Rodeo Life

Author: Lily Landreth

  • Jaclyn Corcoran

    For Jaclyn Corcoran, nearly everything in her life revolves around rodeo – and she loves it that way.  The barrel racer from Earlville, Ill. is preparing for her eleventh year of competing in the IPRA. Jaclyn, 34, did not grow up rodeoing. While she started showing horses in 4-H when she was in junior high, Jaclyn says, “I didn’t even know rodeo existed until I was 19. When I was 22 I really got into it.” Jaclyn began rodeoing seriously in 2004. Before that, she was competing extensively in the Illinois Paint Horse Association at horse shows from the APHA World Championship Show to the World Wide Paint Horse Congress.

    Although Jaclyn loved competing in barrels and poles at the horse shows, she found that banding manes and keeping her horses gleaming and clean was not how she wanted to spend all of her time. Jaclyn had bought her IPRA card in 2003, and in 2004 she sold her pleasure horse, bought a barrel horse, and embarked on a new adventure. “I feel like coming from that, (horse showing) that I am a good rider. I’m able to take some of those (horsemanship) concepts and put them into barrel racing.” Today, in addition to the IPRA, Jaclyn also barrel races in the CSRA and the NBHA. Several of her accomplishments include winning third in the average at the CSRA finals rodeo in 2013 and sitting high in the standings of the NBHA.

    Jaclyn credits her two horses as the reason she has been able to go so far in rodeo over the past 11 years. “Hussy is 21 this year, but she hasn’t gotten the memo yet,” Jaclyn says of one of her barrel horses. “She’s the horse I’ve had the longest and she’s done the most for me.” Jaclyn prefers to use Hussy for summer rodeos and smaller pens. Her other horse is Wanda, a 12-year-old mare. She rides Wanda in some of the larger arenas and for the more demanding rodeos. Jaclyn rides through the Illinois winters to keep her horses in shape, either riding in the snow or travelling to indoor arenas to practice.

    Jaclyn lives outside of Earlville on what she calls a “farmette” with her husband, Dave, and their three-year-old son Casen. She and her husband buy calves in the spring for him to practice tie-down roping. In addition to their horses, they also have a pony for Casen. “He likes to go for little trail rides and he does like to rope the dummy already. He’s pretty good at that. Recently he’s been riding his toy bucking bull and pretending to buck off, but I’m trying to steer him towards timed events,” Jaclyn said with a laugh. Casen loves to watch his parents compete, and Jaclyn is especially pleased that rodeo is something her whole family can do together.

    In addition to the full time job of being a mother, Jaclyn works as a nurse, both in a nursing home, in a hospital, in-home nursing and home health. In the midst of it all, she still makes time to rodeo and go to barrel races. Jaclyn is also planning to start one of her colts on barrels this year. She explained her goals for the coming year in rodeo. “I want to become a more consistent rider and do the best I can for each of my horses. I start out every year going to rodeos and seeing where I have won money, and then I will try to make those finals!”

  • Ed “Woody” Stavovy

    Ed “Woody” Stavovy

    Ed Stavovy, better known as “Woody” among his friends, has been competing in the APRA since he was 18. Today, at 35, Ed is still happily competing in the association in tie-down roping. Ed grew up on a cow farm in Washington, Pa. and although none of his family had a background in the sport, Ed entered his first rodeo when he was five. He caught the rodeo bug, and went on to ride bulls and team rope when he was in high school. At age 21, Ed decided to quit his roughstock event. “I quit riding bulls ‘cause I was too beat up,” he explained. Still wanting to compete, Ed decided to pursue roping more seriously. He did so with the help of several friends, including Dan Minick and Justin Yost. “They taught me a lot. I had the opportunity to go all over the country with Justin. We went down to Florida two years in the winter when the weather got bad up here.”

    Following high school, Ed was pursuing several other career possibilities while he kept up his roping. He attended the Academy of Equine Dentistry in Glenns Ferry, Idaho and worked in that area of training for several years. He also worked in construction where he eventually settled in to building fences for a company out of Pennsylvania. He has been working for the company for nearly 14 years, building fences for horse farms, construction sites, residential areas, and agricultural purposes.

    Over that period of time, Ed had been roping off of his horse Taco, but Taco’s many years of competing were catching up to him. Not having another horse ready to rope off of at the time, Ed decided to quit rodeoing. He bought a Harley Davidson motorcycle and went to bike rallies. However, riding a motorcycle couldn’t quite measure up to roping, and after several years, Ed decided to start rodeoing again. His young mare, Betty, was old enough to start roping off of. Having raised and trained Betty with the help of his friend, Ed was ready to see how she did at rodeos. He started hauling her to rodeos in October of 2012, and by May the following year, Betty proved a good roping horse. She has helped Ed to win a number of rodeos in the last year. While Ed lives in Pennsylvania, he keeps his horses at his friend Dave Trehorne’s house, which is in Ohio. Trehorne has an indoor arena, and Ed makes the hour drive across the state line about four days a week to ride and practice.

