Rodeo Life

Author: Siri Stevens

  • Millie Bankston

    Millie Bankston

    Published in Tri State Rodeo Association (TSRA)
    Millie Bankston is a breakaway roper in the Tri-State Rodeo Association. The Albany, Louisiana cowgirl was six months old when her parents put her on a horse, and “I fell in love,” she says. Growing up on a farm, she helped her dad and grandpa with the cattle work. The rodeo started from there.
        In high school, Millie competed in the Mississippi High School Rodeo Association in the barrel racing and breakaway roping. She graduated from Albany High School and went on to Southeastern Louisiana University, where she ran barrels, making the Ozark Region Finals. She graduated with a degree in general studies.
        Millie got her first Tri-State card in 1999, and has competed at their Finals about a dozen times. She won the breakaway championship in 2012. She is also a Professional Cowboys Association member. 
        She has two roping horses. Striker, a twenty year old bay with a coon tail, carried her to her 2012 title. Her second horse is Rock, an eighteen year old black gelding. Rock is unique. “If a horse can have OCD, he’s got it,” Millie says. “He’s the type of horse that if something is out of place, he notices it right away.” Both of her horses are very loving, she says. “I like to think they’re good at their job. I’m blessed to have two good horses.”
        She first met her husband, Wyman Bankston, when they were at a rodeo, and he was 13 and she was twelve. They didn’t meet again till they were in their twenties, and they married in 2005. He is an “absolute blessing,” she says. “He’s very loving, caring, and very supportive of what I do. But most of all, he’s a Christian.” 
        She works as the office administrator for her husband’s law firm in Livingston. They enjoy being together all day. “We have a wonderful relationship. We’re best friends.”
        She is appreciative of her parents, Harry and Linda Sherman, and all they did for her. “They have supported me since I was five and went to my first horse show. Without them, I wouldn’t have been able to achieve the goals I achieved.” Her dad passed away in 2011, and Millie dedicated her 2012 Tri-State title to him. “He loved to watch me rope.”  
        She is helping the next generation of ropers with her nephew Austin and her cousin Scott, and she knows how powerful rodeo can be for young people and families. It “can make a great impact on young kids, and it’s such a good family sport when there are bad things going on in the world. Rodeo can have such a positive impact on kids.” She notices how Austin and Scott look up to rodeo cowboys. “To be able to be that positive example and to be a Christian example is more important than anything I can do with a rope in my hand.” 
        Millie wants to serve as an ambassador for Christ with her actions and words. “The way God has moved in my life, put me in places, and used me, that’s what counts. You have to speak life into somebody. And if I can use rodeo to do that, that’s what makes me happy.”
  • Don Sunden

