe your personal style? Smooth, confident and classy.

What are your favorite brands/designers for your sports apparel and for stepping out? I really like capita because they have a factory that is super green and they have very little waste come out. I think that is really cool because of all our global warming issues, its nice to have a snowboarding company that is good for the planet. I also really like celtek for my gloves because the designs are cool and the mittens have separate fingers on the inside. Its really cool that both of these companies are not just big corporate owned businesses - but rider-owned. Meaning they are owned by snowboarders who are passionate for the sport and know what its really like to use these products.

Let’s hear your thoughts on how important looking good is to feeling good. “Being” your personal best? I think being confident comes from being comfy. You can't go off a jump stylish if you feel stuffy or not stylish. You have to find the right balance between comfy and stylish. Even better, be stylish and comfy at the same time! I guess the real secret is confidence! If you feel good, you look good :D

How dangerous do you really think your sport is compared to what people do in their regular activities? I think it depends on what you are doing: park, free ride, & backcountry al have their own dangers but they are definitely more dangerous than going for a run for example. Even rodeo can be dangerous, horses are dangerous, so are cows and ropes. but I guess if you do it a lot it becomes a regular thing for you. but for other people, I think the sports I do can be dangerous if you don't know what your doing.

I bet in your experience you have seen some crazy crashes. Describe one. Tomahawks are always interesting to watch!! There's nothing like a good yardsale!

What usually gets people hooked on your activity/sport? They usually see a video or something and are like "hey, that looks cool, I wanna try that!" Or they see pictures or are introduced to it through friends or family.

What is your favorite trick? I like grabs, 180s, tripods and buttering

Do you own any other toys?? I have a camera, a dirtbike, a snowboard addiction tramp board and rail. We also have a slackline and a trampoline!

What gets you pumped up for the day? Good music, fresh powder, sunny days, and big giant snowflakes.

What are three things you could not live without? My horse, my board and my camera.

What are your expectations for this activity/sport? I think this is a very progressive sport, lots of new tricks, new ways to make snowboards and gear, and the girls will probably end up competing against the guys!

Who’s your favorite rider/shooter (photo/video)? I really like watching lots of the female snowboarders in competitions and movies, Leanne Pelosi, Chloe Kim, Robin Van Gyn, and so much more inspiring people.

What do you do in your spare time when you’re not riding/shooting/competing? I just hang around, chill out. I really enjoy drawing, especially horses!

How about in the off season to stay in shape? Winter-snowboarding. Summer-horse riding, dirt biking.

What is your biggest goal to accomplish this/next season? I want to learn 360s in all directions.

What do you do to prep for a competition? Whenever I am prepping for a horse competition or psyching up for a big jump I like to scope out the terrain and remind myself to take a deep breath before I enter the gate!! I also like to warm up with stretches.

What competitions and other awards have you won? I have won lots of ribbons from photography and horses in 4-h, I also have won some belt buckles and other things from rodeo and barrel races.

What’s your favorite “way” to ride? I like to ride mostly free ride but I do spend a fair amount of time in the park.

Favorite conditions? Definitely powder and sun, like powder in the trees but some runs to be freshly groomed to carve it all up!

Where would be your biggest dream place to ride and why? Whistler because of all the snow and it seems like a big place to explore. (and all the pros go there so there must be something good ;)

What song(s) do you listen to while riding that puts you in the zone? Lots of indie/alternative/rock I guess? I like lots of songs from The Art of Flight and the Fullmoon Films snowboarding movies, I also have some country songs thrown in to mix it up.

What turned you on to your sport? I started in grade 5 or 6 when they had lessons through my school, I had skied once but then I wanted to try snowboarding, and I was hooked since then. As for rodeo, my mom competed when she was my age and I have been around horses pretty much all of my life so I wanted to start competing.

Any new tricks you’re working on? I'm trying to get a really stylish method going.

What’s the coolest thing you’ve ever done in your sport? Everything I do is cool -haha!!

What other extreme/action sports are you into? Besides snowboarding I like to rodeo, sometimes dirt biking.

If extreme/action sports didn’t exist, what would you be doing with all the free time you’d have? I honestly don't know, I would probably be taking a whole lot more pictures and drawing/painting a lot more.

What’s your favorite board/bike/sled to ride and why? My current snowboard is a capita jess kimura pro (danger pony) and I love it because not only of the design, but it is full of pop, not only in color but in the board itself! It is also signed by jess herself. Actually got it when we were in Golden, b.c for a barrel race and we were bored and decided to go check out the board shop. When I walked in, the first thing I saw was my snowboard. Later I won 472$, and the snowboard was exactly that much amount! It was meant to be.

What’s the trick to riding features and not killing yourself? Checking them out first, not just throwing yourself off a huge jump without speed checking, and if you are a beginner/newbie you would want maybe some advice from a coach/experienced friend

How would you describe your riding style? I've been told I'm graceful. I feel super chill when ever I ride, so I guess I ride pretty smoothly.

What would you say is your signature trick? Indie grab. its easy but can be super stylish if you tweak it out. remember, if your bindings ain't squeaking, then you ain't tweaking!

Favorite drink of choice to refresh yourself after a long day of riding/shooting? Water!! or maybe chocolate milk.

What do you want to be when you "grow up"? I'm not sure. I want to do something like photograph snowboarders or study glaciers. But I want to be a positive influence/role model to younger riders and someone people look up to.

Any of your own web pages or social media buttons you want links to? Youtube, Vimeo, FB, Instagram,Twitter etc. etc. @Raquel_____m