    Ed likes to spend his spare time going to concerts or seeing a good movie, but he loves nothing better than the feel of his rope in his hand. He is sitting fifth in the tie down roping. “I just love going to rodeos. It’s so expensive that I want to win every time I go, but it’s not easy to win money in tie down roping.” Fortunately for Ed, several of his friends at work also rodeo, and their employer gives them the flexibility to come and go during rodeo season. Ed tries to keep his weekends booked with rodeos throughout the summer, and one of his favorite rodeos in the APRA is held in Attica, N.Y. “I’ve done well there, and there’s a fun party,” he explained with a laugh. Ed said of his goals for this year, “I’ve always been just out of the finals, so I want to make the finals this year. I’d like to try to stay in the top ten, catch most of my calves, and have fun!”

  • Carol Clark

    Carol Clark

    Carol Clark has been competing in the CSRA for three years. She competed in her first rodeo when she was eight years old, and today, at 49, Carol continues to enjoy the sport. The barrel racer from Fairmount, Ill. is following closely in the footsteps of her mother, Nancy Clark, who taught Carol how to barrel race. Carol grew up going to rodeos with her parents. She and her mom would compete, and her dad, Ted Clark, would be their driver. “I learned the ropes with her and my dad. We’ve seen a lot of country,” said Carol. During her 41 years of rodeoing, Carol says that what has kept her dedicated, in addition to a core love for the sport, is the goal to always improve her competition. “It’s highly sophisticated now,” she explained. “It’s changed a lot.”

    Growing up, Carol stuck close to home. Following high school, she college rodeoed and competed in the IPRA, having been a member of the association since she was eight. Today, Carol works for the United States Post Office as a mail carrier, which she has been doing for 16 years. She does her route on foot Monday through Friday. “This time of year the weather makes it a challenge,” said Carol. She bundles up warm, and puts on her cleats when its icy. What Carol especially appreciates about the CSRA is that most of the rodeos are only a few hours away, allowing her to rodeo around her work schedule. Carol’s mom travels with Carol to her rodeos. She is now 73, and only just retired from barrel racing a year ago.

    Carol lives on her five acre farm with her two horses and five dogs. She has an indoor and an outdoor arena, and what ground is not devoted to horse pasture she uses for growing hay. Her two barrel horses are a pair of geldings. Jinks is her main barrel horse, and she has been running the cloverleaf pattern on him for nine years. Carol says of the 15-year-old gelding, “He’s very consistent, and he’s not the fastest horse in the world but he loves his job. He’s 16.1 (hands) and people make fun of him for being so big, but he can run a 12.8 pattern like he’s 14.2 hands.” Carol’s backup horse is 9-year-old named Dancer. She is working to get him seasoned, but admits that riding him is vastly different from riding Jinks.

    When she is not rodeoing, Carol loves to travel. She has been to 47 of the 50 states, with one of her favorite destinations so far being in Scottsdale and Phoenix, Ariz. Carol and her mom, as well as several other friends, have gone to Las Vegas, Nev. for the Wrangler NFR over the past several years. In addition to the rodeo, Carol enjoys a little bit of gambling as well. One of her ideas of a relaxing day would be to, “Hang around the house and relax with the horses, and just enjoy the day.”

    One of Carol’s greatest dreams is to compete at the International Finals Rodeo like her mother, who competed in the IFR in 1975. She also hopes to go on an Alaskan cruise and visit New York City to top off her travelling experiences. For this year, Carol wants to qualify again for the CSFR. “I’ve never won a bunch, but I’ve had consistent horses that will place me. I’m one of the low key ones,” she said with a laugh. Carol summed up her goals with, “I want to continue to make the Central States finals and someday make it to the IFR.”

  • Sienna Kaufman

    Sienna Kaufman

    Sienna Kaufman’s love for her horses, and for speed, makes rodeo the perfect sport for her. The 13-year-old was taught to ride by her mom, and she has grown up riding with her entire family. Sienna has been rodeoing for eight years, two of which have been in the KJRA. “I love horses and I just love rodeoing,” she explained. Sienna competes in barrel racing, pole bending, and breakaway roping. Not surprisingly, her favorite event is barrel racing. “I like the speed,” she said. Sienna has been coached in her roping by Braden and Kara Stueve – Sienna’s cousin and his wife. Sienna’s mom and dad, Debra and Tim Kaufman, are her role models. “I think rodeo is fun! I’m competitive, and I’m trying to get better every year. I’m working hard at it.”