    Don Sunden

    Growing up in Ft. Madison, Iowa, Don Sunden wanted to be a cowboy. “We rode horses on my grandpa’s farm; took the buggy to town for groceries, and did all the plowing with horses. We picked all the corn by hand. I lived in the best time period in the world. I’ve seen the horse and buggy and the airplane.” His hometown, Ft. Madison, was the drop off for all the stock going to Madison Square Garden rodeo, hauled in by rail. “I’d go down to the stockyards when I was six until I got out of school. We’d ride the hay wagon and help them feed the stock.” All the western stars would come through – Roy Rogers and Gene Autry – they had their horses there and Don remembers talking to them. Don went into the tool and dye making trade after high school and continued in that trade until he retired. “I did it in high school and then went to a factory and got an apprenticeship. I worked in one factory, then went to a machine shop where we built everything. I was the supervisor there for 16 years and moved around as a supervisor for years.”
    He met his wife in Ft. Madison in 1964, the same year he started with the IPRA as a bull rider and a judge. “We met in Pizza Hut and three months later we got married. She rode barrel horses. I never went to a rodeo in my life that she wasn’t there. She went to every one – She ran barrels up until 1970.” They have one daughter, Sherry. Ron started judging in 1964. He likes the IPRA. “It’s a working man’s deal, so most rodeos are on the weekends. I lived 20 miles from H-C Rodeo company, Tonch Hartsell owned it, and we’d go up there and I’d buck out his young bulls for him. I did all my practicing at his place. When I was well I could ride bulls, but when I got hurt, I’d judge.”
    He remembers a rodeo in 1969, in Green City Missouri. “I drawed the same bull at all three rodeos, and I bucked off all three times. The last time I got thrown 15 feet above the bull, got kicked in the face, crushed my face, broke every rib, both collar bones, and had internal injuries. I went back to the chutes and spit out all my teeth; I thought it was dirt.” They hauled Don to the hospital and he remembers insisting that they take his jeans off instead of cutting them off. “They were brand new,” he said. “They pumped blood in me and told my wife that I had 24 hours, and call the family. They packed my whole body with ice, and I was in there for two weeks because of the swelling of my head and my body. My face swelled up so big – my wife gave them a picture so they could rebuild my face. I had no feeling in my face for seven years.” As his daughter got bigger, they trained futurity horses. She rode in her first IPRA when she was 7. Don moved to her place two years ago. “She was a school teacher for 19 years and was a chiropractor and started 2 High Dollar Ranch Rehabilitation and Conditioning Center – she’s an animal chiropractor and wanted to do more. We bought a hydrahorse swimming pool and we’ve got infrared lighting, five vibration therapy plates, and a hot walker.”
    Don judges about 30 rodeos a year and was selected to be one of the judges at IFR44, along with Ronnie Barnett, Rick Chaffin, and Steve Ratchford. He judges CBRA bull riding, co-sanctioned rodeos and several senior pro rodeos in the states. When he’s not doing judging, he helps his daughter. “We work 16 hours a day, 7 days a week.” The bull riding accident gave Don a different perspective on life. “From that day on every day was a free day – I was supposed to die and I didn’t. I take each day for that day and don’t let anything bother me. Live every day for that day.”

  • Brad Sintek

    Brad Sintek

    There just aren’t enough second chances in life. But for many members of the National Senior Pro Rodeo Association, they are getting their second chance at rodeo life and competition. Due to the twists and turns in one’s life, many have had to forego rodeo in their prime adult years to attend to careers, families, and the demands of everyday life. They didn’t have the opportunity to compete as they would have liked to. Now, in the years after 40, they find that the time and resources are there for them to pursue a dream they thought might have escaped them. So it is with Brad Sintek.

    At 56, with daughters raised and on their own, a successful career well established, he’s now ready to ‘crack out’ on his second rodeo career. “I used to rodeo when I was younger but stopped when I was either 33 or 34. We had two young kids; I had my business to work, so I had to give up on rodeo. It has always been something that I have wanted to come back and do but never had the opportunity until recently. Every time I’d go to a rodeo, I’d dream about doing it but never thought it would happen.”

    Complicating the issue of making a rodeo comeback was overcoming health problems and weight gain. “I thought I was past ever being able to rodeo again because of health problems. My whole family went through a dark spell; my wife had cancer for a second time, then almost died from a blood infection caused by the chemo. I had cancer, my heart quit and I have a pacemaker now. My youngest daughter was in a real bad car wreck. This was while I was in my early 50’s. Everyone is healthy now but I did gain some weight that I had to lose.”

    In the spring of 2013, Brad experienced a life-changing epiphany of sorts. “In May of 2013 I did some soul searching and went on a mission to get back in shape. This went so well, one day in mid-summer while walking across my pasture, it dawned on me that I might be able to go back and ride again. I made this a mission, to get back in shape again. I had been thinking about a rodeo comeback for a month before I said anything about it to anyone. I wanted to mull this over and really be sure of what I was doing. I talked with my wife and she was very supportive. I’m a general manager of a company, and I went and talked to the owner about it and he was okay with it. I think he’d be my traveling partner if he could.” The next step for Brad was to check in with his doctors. “I didn’t want to do anything stupid, so I really needed to get their advice and I did get green lights, for the most part. After that, I made the decision to do it.”

    With a firm commitment to make his rodeo comeback, Brad accelerated his conditioning program. “On top of working out an hour-plus-a-day, six days a week, I started working with a personal trainer two days a week. I wanted to be as physically ready and prepared as I could be. I had been doing low impact and cardio work and then, under the direction of the trainer, I started working on strength and agility.”

    To reassure himself that riding saddle broncs was not a bad idea, he enrolled in a Sankey rodeo school that he attended in December of 2013. “I needed to make sure this was still a good idea and see if I could do it. It didn’t go great there, but it didn’t go terrible either. With each horse I got on, it got better. I came away still wanting to do it so I continued my work to get in shape.”

