Amazing Race's Monique and Shawne: We Hated "That Stupid Wooden Horse"

Monique Pryor and Shawne Morgan are "mompreneurs," but cowgirls and polo players they are not. The lawyers, both 39, became the third team booted from The Amazing Race after encountering problems at both the lassoing Roadblock and the wooden-horse polo Detour. "It took awhile, but we were determined to get through it," Shawne tells TVGuide.com. "Our thing was that we weren't leaving until we finished. We didn't care if the sun went down. Phil was going to have to drag us off that field!" Find out why it was important for them to complete the leg, why they didn't change Detours earlier and more.
TVGuide.com: How hard was it to lasso that hay, Shawne?
Shawne: The hardest part was that it required so much upper body strength, and my arms were just so tired. But we were so determined — we were not leaving there without roping it! Those lassos were very heavy. There was a metal ring on it. I was doing something I'm not typically doing on a regular basis, so even after a couple of tries, my arms started hurting.

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TVGuide.com: Did you know that Brent and Caite were the last ones to arrive to the Roadblock? What were you thinking when you saw them?
Monique: Yeah, I knew that they had gotten lost and so I had that hope in my head that they would stay lost! [Laughs] So Shawne would have more time to lasso that thing, but then he came and threw that thing on the first try. I was just sick to my stomach!TVGuide.com: How long did it take for you to complete it?
Shawne: I can't really say. It took awhile. Honestly, my focus was that I'm not leaving until I'm done.Monqiue: She didn't finish too long after Brent. I can't tell you how long, but it wasn't that much longer. I knew she probably threw that thing about 30 times.TVGuide.com: Why did you decide to go with Horse Power for the Detour?
Monique: We saw the giant compass and we saw teams looking confused. They just looked frustrated. We saw a shovel there. We just felt like Horse Power wouldn't be these coordinates [like in Horse Sense] and stuff like that, and we'd just have to do something with a horse. We thought it would've been a more doable task. Shawne: When we saw the horses, we thought we were going to ride the horses. Most tasks are small clues and you really are clueless. The land was so spread out that we couldn't see what was going to be done. The clue really gave us no indication.

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TVGuide.com: You guys, Louie and Michael, and Brent and Caite all got to Horse Power at the same time. Did they follow you?
Monique: [Louie and Michael] were following us. We left first and then they gave up [on Horse Sense] and came over. But we had caught up with them at that point, so that felt good.
Shawne: Brent and Caite had gotten lost for a while. Monique is an excellent driver, so she was doing an awesome job and we had good directions.
TVGuide.com: Most teams had to do Horse Power a few times before finishing it. How difficult was it?
Monique: The horse was heavy and then you had to coordinate the polo stick, which was heavy itself. You had to swing it all the way around. If you're taller, it was just hard to gauge when it would miss the ball. The ball was heavy, the polo stick was heavy, and then moving that horse back when you had to start over — that was back-breaking!
Shawne: [Laughs] That's what I was waiting for you to say! That stupid wooden horse! We hated it! I've never loathed something so bad. It was awkward to lift. We felt it. You could see it on our faces. It probably weighed at least 70 pounds. ... We tried to be strategic. If it looked like our first two or three shots weren't going to make it, we started over.
TVGuide.com: Why didn't you change Detours earlier?
Monique: We were determined. We know that Carol and Brandy did it. We're a strong girl-girl team. ... Since the tasks were so far from each other, we had to determine, looking over the horizon, OK, should we switch? ... Once Louie and Mike completed it, we were like, OK, it's late. So we decided to switch. That's the great thing about the Race. Some people may have an advantage whether you speak another language or you have more strength in terms of a male teammate, but things like luck and a bad cab ride make it a great equalizer.

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TVGuide.com: How long did it take for you to do Horse Sense?
Monique: We got through that very quickly. The fact that we switched and were able to do that compass thing quicker than anyone else was great. Jordan and Jeff were there for a long time and, as you saw, Mike and Louie found their bag for them. ... The challenge with the clue is that it's hard to pick what's best for you. We don't have any regrets. You just don't know what's best for you.Shawne: Hindsight is always 20/20. ... Afterward, we were thinking, "Gosh! We did that in 30 minutes!" We felt a sense of accomplishment, knowing that we went through two full tasks. And we completed a task that only one other team could do.TVGuide.com: What are you up to now?Monique: We're moms. We have our own businesses and have to take care of our families. We're hoping to continue to inspire mothers and women all across the world. We've gotten so much great energy from our friends' kids, from kids all over, sending us messages, things like that. If we can find a way to continue to speak to moms, that's what we really want to do, live your life beyond the fullest you can imagine.Shawne: Our goal was definitely to inspire moms in particular, but we got a message from a dad. He said that he had a great discussion with his 11-year-old daughter after the show about how we were so positive. We weren't on TV fighting, criticizing, and it showed when our backs were up against the wall. ... He said it was such a great lesson for his daughter to see. As a dad, you inspire me, he wrote. We knew that it was such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but to hear the feedback from people — he said that was the most valuable thing he has seen thus far on the Race. I was just like, "Wow, that's awesome."