    The Kaufmans live in Durham, Kan. on a 160 acre farm. They raise cattle, as well as farming an additional 2,500 acres. Sienna loves to help her dad with working and branding cattle, as well as harvesting their crops. She has a younger brother, Cole, who is 11. Cole enjoys riding horses, but he prefers riding dirt bikes to rodeo. He does, however, show his horse in 4-H. Sienna and Cole have an older sister, Dakota, who will be graduating from college this year.

    In addition to cattle, the Kaufman family has six horses, a dog, and several cats. Two of those horses belong to Sienna. George is her 18-year-old gelding, who she has been riding for just over a year. He is an all-around rodeo horse, and Sienna competes in all of her events on him. Her other horse is Rosie, an Arabian/Missouri Fox Trotter cross. Sienna carries flags on Rosie at several women’s ranch rodeos in their area, as well as a local rodeo in Abilene, Kan. Depending on the rodeo, Sienna will carry the American flag, or she will carry the sponsor’s flag.

    In addition to rodeo, Sienna is quite busy with her school sports. She is an eighth grader at Hillsboro Middle School. P.E. is her favorite class, and playing dodgeball is a highlight of her school day. Sienna plays volleyball, basketball and does track and field. Track season will be starting soon, Sienna enjoys pole vaulting in her field events. Furthermore, Sienna shows her horses Rosie and George in 4-H, as well as competing in  4-H pole bending, barrel racing, and trail course.

    Sienna loves to spend her every spare minute with her horses, whether it’s practicing every day in the summer for rodeo, or taking a leisurely trail ride through the Flint Hills, a wildlife area known for its geology and tallgrass prairie. She is a member of the Durham Baptist Youth Group, as well as the Strassburg Baptist Church. With all of the places she has travelled, Sienna has two favorite areas. One is the arena in Cheyenne, Wyo. that is home to Cheyenne Frontier Days, and the other is Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. Sienna had the opportunity to visit the famous racetrack, as well as meet several jockeys.

    With each passing year, Sienna is more certain that she wants to barrel race in the PRCA. She also hopes to college rodeo while studying at Kansas State University to be a large animal veterinarian. In the more immediate future, Sienna’s goal is to win a belt buckle in the KJRA and to continue to improve her barrel racing. She is greatly supported by her family and relatives, and Sienna concluded, “I want to thank my mom and my dad for helping me with the horses, and everything!”

  • Booger Gleghorn

    Booger Gleghorn

    Booger Gleghorn is a sort of jack-of-all-trades. The cowboy from Ackerly, Texas runs two ranches full time, takes his roughstock to bucking horse futurities, works as a pickup man, lends a hand with the family trucking business, and in his spare time, competes in team roping and ranch sorting. “We’re in a little bit of everything,” says Booger, who has gone by his nickname since he was a year old. “We just try to keep our weekends booked.” He has been involved with the TCRA since he started working as a pickup man for the association when he was 14. “My dad was a stock contractor for over 20 years and I’ve been picking up since I was 14, so I’ve grown up with them. I’ve been in it (the TCRA) for 25 years.”

    A team roper, Booger can both head and heel. He qualified for the World Series of Team Roping Finale 8 in 2013 for the first time, but his roping horse was crippled only weeks before the event. Booger and his family still went to Las Vegas to watch the Wrangler NFR, however, a tradition which they keep every year. “It’s our family vacation,” Booger explained. “My fiancée (Kim Coleman) and I also did a lot of shopping. I guarantee that the wheels on the suitcase we had with us were smoking by the time we got out of there.”

    Despite having to forgo the WSTR Finale, Booger is no less dedicated to the sport than before. “I guess it’s in your blood. Just like finding that better bucking horse or bucking bull, it’s the same way with winning the better event. You win it once, you want to win it again. There’s lots of good people in it, too.” Recently, Booger and his team roping partner Steve Sanders competed at the Sandhills Stock Show and Rodeo Super Tuesday in Odessa, Texas.

    Booger has recently started competing in ranch sorting, which he is thoroughly enjoying. In January, he and his fiancée, Kim Coleman, traveled to several barrel horse futurities, as well as bucking horse futurities as he continues to build his line of bucking horses. Kim raises and trains barrel horses, and she also competes in the TCRA. Booger manages to work jackpots and USTR ropings into his busy schedule, especially in the winter when rodeo season is slow.