    Brad used his creativity and engineering skills to build a mechanical bucking horse to further his training. “I don’t have any way to get on practice horses here so I did some research to see what was available and decided that I would come up with my own version that more closely mimics the way a horse bucks. It runs off the PTO of my tractor and I get my wife to run it for me.”

    Brad and his wife, Becky (Rebecca) both grew up in Wyoming and now live outside Sandy, Ore. Their two daughters are Kaci and Brittany (Hull). Becky is involved in showing Red Angus cattle. “She has a 4-H group and she puts on livestock events at our place and I help out where I can.”

    Brad says that he draws inspiration from his grandfather, Elmer Irene. “He was just one of those guys you liked being around. He was a tremendous cowboy, he was known as being great pickup man, and he just always enjoyed life. I’ve always tried to take a page out his book for my own and be like him.” Brad says that his grandfather taught him that attitude is a choice and he explains, “You can chose whatever attitude you want to have, but having a good one is the right choice.”

    His next rodeo will at Wickenburg February 14 – 16 and he says that his goal is to, “…ride the next horse I get on and ride him right. That’s as far as I have planned. But I am going to go as many Senior Pro rodeos as I can and hopefully some in Canada.”

  • Goober Snider

    Goober Snider

    Goober Snider is one of the co-event directors for steer wrestling and has been in the Mid-States Rodeo Association for five years. Goober acquired his name from his parents. “It’s actually a nickname. I was born on the same day as my dad’s best friend that had that nickname too. So I have been called Goober since I was really little and it’s stuck with me.” His given name? Kent.

    As event director, he makes sure the cattle are right for the rodeo, the arena score is set up right, and any issues brought up by competitors are addressed and resolved. For Goober the Mid-States organization is just right and says, “All the rodeos are close and the people you meet are great. They are just good events to go rodeo at. I’ll get to about 30 rodeos each year. But because of my school schedule I sometimes have to work around that.” Besides competing in Mid-States, Goober is a member of NSRA and NIRA.

    He is attending Dodge City Community College where he is about to complete his degree in ag management. “This is my third year in school; I already have an associate’s of science in welding. I have a rodeo scholarship and that helps out a lot with the cost of college.”

    Goober owes his start in rodeo to his brother, Monte. “We used to show cattle when I was young, but when Monte was old enough to start high school rodeo, he talked our folks into letting him get started and I picked it up too. He’s two years older and has been my biggest influence. Monte was the state high school heading in 2009.”

    When it’s time to compete, Goober has a system he puts into play. “It’s about slowing down, doing the basics correct, and reacting to the run. I have a lot of ‘try’ and that keeps me competitive.” Just to be sure the mojo is good, you won’t find him putting his cowboy hat on the bed or carrying any 50 dollar bills. But most importantly, he says, “Don’t wear a belt buckle for a week after you win it. It’s bad luck to put them on too soon so I don’t chance it.” From his good friend and mentor, Steve McKay takes the adage, “Trust your pilot and respect your monkey.”

    Goober is quick to acknowledge the help he has received from family and friends. “There are lots of people that have helped me. First, my brother, he’s helped me out with my horsemanship, and life in general. My parents have always supported and encouraged me in what I do. Steve and Jace MacKay, Taylor Davis, Loren Gorsuch, have all helped me a lot. I’d like to thank my rodeo coach, Kent Crouch, for all he has done for me.”

    The 21-year-old bull dogger is the youngest of the family and along with his brother, Monte, has two sisters, Cara and Randi. His parents are Alan and Kathy Snider. Goober claims Bartlett, Neb. as his home and travels between home and school, a six-hour drive away. “I have a house in Dodge City that I stay at, my brother and I live there together.”

    During the week Goober is carrying 14 credit-hours at school, practicing with rodeo team after school, and working part time at the stockyards. Goals for the future are to continue to rodeo, make it to the CNF, and moving back to Bartlett after his college is complete.

  • Shannon Smith

    Shannon Smith

    As a former performing art dancer, American Professional Rodeo Association (APRA) trick riding performer, Shannon Smith, has moved from center stage recital to center stage act – with a bit more grit and dirt. Still using grace, muscle and style, Shannon has traded her Pointe shoes for a horse, and in less than two years, the trick rider has progressed to presenting her specialty act with Dave Martin and the AFR-36. “It takes a lot of guts, but I love it. I love the thrill and traveling that I have experienced,” she said of the lifestyle change.

