Kenda has spent her life on the back of a horse.
She started competing at the age of 4 and
continued all throughout her childhood in both
Western and English disciplines. She began her
career in Texas as an apprentice in the Cutting
Horse business, working for some of the top
trainers in the NCHA. From there, she accepted
a position on a Cutting Horse ranch in Southern
California and continued her path in the equine
business.
It was in California that Kenda was first introduced
to Cowboy Mounted Shooting. Given her competitive
background, she was excited to try the new sport and
qualified for the World Championship after only her
4th shoot. Kenda won the World Ladies Limited
Champion Title, as well as the Reserve World
Champion Cowgirl title that year which set her
mounted shooting career in motion.
After five years in the sport and gaining accolades
along the way, Kenda moved back to her home state of
Washington and founded the Washington State Mounted
Shooters, a charter club of the Cowboy Mounted
Shooting Association. In its first year, due to her
efforts in promoting the sport, the WSMS became the
fastest growing CMSA club in Northwest history.
As an instructor and horse trainer, Kenda has
coached hundreds of students in her tenure and
continues to encourage riders and horses to meet
their potential. She has started, tuned, and
finished many mounted shooting horses with Justin
being the ultimate proof of her abilities. Justin
was purchased by Kenda in the fall of 2004 from a
teen-aged trail rider. By 2005, he had a world
title and a world record on his resume. The “making
of” Justin was not easy as he needed extensive
training but Kenda has incredible patience and
dedication, and knows potential when she sees it.
By the end of the 2009 season, the Kenda-Justin team
had won an Overall World Champion Title, 4 World
Point Champion Cowgirl Titles, and 6 world records.
In 2009, Kenda made history and became the first
ever woman to win the Overall World Championship,
beating out all men and women to claim this
prestigious title. In 2010, she again made history
by being the first woman to claim the Overall
National Champion title along with Western, Eastern,
and Central United States Overall Champion titles.
In 2010 she was named Best Living Cowboy Mounted
Shooter by True West Magazine. Not only is she one
of the top competitors in the sport, but she also is
a highly respected mounted shooting horse trainer,
clinician and riding instructor. Clients come from
all points of the United States to train with her.
Kenda is a member of the Circle Y Team of Champions.
Circle Y is America’s Leading Saddle Brand and has
taken the opportunity to work with her to design a
line of mounted shooting saddles under the Kenda
Lenseigne brand. With the success of its launch
year of 2009, Circle Y and Kenda have added five
more models to the line.
To keep her teammate “Justin” running strong, Kenda
joined the Professional’s Choice Sports Medicine
Products endorsement team in 2009 and is currently
the only competitor of the Cowboy Mounted Shooting
Association to represent the sport under their name.
Justin remains well protected with the latest
technology in sports medicine products and
protective gear.
In 2010 Kenda worked with Cimarron Firearms to
design and launch the signature KL Thunderstorm
line of guns, designed with unique and
innovative features that set them apart from
anything else in the firearms industry. The line
includes eight guns of various finishes, grip styles
and barrel lengths. Kenda owes part of her success
to the Thunderstorm as they were the guns that won
her the World.
The 2011 season started in high gear with Kenda
joining the Safariland team. Together they designed
the Kenda Lenseigne Signature Series gun belts and
holsters under the Bianchi Cowboy name. Bianchi is
synonymous with exceptional quality and high
standards in gun leather, and Safariland with
innovative technology in military, police and
competitive shooting gear. Kenda’s first shoot with
the new holsters were a proven success when she
claimed her 7th world record at the
Central United States Championship.
Kenda’s sponsor lineup grew in momentous proportions
when she proudly signed on with Miller International
to represent the Cruel Girl clothing line in the
spring of 2011. She is currently the only contracted
female endorser under Cruel Girl name and rides in
style both inside the arena and out.
Also included in Kenda’s sponsor program are
renowned companies such as Platinum Performance,
Kippy's, and RevitaVet Therapeutic systems. All of
which have her representing their products at every
competition across the country.
Kenda’s media ventures are numerous, including a
half hour spot on the Outdoor Channel’s show
COWBOYS, as well as a feature on Evening Magazine, a
Northwest based news magazine television show. Kenda
is also highlighted on RFD TV for Circle Y and
several news broadcast interviews across the nation.
Print publications include featured articles in
Western Horseman, plus covers of Western Shooting
Horse Magazine, CMSA Rundown and the Mounted
Shooters World. She has also been featured in
American Cowboy, True West Magazine, Rodeo News,
Northern Horse Source, Cowgirl Action Shooting,
California Riding Magazine, Shoot Magazine, and many
newspaper publications.
Kenda has raised the bar in Cowboy Mounted Shooting
as a competitor, instructor, trainer and business
woman. Continue to check this website for her tour
stop schedule, exciting press releases, continuous
news updates, and to book a clinic, inquire about
horse training.