    While Booger has plenty of rodeos and team ropings on his agenda, his ranching comes first. “You’ve got to pay the bills,” he says. He helps his dad, Wayne Gleghorn, with running the two family ranches – one in Post, Texas and the other in Gail, Texas. Booger described an average day on the ranch. “I go check cattle – sometimes I take a young horse with me depending on the weather. In the evening I ride the colts and rope, but then you’ve also got to keep your pickup horses legged up, because they are what you make them.” Booger works as a pickup man as often as he can, including at TCRA rodeos and ranch rodeos. Additionally, he works as a shag man, roping the bulls and getting them out of the arena.

    Booger says of his ambitions for this year, “I’ve got a bunch of good, young horses to take to bucking futurities this year. I’m going to try to qualify for the WSTR Finale again this year. I’d like to go to some big World Series and US ropings and continue picking up at as many rodeos as I can.”

  • Clay Parsons

    Clay Parsons

    Clay Parsons is the Vice-President of the GCPRA, as well as a longtime competitor in the association. He was rodeoing with the association when it was known as the ARA (Arizona Rodeo Association), then the SRA (Southwest Rodeo Association), to what today is known as the GCPRA. Clay, 52, has seen his share of seasons in rodeo, from success, to injuries, to taking 18 years off from rodeoing to raise his family and start his business. But he has always returned to the sport that he was raised on.

    Clay competes in tie-down roping and team roping as a heeler. He went pro when he was 17, and among other things, went on to be the all-around and team roping champion at the National High School Finals Rodeo in Huron, S.D. in 1979. He was also the tie-down roping champion at the College National Finals Rodeo in 1983, rodeoing for the University of Arizona. Clay tried qualifying for the WNFR for two years but didn’t make it. He explained what his mindset is on rodeo today. “The motivation that keeps you practicing is being on the losing end, or knowing when you show up at a rodeo that you’re not ready. There’s the old saying that you’d rather have luck than skill, but not me. I’d rather have skill than make my mistakes and miss a calf. I’d like to get to a point where I go to a rodeo to just have fun. I’m not there yet, but I’m sure it will come.”

    For Clay, another motivation to rodeo has been recovering from an injury that set him back from competing for a year. In April of 2013, Clay was tie-down roping at a GCPRA rodeo when, in the middle of a standard run, he fractured his pelvis when he missed his calf but his horse stopped as usual. It turned out that Clay already had a fractured sacrum, which he was unaware of, and the strain of roping caught his body in just the right position. The St. Luke’s Sports Medicine Team that volunteers at GCPRA rodeos put Clay on a life flight and he was flown to a hospital in Phoenix. This March, Clay competed in his first rodeo since his injury almost a year ago. Though shaken by his first serious rodeo related injury, Clay is eager to return to competing. While tie-down roping may have to take a backseat now, Clay plans to make team roping his main event and is more than grateful to be able to rodeo again.

    The cowboy from Marana, Ariz. is a “weekend warrior” when it comes to rodeo. Clay has been running his fulltime business, Marana Stockyards, for 20 years. “I really like dealing with ranchers. It’s a business that requires a good reputation and handshake, and I enjoy my work.” The Parsons raise some of their own cattle and sell consignment stock at their livestock auction. Clay’s wife, Karen, is the clerk in their sale barn and their son Clay Jr. – known as Clay Buck – also helps with the family business.  Clay and Karen’s three daughters are Mallory, Carly, and Haley, and all three of them have thriving careers. More than anything, Clay and Karen love to spend time with their family.

    Clay has been on the GCPRA rodeo board for eight years, three of which he has served as the vice-president. “At this point in my career I enjoy watching the young competitors coming up. We have junior high kids all the way up to 60 or 70-year-old men competing together in events – it’s kind of a special mix. It’s a great association to belong to.”

  • Jacey Hupp

    Jacey Hupp

    Jacey Hupp is a 17-year-old cowgirl from Huron, S.D. She loves the great outdoors and staying active, which is one of the reasons she loves rodeo so much. “It’s what I was raised doing. It’s my passion and I never get bored with it.” Jacey first began competing in rodeo when she was eight, but before that she was tagging along with her older brother and sisters to every rodeo they went to. Her sister Cassy hauled her to peewee barrel races to get her started. Today, Jacey competes in team roping as a header, goat tying, breakaway roping, and barrel racing. Jacey’s dad, Bill Hupp, is her rodeo coach, and her mom, LaDonna Hupp, has faithfully documented the Hupp children’s rodeos and kept the cooler well stocked with food. “My whole family is a big influence to me,” Jacey explained.