    Being the daughter of APRA steer wrestler, Mike Smith, and younger sister of Skip Smith, who is also an APRA steer wrestler, Shannon had every opportunity to get involved with horses, but her interests were occupied with dance instead. “I had nothing to do with horses growing up. My dad was always trying to get me to go out and at least ride, but I just wasn‘t in to it,” she said. “Looking back, it would have been a plus if I would have started earlier though.” While her mom (Fran) does not compete, Shannon says that she is the ultimate rodeo mom and offers her support through it all.

    For 12 years, Shannon specialized in ballet, Pointe and jazz dancing and it wasn’t until after her high school graduation that she was persuaded to buy a horse. Soon after, she purchased her first APRA membership card and began competing in the barrel racing. “I raced for one year and then took a break for a couple of years before returning to perform as a trick rider,” she said. Through her building interest in trick riding, Shannon took her dad’s hazing horse (Bo) and started out in her new trade. “I bought a book to learn how and any time I would run into more experienced trick riders, I would take the opportunity to ask questions and learn more. I owe a lot to Dusti Crain and Loretta Pemberton for all of their help,” she said of her start, but says her parents have been her biggest support. “From traveling with me, to going with me to buy horses, they have been through it all. My dad will even go out to the arena and help me. Even if I say I am scared, he just says ‘I don‘t care, go do it‘,” she said.

    While still barrel racing at local timed events, Shannon is reaching her second year as a performing trick rider and like any other rodeo athlete, she continues to make progress with her craft. “I would like to try to get a Roman riding act put together with my trick riding act and continue to perform with the APRA,” she said of her future goals. She will resume with her main horse (Bubba), a 16-year old Palomino that she purchased a year ago. “It is definitely the people,” she said of what keeps her coming back to the APRA. “Both, contestants and those who run it are so helpful with great attitudes and support. It is a great association and I love it.”

    Outside of the arena, the McVeytown, Pa., native splits her living as a chiropractor billing specialist and working for the United States Postal Service. At 27 years old, she continues to make life changes with a recent engagement to Matt Hoffmaster, who is in the U.S. Army and currently stationed in North Carolina. The soldier showed his braveness through a crowd frontal proposal at the APRA sanctioned Huntington, Pa., rodeo last June, where he rode out on a horse and took to one knee to ask for Shannon‘s hand in marriage. “Honestly, I was very nervous,” admitted the bride-to-be. The couple are planning a 2015 spring wedding.

  • Mikayla Almond

    Mikayla Almond

    A day consisting of feeding horses, school work and then returning to the barn to spend the rest of the afternoon practicing, has paid off for the 2013 Junior Southern Rodeo Association (JrSRA) senior girls all-around champ, Mikayla Almond. “Whether it’s roping the dummy, tying a goat or working with her horses, she’s always doing something to better herself,” said mom, Jeani.

    At only 13 years old, Mikayla has racked up five pole bending championships within the JrSRA, along with being named the 2012 NBHA Youth World Champion 1D barrel racer. In her first year (2013) with the National Junior High School Rodeo Association, Mikayla won state titles in the pole bending, breakaway roping and goat tying, and reserve in the barrel racing. Her impressive rookie stance found her competing in Gallup, N.M., at the NJHSFR, where she returned home as the Reserve World Champion pole bender. Because of Mikayla’s incredible work ethic, in the arena and the classroom, she was one of four kids in the United States, selected to be on the Professional Choice Elite Student-Athletic Team. Meeting the criteria of a 4.0 grade point average and an all-around cowgirl, Mikayla will wear the Professional Choice patch and be rewarded with a credit line through college.

    The JrSRA’s legacy resides in Mikayla’s family and their persistent rodeo heritage. “It is definitely a family thing with all of us kids carrying on the tradition,” said Mikayla of why she likes the JrSRA. The organization began with her great-grandfather (Jack Laws), who was one of whom responsible for starting the organization in the 1950s. It then passed to her grandmother (Debbie Colyer), who was crowned the 1966 JrSRA junior barrel racing champion and later served as the association secretary for 11 years. Then, to her mom, who started out in the association and continues with the SRA. While her dad (Eddie) is currently serving his second term as the JrSRA president, her older sister (Hayley Joh Knox) is a past five-time all-around champion and went on to obtaining her first of two SRA all-around titles at the age of 15. “Hayley is someone who has helped me to become an all-around cowgirl,” said Mikayla.