    The Hupp family lives outside of Huron with their 15 horses, 3 dogs, and several barn cats. Sugar is Jacey’s 20-year-old goat tying horse. The little red roan mare has raised all three of the Hupp children through their years of rodeo, and between them, they have won eight saddles with her contributions. Peanut is Jacey’s breakaway roping horse, a former tie-down roping horse that belonged to Jacey’s brother. “He (Peanut) is an absolute knucklehead,” Jacey said with a laugh. “He doesn’t bend, but he runs a straight line and he does good when he pays attention.” Oops – dubbed as such because her mother was bred accidentally when a stud got into her pasture – is Jacey’s barrel racing horse. Finally, Buddy is Jacey’s team roping horse and he is as a solid as they come.

    Jacey will be starting her third year of competing in the SDHSRA this spring. Meanwhile, she is a junior at Huron High School where she is pursuing her other passions of basketball and volleyball. In addition to sports, she particularly enjoys her history, psychology, and sociology classes. Further activities to keep Jacey busy include competing in 4-H rodeo, as well as serving as the 2014 Student Secretary for the SDHSRA.

    In her free time, Jacey has been helping her nine-year-old niece, Devin, practice goat tying and barrel racing. Devin has begun her second year of competing in 4-H rodeo and the NBHA, much to the pride of Jacey and the rest of the Hupp family. Jacey also enjoys an array of hobbies, from reading books such as The Hunger Games, to hunting with her family. She says, “My favorite thing to do is riding in one of our alfalfa fields and listening to music. It’s one of the most relaxing things you can do.”

    As Jacey’s high school graduation approaches next year, she is starting to make plans. Her entire family has gone to school at South Dakota State University (SDSU), including her older brother and sister, Trevor and Tarin, who are CNFR qualifiers. Jacey would like to study something involving agriculture, but she has her eyes firmly set on competing in college rodeo. “I would love to have a National College championship under my belt. That’s my dream. I’m definitely going to pro rodeo, maybe in the PRCA, and definitely in the WPRA.” In the more immediate future, Jacey’s goal is to make it in the top four of state finals this year. She has won fifth and sixth in state several times, and she explains that her brother and sister have each won fifth. “My uncle Rod is the only one in the Hupp family so far to get in the top four, so I’m hoping to break the ‘curse’,” Jacey concluded with a laugh.

  • Sissy Davie

    Sissy Davie

    Sissy Davie is starting her third and final year of competing in the NJHSRA. The 14-year-old from Plattsmouth, Neb. competes in barrel racing and pole bending. This summer, she additionally plans to start team roping and breakaway roping. “Barrel racing is my top pick,” said Sissy. “I think it’s because it is so popular and such an adrenaline rush. It’s awesome to go in there and run!” While Sissy pursues all of her events with enthusiasm, she also finds her motivation to stay dedicated to the sport from her role model, Mary Walker. Sissy says of the 2012 WPRA World Champion Barrel Racer, “With everything she’s worked through, if she can go through it and do her best, then I think I can do it, too.”

    Sissy lives with her parents, Gary and Mary Davie, and her brother, Luke. They live in town, but keep their horses on their farmland, which is about five miles away from them. Sissy’s brother, Luke, is 17, and he competes in bull riding and saddle bronc riding, in addition to bull fighting. While Sissy’s older brothers, Dusty and James are not rodeo competitors, they gladly haul Sissy to rodeos when her parents can’t take her. Sissy’s two horses are Mama’s Little Jet and Watch My Hero – but they are better known as Slammer and Hero. While Sissy uses both horses for barrels and poles, Slammer especially excels in large pens and even on poor ground, while Hero does well in any setting. In addition to their nine horses, Sissy and her family also have several dogs and cats.

    An eighth grader, Sissy studies from home with Iowa Connections Academy. This is the first year that she has done her school online and she loves the flexibility it gives her to ride her horses and practice. Her two favorite subjects are Algebra and Geography. “We travel a lot, so Geography is a part of my everyday life, and Algebra is part of my everyday life, too. When we’re at the auction house with our hay, you’ve got to know your math.” If she is not doing school, Sissy is often out working with her horses, either practicing for her events, or training her colt, _. She bought him two years ago and is starting him on barrels. Sissy hopes to start taking in colts to train for other people as well. She often spends her spare time with her horses, but she also enjoys going to her friends’ wrestling matches or soccer games.

    As Sissy prepares for the upcoming rodeo season, she explained one of her training techniques. “If I’m riding Slammer or Hero, I’ll watch my run on video from the previous rodeo and see what I need to do (differently). It gets me ready to get my horse out and bring home my check.” Several of Sissy’s rodeo accomplishments include winning the NE09 Youth Championship in barrel racing two years in a row, as well as the Carson, Iowa Youth Championship in barrels in 2012, with reserve in that same event in 2013. Sissy has also been competing in the NBHA Youth World Championship since 2012, and she is additionally a member of the WPRA.