    Competing fourfold in her third year as a senior girl in the barrels, poles, goats and breakaway, the seventh grader will push forth to win her sixth pole bending title atop her 16-year old horse (Buddy). Buddy, himself, has made a name for himself in the association, winning 10 straight titles as of 2013; carrying Hayley to five prior to being turned over to Mikayla. “He also went on to winning two state titles in the South Carolina High School Association,” explained Jeani.

    Mikayla has set her sights on rodeo seasoning a five-year old (“Floozie” Ta Fame) for the barrel racing. “She has set the goal to have her ready to compete at the Junior High Nationals,” said Jeani. The futurity mare was one of two breeding rights to “Aim Ta Fame” given as a get well gift after shattering her femur in 2008 from Mike and Janell Green. “Her dad worked for the Green’s prior to becoming an independent trainer,” explained Jeani of the connection. “Three years ago, he also accepted a position with the NBHA, where he is in charge of the ground, so travels a lot.”

    Mikayla got her start in the JrSRA at the age of four and through her progression and appreciation for each moment says that her grandpa (Mike Colyer) is her biggest inspiration. “He has been by my side the whole time. He helps me in all of my events and even hauls me when Dad is on the road,” she said.

    A true all-around cowgirl, Mikayla says that she loves all of her events. “My Dad, Mom and Grandpa have taught me everything I know,” credited Mikayla. But if she had to pick, Mikayla says that it’s a tie between breakaway and pole bending. “I just want to place high and be on top,” she said. Early in the season, Mikayla is already sitting first in the standings in the goat tying and pole bending, third in the breakaway, sixth in the barrels and second in the all-around.

  • Clint Humphries

    Clint Humphries

    Holding a strong passion for team roping has set deep roots for Clint Humphries in the Southern Rodeo Association (SRA). “I could rope every day and be completely happy. It’s my getaway time and my stress reliever,” he said. “Rodeoing offers the opportunity to see all of my buddies, while doing what we all love. It‘s just a good ole time.“ Competing in the organization for at least 18 years, Humphries can be found on both ends of the steer as he headed for Corey Honeycutt to capture the finals average in 2009. In the 2013 season, Clint finished in the top 20 of the standings – heading for Alex Brooks and heeling for Jason Tucker. “Going to a SRA rodeo is like going to a family reunion for me. I know and am related to three-quarters of the guys on the timed events side, but that just makes it that much more fun,” he said.

    Growing up on a dairy farm in North Carolina, Clint had horses is whole life, but it wasn’t until 1987 that he bought his first roping horse and kicked off his life style choice. “I went down to Oklahoma City with a buddy who was looking for a horse. I wasn’t even looking, but ended up buying my first rope horse and the guy trusted me enough to make payments,” he explained. “I had always played with ropes, but it just snowballed from there.” Besides competing in the SRA, Clint also enjoys hitting jackpots. “I like to rope a lot, rather than just a few,” he explained. In 2009, Clint was the winner of a brand new truck for his efforts at a jackpot. “2009 was a good year for me, but luck was on my side that day,” he said modestly.

    Clint had gotten his start in the Junior Southern Rodeo Association (JrSRA) and later progressed to the North Carolina High School Rodeo Association, where he qualified for Nationals and competed in Shawnee, Okla., in 1990 with partner Brad Stewart. “I’ve been roping for a long time, but it was one of those things that happened because I followed my friends,” he said. His brother (Caleb) took on the habit as well and is a former SRA roper. “Caleb is good, really good. He got so good, so fast, that it was imperative that he practice on a regular basis to compete at the level he was at, so he ended up hanging it up,” said Clint.

    Thinking that rodeo was something that he had found, Clint discovered at the age of 16 when meeting his dad (Keith) that rodeo had actually found him. “I later found out that my dad had rode bareback horses back in the day,” he said. The family tradition is currently being carried on by his 11-year old daughter (Reagan), who Clint refers to as “Rea-Rea”. Reagan will compete in the 2014 JrSRA season as a quadruple event contender. “I never thought that my little girl would be interested in rodeo, because she was such a princess at first, but she started riding my roping horses and is really into it now,” said the proud daddy. “One of my favorite things about her is that she is very independent and tries to do everything by herself.” With two family members hitting the rodeo trail at full-force, Clint says that it is sometimes imperative to have two rigs on the move. “I would prefer to watch her compete, but when our schedules come to a cross road, I rely on trusty mom,” he said. While his wife (Amy) does not compete, she grew up in the grandstands, as her dad (Leonard Atwell) competed in the SRA in the calf and team roping. “Amy rides and ropes really well, but never went at it. She is a great supporter of us both,” said Clint.

    Living in Lincolnton, N.C., Clint makes his living as a fire fighter for the Charlotte Fire Department and the owner and operator of Humphries Landscaping. His busy schedule can, at times, interfere with his rodeoing. “I haven’t been able to go as hard as some of the other guys, but that doesn’t stop me when I get the chance,” he said.

    For the upcoming season, Clint says that his main priority rests in keeping Reagan going. “When I am able, I will be happy to go just a little bit,” he said. “That little girl has me wrapped around her finger and I am the happiest when Rea-Rea and I can just go out and play on our horses all day.”

  • Michelle Piha

    Michelle Piha

    In her fifth year of competition in the CePRA, Michelle Piha has set a goal to qualify for her first finals. “I didn’t get to go a lot last year because I was trying to get with a new horse, but I want to go at it hard this year,” she strategized. While Michelle could be considered a newbie in the equine world, having only been horseback for the past 15 years, she has surpassed the initial titles and is currently sitting in the top 15 of the CePRA barrel racing standings. “I love the people and the way they are run. The CePRA takes it a step above the local events and provides rodeos on a more professional level,” Michelle said of the organization.

    The oldest of six siblings, Michelle grew up as a bona-fide city girl and was not raised with a background in horses, but in her heart she always knew she wanted one. “I would ride every chance that I could get, which was things like girl scout camp or trail rides on vacations, and then read every book and watched every movie there was about horses. I’ve just always loved them, and now that they are a big part of my world, I can‘t imagine a life without horses,” she described. It wasn’t until Michelle had graduated college and obtained her first job that she finally bought her first horse and several years later introduced herself to the world of barrel racing. “I got a late start, but I’m finally catching up. I would say that my biggest challenge has been juggling work and finding time to ride, practice and haul,” she said. Michelle will take on the cloverleaf pattern upon her 11-year old bay mare “Vana”, whom she purchased about a year ago from fellow barrel racer, Carol Tracy. “Vana’s brother [owned and jockeyed by Tracy] was named CePRA Horse of the Year about three years ago. She is such a nice mare and I would love for her to win the same honor,” she said. In true horsemanship fashion, Michelle considers her horses, not only friends, but partners. “God put them here for us to enjoy, love and care for. I try to do my part by keeping them comfortable, in-shape and by doing anything else that I can to make them strong competitors,” she said.

    Living on a ranch east of Douglas, Kans., with her husband (David), the couple of almost nine years, raise angus cattle in a cow/calf operation. “He is my number one fan and has always supported me, from helping me find my first barrel horse to letting me get out of helping with hay season to go rodeo. He used to ride rough stock and has dabbled in roping, but his shoulder is shot from playing baseball in college and now devotes his time to the cattle,” Michelle explained. For the past 17 years, Michelle has worked for Boeing, but the closing of the Wichita site has caused her to change direction. “Boeing offered me a position in Oklahoma City, but I could not leave my mom who is battling lung cancer,” she said. Four weeks ago she accepted a position as the Director of Program Management for DJ Engineering. “It is a major learning curve. It is really fast paced and I am very excited. The best part is, it is great to want to go to work in a job that you love and then return home to a hobby that you love,” she expressed.

    Michelle’s decision to stay put was based on her mom (Carol McCreary), who was diagnosed with lung cancer. “She has always supported me and is my motivation. Watching her fight just pushes me to want to do the same thing,” she expressed. Michelle’s dad (Tom) also supports her. “He’s not into horses, but is very encouraging even though he teases me about how much better a motorcycle is,” she said. “He has taken on a major role in helping my mom. His devotion has really touched me and his strength inspires me to demand success in everything I do.”