    “My biggest goal, like any other barrel racer, is qualifying for the NFR and hopefully get a world title,” said Sissy. “I would like to win the Junior WPRA title (in barrel racing), and I’m pretty set on going to college rodeo once I get to college.” Sissy concluded, “I’d like to say thank you to Mary and Byron Walker for helping me in barrel racing, and my parents for always being there and supporting me.”

  • Meghan Proctor

    Meghan Proctor

    “My motivation (to rodeo) is to keep alive the tradition,” says 16-year-old Meghan Proctor. “If I didn’t do rodeo, I wouldn’t have anything else to represent what I am and what I do. Rodeo is my way of keeping that alive.” Meghan, the 2013 Miss Wyoming High School Rodeo Queen, has been competing in rodeo for more than 10 years. Her older brother, Miles, is the main reason that she decided to start rodeoing. “He is quite a bit older than me, so I’ve always looked up to him. Growing up, he was basically my only friend, so I wanted to do just like him.” Meghan followed in her family’s bootprints and, like her parents and brother, entered the world of rodeo. Today, she competes in breakaway roping and pole bending in the WHSRA.

    As a result of her enduring love for the sport of rodeo and its traditions, Meghan was inspired to serve as royalty. She won the title of Miss Wyoming High School Rodeo in June of 2013 at the NHSFR. Following that, she filled her year with grand entries, carrying flags, and representing the WHSRA in many other areas. At the beginning of 2014, Meghan went to West Virginia to the National High School Rodeo Association meeting. There, she met with the National rodeo and event directors from each state, along with other state High School rodeo queens. They discussed any changes for the association, as well as its budget. Meghan will have the opportunity to run for Miss Wyoming High School Rodeo Queen again this year, which she is considering.

    Meghan and her parents, Bill and Geri, live several miles outside of Lusk, Wyo. They have a small arena at their house, but for major practices, Meghan says they use one of their friend’s arenas. Along with their horses, the Proctors also keep roping steers, who are almost like pets. Meghan’s rodeo horse is an American Quarter Horse named WD40. “She has a very large personality and she is very stomach driven, but she is very willing to learn.” Meghan competes in both of her events on WD40. In addition to rodeo and her queening, Meghan also competes in the Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association (CMSA) on her horse Bailey. She has been competing in the organization since 2005. “It’s my favorite thing to do. There’s pylons with balloons on them and you have to hit the balloon. For every balloon you miss, time gets added, but you want to have the fastest time possible.” The CMSA has a year-end world competition that Meghan hopes to compete in someday.

    A junior at Niobrara County High School, Meghan enjoys all of her classes, especially math. This year she is taking speech and debate, working in two events. In the poetry event, she chooses a poem to present as a speech at the end of the year, and in her second event, she interprets a story with a partner. Additionally, Meghan is highly involved in 4-H. Her projects include horse, market swine, market lamb, and sewing, along with being a Junior Leader. Meghan’s favorite thing to sew is western shirts, complete with snaps.

    Meghan thrives on her full schedule. She says of her  future goals, “My main goal is to go to college and get an education, then get a job. I’ve always wanted to be a large animal vet.” Meghan is also highly interested in competing in the PRCA someday, and in her down-to-earth way, she said, “That depends on how much time and money I have, but I’d like to (go pro) if I can.”

  • The Lovelady Family

    The Lovelady Family

    Every member of the Lovelady family is involved in the NLBRA in one way or another. Being a part of the association is a lifestyle for them, and it enriches their lives in many areas.  The family calls Palestine, Texas their home. Jimmy and Michelle Lovelady chose to start their children in the NLBRA in 2007 when their son, Brad, was 10.  Jimmy had rodeoed for many years as a saddle bronc rider, and he wanted his children, Brad, Hannah, and Bailey, to experience the sport of rodeo as well.  Jimmy and Michelle have coached their children in their events from day one. Coming from a roughstock background in rodeo, Jimmy has made the transition to coaching his kids in their timed events.

    Their youngest daughter is Bailey, a 7-year-old Little Wrangler. She has been competing in the NLBRA for two years. Her events are barrel racing, goat tail untying, and flag racing. Bailey qualified for the NLBFR her very first year in the association in goat tail untying. Bailey competes in her events on Baby Girl and Pony Boy, two American Quarter Horses that she shares with her older sister, Hannah.

    Bailey is a first grader at Neches School, where math is her favorite subject. She also likes to draw animals and ride her bike, but riding her horses is what she loves best. Like her brother and sister, Bailey is very excited to go to the NLBFR in Pueblo, Colo. As a sort of family tradition, the Loveladys always buy snow cones in Colorado, since the humidity in Texas makes snow cones shrink faster than they can be eaten.