  • Anna Holland

    Anna Holland

    Anna Holland is a barrel racer and director in the Cajun Rodeo Association. The Walker, La. cowgirl was a member of the CRA when it existed years ago, and is a member again.

    She grew up in rodeo with a mom who ran barrels and team roped and a dad who team roped. She was on her first horse at six weeks of age, and by two years old, was competing in barrel races. She was a member of the Mississippi High School Rodeo Association (the farthest Mississippi rodeo was closer than the closest Louisiana rodeo), and she also competed in local and state-wide rodeo queen pageants, serving as the Livingston Parish Queen, the Tri-State Rodeo Association queen, and in 1999, as Miss Rodeo Louisiana.

    After graduating from Walker High School in 1999, she earned academic and rodeo scholarships to college, and will graduate this summer from Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond with a Bachelors of Science in occupational environmental safety and health. She works for MAPP Construction, a regional company based in the southeastern U.S. Her job as corporate safety director entails ensuring project compliance with OSHA regulations and protecting worker safety.

    Anna met her husband, Lane, when he came to shoe her horses. They had grown up three miles from each other, and knew each other, but it wasn’t till 2008 when they began dating. When Lane proposed on Valentine’s Day of 2009, she accepted. The couple got out their calendars and looked at prospective wedding dates. At that time, Lane was a professional steer wrestler and she was running barrels, so it was either get married that month or wait till August. They decided to marry two weeks later, and Anna had the wedding planned within a week. Now the couple have two children, a son, Emmett, age four, and a daughter, Sarah, age two.

    In addition to her barrel racing, Anna is co-founder and president of a non-profit organization called the Christian Cowgirl Relief Fund. She and fellow co-founder Berkeleigh Cotten saw a need for an organized support system when a rodeo family or fellow barrel racer needed financial, emotional and spiritual help. “It seems like the more people we are able to help, the more readily we recognize other opportunities to provide assistance throughout the rodeo community.” The group’s motto, “Love one another,” is based on John 15:12-13. This May, a women’s conference is planned with LeAnn Hart, the wife of retired PBR bull rider J.W. Hart, as keynote speaker.

    Anna rides a seven year old gelding named Utah. Utah was a new purchase in June of 2013, and on his way to a barrel race, was involved in a minor trailer wreck. Because of his injuries, it was thirteen weeks before he could be ridden again. For the second half of last year, Anna borrowed several horses to qualify for the finals. Anna also serves on the board for the Baton Rouge Barrel Racing Association. Her husband Lane is vice-president of the CRA.

  • Tyler Jackson

    Tyler Jackson

    Tyler Jackson burns the candle at both ends. While the twenty year old cowboy, a resident of Salem, Ark., is up and in town by 6 am each day, he’s not home, with chores completed, till after dark, and with a to-do list that isn’t crossed off. He’s a competitor in the Arkansas Cowboys Association, and his main emphasis this year is heading. He’s heeled for several years, and used to bulldog and rope calves, but the team roping is the focus this year.

    He has two good heading horses. Nugget, who is twenty, has been his horse since he was a kid. Tyler can rope calves, head and heel on Nugget. “He’s pretty well my all-around horse,” Tyler says. His other horse is a ten year old gelding named Jiggy, who he has owned for a year. In his senior year of high school at Salem High, he bought a sale barn and ran it for a year. He sold it, made a little profit on it, and now works for the man who bought it from him.

    Tyler and friend Hadley Deshazo are supplying timed event cattle this summer. They have team roping and bulldogging steers, breakaway and roping calves, and goats. This summer, they’ll have livestock at one to two rodeos each weekend, all over Arkansas, Illinois, Missouri, and Tennessee.

    And if he still didn’t have enough to do, he works two days a week at another sale barn, riding horses. Tyler has gone to ACA rodeos since he was 12, and has been an ACA member for seven years. He was the 2010 breakaway champion, the 2012 steer wrestling rookie, and he qualified in the team roping from 2010 through 2013.

    When he gets home at night, he has 30 mama cows to do chores for. They’ll calve in April. In twenty years, Tyler envisions himself with a much larger cattle herd and no debt. He plans on making his living in the cattle industry, whether it’s in sale barns, auctioneering, or with timed event cattle. He is the son of Sherry Jackson and Ronnie Jackson.

  • Casey Dupre

    Casey Dupre

    Casey Dupre is a tie-down roper in the Louisiana High School Rodeo Association. The 17 year old Lake Charles, La. resident has been roping calves for four years. He rides a ten year old mare named C.G., a sorrel with a white blaze, who is good, he says. “She does her job in the arena.” The family has owned C.G. for five years.

    As a senior at Grand Lake High School in Grand Lake, Casey loves the people, because they’re “down to earth, and nice.” His favorite subject is math. Last fall, he took a college course in math, and is now taking advanced math class. His least favorite class is English, mostly because reading and writing aren’t on his list of most enjoyable things to do. His favorite teacher is Mr. Scotty Poole, his ag teacher for his first three years of high school. Mr. Scotty loves to have fun with the kids, and is very helpful to them.

    Casey played basketball for Grand Lake as a forward. He’s a big basketball fan, and enjoys the Kentucky Wildcats and the Golden State Warriors. This fall, he will attend McNeese State University in Lake Charles, where he will work on a degree in mechanical engineering. He isn’t planning on rodeoing collegiately but instead will focus on his studies. After college, he’d like to work at a refinery.

    In his spare time, Casey helps his dad with chores and hangs out with friends at their houses or at the movies. He and his friends like to have bonfires and play video games. Casey’s favorite video game is Batman, and his favorite movie is Eight Seconds. The movie reminds him of his uncle, who was the 1970 Louisiana State High School Bull Riding champ. Casey considered riding bulls when he was young, but he prefers roping calves.

    He has qualified for state high school finals twice. When he was younger, he competed in the High Hope Riders Club, the Jeff Davis Club, and the Silver Spurs Club.

    His favorite meal is his mother’s rice with chicken and okra covered in gravy, and his favorite sweet treat is Reese’s peanut butter cups.He has two older sisters, LeAnne and Lauren, who competed in high school rodeo and who he loves to pick on. Casey is the son of Darryl and Leah Dupre.

  • Abigale Barks

    Abigale Barks

    Abigale Barks is proud to be a rodeo cowgirl, but she’s just as proud of being a Lady Panther for Starks (La.) High School. The fourteen year old cowgirl who lives in Starks, a small town close to Lake Charles where “everybody here is family,” competes in the Louisiana Junior High Rodeo Association in the barrel racing and pole bending, with poles being her favorite event.

    And in school, as an eighth grade student, she competes in junior high basketball, high school softball and track. Because of her school’s small size, she is allowed to compete with the high schoolers in two of her sports. Abigale would love to play volleyball, too, but again, because the school is small, there is no program. In track, she does the pole vault, long jump, mile relay, and 400m dash.

    The best part of school, she says, is her friends. The worst part is all the work, including science, which is not her favorite. “It’s not my thing,” she says. “I don’t get into that type of thing.” However, she loves math class and has always been a math whiz.

    Abigale is involved in more than sports at school. She’s a member of Junior Beta, 4-H, the Fellowship of Christian Students, LYFE, and the youth group at the First Baptist Church of Starks. She’s been on the honor roll pretty consistently, too.

    When Abigale’s not on the court, on the track, or in the arena, she likes to mud ride, chill while she rides her horse, hunt, fish, and hang out with friends. She loves to catch bass or catfish, but thank heavens for Paw-paw, R.T. Barnes, who cleans her catch, because she does not clean her own fish. “It grosses me out.”

    She and her friends also like to go to the movie theater, but because Starks is so small, they drive thirty miles to Orange, Texas, to the Orange Cinema. Her favorite movie is Ride Along, her favorite movie star is Kevin Costner, and her favorite comedian is Kevin Hart.

    When Abigale is out of high school, she plans on going to college, becoming a veterinarian, and continuing rodeo. After her junior high years are over, she won’t high school rodeo, so she can concentrate on her other sports. She competed at state junior high finals her sixth and seventh grade years in both events.

    Abigale has a younger brother, Cutter, who is ten and “a pest,” she says. He’s always bugging her, but she claims she does nothing to bother him! She looks up to her her parents, Patrick and Georgann Barks, because “they’re both hard working and I admire the way they encourage me and support me in my activities.”