    Hannah is the second of the Lovelady kids. The 11-year-old competes in the Junior Girls division in barrel racing, pole bending, goat tying, breakaway roping, and trail course. “My favorite thing about rodeo is seeing my friends and family,” said Hannah. She competes in all of her events on Baby Girl and Pony Boy. She and Bailey practice together, and Hannah helps her younger sister with her events. The two girls also enjoy riding outside of their arena. They go on what they call adventures, which is checking fence. Hannah is also a student at Neches School. She is in the sixth grade, and reading and writing are the subjects she enjoys most. Hannah is especially fond of Western stories and the Hank the Cowdog series.

    This rodeo season, Hannah is working determinedly to qualify for the NLBFR in barrel racing. She has already qualified in goat tying, but her goal is to compete in both events at nationals in July. Because of her love of animals, Hannah also wants to become a veterinarian when she grows up.

    Brad, 17, is the oldest of the Lovelady siblings, and he is a senior at Neches High School. Brad competes in tie-down roping, dally ribbon roping, and team roping on his three horses – Tooter, Poncho, and Turbo. In his seven years of rodeoing, he has qualified for the NLBFR six years in a row. He has already won a number of titles between his competition in the NLBRA and the Texas High School Rodeo Association in region 5. Most recently, he was the 2013 Reserve All-Around Champion and 2013 Tie-Down Roping Champion at the Cajun Little Britches rodeo.

    Starting when he was a junior in high school, Brad has been working ahead on his required college courses by doing duel enrollment with a local community college. He plans to compete in college rodeo when he goes to a four year school. In his free time, Brad is an avid hunter and fisherman, but rodeo practice comes first for him.

    The Lovelady family is very pleased with the family oriented qualities of the NLBRA, and they reflect those qualities with their further involvement in the association. Jimmy is an Executive Board member for the association, and he judges all of the events at many of the Little Britches rodeos. Michelle is an RN (Registered Nurse) and she serves at many of the NLBRA rodeos where medical assistance is needed. Michelle also works as a clinical manager and nurse at a hospice care center.

    Jimmy works as a foreman for Union Pacific Railroad as well as running a cow-calf operation with the help of his children. From rodeo to running cows, the Lovelady siblings have a solid foundation in hard work and responsibility. Those outstanding qualities and the diligent support from their parents will be taking Brad, Hannah, and Bailey to the NLBFR in July. “There are so many life experiences that our children are learning (in rodeo) that they won’t learn in any other sport,” said Jimmy. “Teamwork is a big deal, but what you accomplish on your own, whether winning or losing, is important too. Our children have all been building a résumé since they started (rodeoing). They’re all good enough to qualify at the national level, and that will be an awesome thing for later in life – that’s a big accomplishment. Whether they decide to pursue the pro level doesn’t matter to me, but the life lessons they’ve learned up until this point do.”

    Presented by: Noble Outfitters – Noble Outfitters recognizes youth accomplishments and supports programs like NLBRA.
    Featured members this issue will receive a Noble Outfitters™ Duffle, Riata Rope Bag and some Noble Gear “swag” for the whole family!
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  • Kaydin Davis

    Kaydin Davis

    Kaydin Davis knows what it means to be a hard worker. Only through hard work and long days is she able to compete in rodeo and help her family run their ranch. Kaydin has been competing since she was four, and today, the 11-year-old competes in barrel racing, breakaway roping, pole bending, goat tying, and ribbon roping. She has been in Little Britches for a year, and in 2013 she went to the NLBFR in all five of her events. In the junior girls division, Kaydin is the NLBRA 2013 World Champion in barrel racing, and she won the average in barrel racing as well as Rookie of the Year.

    Kaydin names her dad, Zach Davis, as her inspiration to rodeo. He rodeoed through high school and college and competed in the PRCA. Two family friends, Mandie Menzel and Kristi Birkeland have also coached Kaydin in her rodeo events and been role models. “I like to compete and see friends and try my hardest,” Kaydin says about rodeo. She has three younger sisters, and in 2014, three of the Davis sisters will be rodeoing in the NLBRA. Kamry, seven, is a Little Wrangler in Little Britches, and Karly, five, will start competing in 2014. The youngest sister, Karsyn, is one, and the family fully expects that she will want to rodeo in a few years.

    The Davis family lives on a ranch in Dupree, S.D. The ranch was started in 1910 and has been family run from the very beginning. The Davises breed and raise American Quarter Horses in addition to beef cattle. Kaydin has been helping her family with branding, doctoring, and sorting cattle since she could walk and ride a horse. Her first horse was a pony named Pokey and she and Pokey loved to gather cows in from the pasture together. Today, Kaydin has three horses that she rodeos with. Ike is her breakaway and goat tying horse, Junior is her barrel and pole horse and she also runs poles on Smarty. Through the summer, the Davises enjoy roping and riding with friends and neighbors at their arena, and in the winter, they have a barn that Kaydin can ride in. Both of Kaydin’s parents are teachers, so it takes the entire family to keep the ranch running. “Kaydin is a huge help and we couldn’t do it without her,” her mom says.

    Kaydin is a sixth grader at Dupree School, and her favorite subjects are social studies and math. She is an A student and has been on the A Honor Roll since the first grade. Kaydin also plays basketball, which her mom coached for the season, and the team was undefeated. Kaydin loves to run off of the basketball court as well, and she and her mom ran a 5K race together on Thanksgiving Day. Additionally, she competes in 4-H rodeo and will start competing in the South Dakota Junior High Rodeo Association in 2014.

    In 2013, Kaydin’s favorite rodeos included the NLBFR in Pueblo, Colo. and the Rapid City Little Britches Series that were held in South Dakota. Rodeo is a sport for the whole Davis family, and they love the family atmosphere of Little Britches. “There’s not a better sport (than rodeo) as far as the people who are involved in it. They are so generous,” says Kim, Kaydin’s mom. Kaydin concluded by saying, “I want to get good grades, and my rodeo goals are to someday compete in the NFR and to get a college scholarship and college rodeo. I want to continue to get better in all my events.”

  • Kelsey Lutjen

    Kelsey Lutjen

    Kelsey Lutjen is a cowgirl with big dreams. Those dreams are in the form of her futurity horses, and her hope is that someday, one of those horses will take her to the Wrangler NFR. The GCPRA has given Kelsey an array of opportunities to expose her up and coming horses to rodeo, and she earned the added bonus of 2013 All-Around Women’s Champion at the GCPRA finals in the fall. “This is the first year I’ve entered the finals,” Kelsey explained. “It was awesome! I won second in the breakaway roping and placed in the barrel racing.”

    Kelsey, 20, was born and raised in Arizona. Both of her parents rodeoed, and they gave her a solid start in the sport. “My mom is the one who got me going. She was always out there practicing with me every night, and she kept good horses under me and taught me how to train my own horses.” As a result, Kelsey won the goat tying in the National Junior High Finals Rodeo in 2008, and captured first place in goat tying again in 2012, this time at the National High School Finals Rodeo. “My goal now is to win the goat tying at the college national finals and win all three levels.” In 2008, her horse won Horse of the Year, as well as Reserve Horse of the Year in 2012.

    Much of Kelsey’s success in high school rodeo was combined with her talent and that of her horse, Frenchman’s Fabulous, a palomino stud owned by Kenny Nichols. Nichols sent “Fab” to his dad to rope off of, and Kelsey, friends with Nichols’s dad, was offered a chance to head some steers off the stud. Following a series of events, Kelsey was given the opportunity to compete on the Fab. Today, she is competing on several of Fab’s babies and entering them in futurities. “They are all really solid and consistent,” says Kelsey. “I have about 15 barrel horses. Some of them are mine but most of them belong to Kenny Nichols and Teri Murphy. They are the main people I ride for, but I also train outside horses.”

    In the midst of her horse training, Kelsey is a sophomore at Central Arizona College. She competes on the school’s rodeo team in breakaway roping, goat tying, barrel racing, and team roping as a header. She won the goat tying in the second round of the College National Finals Rodeo in 2013. Additionally, she is working towards a degree in Ag. Business. While Kelsey ultimately wants to breed and train horses, she decided to have a degree to fall back on. In January, Kelsey won over $10,000 in futurity shows on Nichols’s horse KN Fabs Gift Of Fame. “I wake up in the morning, go ride all day,  go to bed, wake up and do it all over again. It’s not like work to me – there’s nothing else I’d want to do!”

    Kelsey says of the GCPRA, “They’re a really great association and their rodeos are somewhere fun for me to get my colts seasoned.” She takes every opportunity she can to further her chances of competing in the Wrangler NFR someday, hopefully on one of her horses. Many people have lent her a helping hand along the way, and in closing, Kelsey expressed her thanks to JoLynn and Patsy Alexander, Kenny Nichols, and Teri Murphy. “Those four people have always been there for anything I’ve ever needed.”

    Kelsey also gratefully acknowledged her sponsors: Flair Nasal Strips, Silver Lining Herbs, Panhandle Slim, RES sport boots, Usher Brand and Formula 1 Noni.