Rodeo Life

Category: Articles

  • 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!
    Learn more at nobleoutfiters.com

  • Coleman Proctor

    Coleman Proctor

    Coleman Proctor can’t remember not roping. Growing up in Oklahoma, his mom, dad and both sisters roped. He entered his first roping at the age of nine and hasn’t slowed down since. Also during his childhood, the family raised and showed sheep, which kept Coleman involved in 4H.
    “I enjoyed that part of my life. It taught me a lot about responsibility. I remember raising a bottle goat in the kitchen. I would have to get up early and give her a bottle like a baby. We named her Clementine and I used to haul her to high school rodeos and practice on her. She thought she was a dog.”
    Coleman enjoyed sports in high school and attended Northeastern Oklahoma A&M and Northwestern Oklahoma State University. He has considered attending law school.
    It’s impossible to reach the professional level without some coaching and Coleman is thankful for the help he received as a young roper from more experienced ropers like Manny Egusquiza, Jeff Brown and Gaylen Fix.
    It’s just a matter of time before we see Coleman Proctor competing at the Wrangler National Finals. Winning rodeos like Oakdale, California and Caldwell, Idaho in 2013 helped Coleman to finish 19th in the heading world standings, roping with a variety of partners.
    This year, Coleman is heading for long-time friend, Jake Long. In 2010, the pair bested 468 teams to win the prestigious George Strait Team Roping Classic with a time of 14.93-seconds on three head.
    “In the 8th grade, Jake and I started hanging out and roping together. We roped all the time, whether it was steers, goats or dummies. We were both heeling at the time and only had one head rope. We would take turns heading for each other.”
    “Getting up and down the road is very expensive. You have to win, there’s no other answer. I enjoy helping people with their roping and teaching schools and that income is helpful. When I roped with Speed he taught me a lot about teaching and treating your roping as a business.”
    As for kids that want to rodeo and go pro, Coleman has this advice:
    “Set goals. Goals are nothing more than dreams with a timeline. Don’t ever give up or let up. In the end, you are the only person that stands in your way of doing anything. Leave alone the temptations on the road that will hinder your progress. Get your head down and make a plan.”
    Coleman is currently sponsored by: Fast Back Ropes, CSI Saddle Pads, Coats Saddles, Dixon-Flowers Quarter Horses, Wrangler, Justin, Pro Care Plus and speedroping.com.

    COWBOY Q&A:

    How much do you practice?
    Every day. Even if it’s just roping the dummy. If I’m not practicing, somebody else is. I learned from Speed, you have to have a great work ethic and be disciplined.

    Do you make your own horses?
    I made Booger, the horse I won the Strait on. But I do have some help from time to time. The horse I’m riding now, Switchblade, I got from Jimmy Lawrence, Lawrence Quarter Horses in Dewey, OK.

    Who were your roping heroes?
    My dad, Jeff Brown, Clay O’Brien Cooper, Speed Williams, Tom Ferguson

    Who do you respect most in the world?
    My mother

    Who has been the biggest influence in your life?
    My mother

    If you had a day off what would you like to do?
    I would play golf all day long.

    Favorite movie?
    Tin Cup

    What’s the last thing you read?
    Mind Gym – it’s about the mental aspect of anything related to sports.

    How would you describe yourself in three words?
    Funny, driven, motivated

    What makes you happy?
    Stephanie Arnold

    What makes you angry?
    People not taking their hats off during prayers or the National Anthem.

    If you were given 1 million dollars, how would you spend it?
    Wisely.

    What is your worst quality – your best?
    Worst quality, I tend to run late. Best quality, is being outgoing.

    Where do you see yourself in ten years?
    Living and ranching in Oklahoma. Still going to some rodeos.

  • Rowdy Rice

    Rowdy Rice

    Rowdy Rice is ramped at IFR 44. “With a name like Rowdy, you have to be,” said the 20-year-old bull rider from Easley, South Carolina. He was named by his dad after a Clint Eastwood movie, Rawhide, and feels he was destined to be a bull rider. “When I was younger, my mom used to tell me that I would climb up on the arm rest of the couch and ride it for hours. I used to open the porch door like it was a bucking chute. She’s got pictures of when I was two on a horse. My whole life I’ve been around rodeo. My mom barrel raced and I went with her. I remember watching rodeo bloopers over and over when I was young.”
    He didn’t get on a bull until he was 14, instead he played football. One day, he went to the rodeo right by the house, and at that moment, he decided he could ride a bull. “My mom took me the next day to a place to get on. I rode about six seconds. The second time, the next weekend, I stayed on the 8 seconds and I was hooked.” He spent the next several years getting on amateur bulls every Sunday at a place down the road called Elrods Farms. “I picked it up real fast. When I was about 15, I went to the Terry Don West bull riding school in Oklahoma. That helped me out the most – it took me to a different level. I got on a lot of bulls – and that helped me out too.”
    His advice to aspiring bull riders is simple. “If it’s not something that you really, really, really want to do – if you are doing it for the girls – don’t do it. It’s a good life; you get to travel all over the world and meet amazing people, but it’s a dangerous sport and you have to love it.” Rowdy graduated from Easely High School where he was part of the South Carolina High School Rodeo team and took the bull riding championship for the state in 2010 and 2011. “I went to Nationals and didn’t do good,” he admits. “At that time, Nationals we pretty big for me – I’d been to our high school rodeos, but I’d never been to Vegas or Cheyenne or any of the big rodeos. It’s a whole different world.” Since graduating from high school, Rowdy has won 2012 Southern Rodeo Association Champion Bull Rider and recently added the World Champion International Pro Rodeo Association Bull Riding title to his accolades. He is in his rookie year with the PRCA. “I’m going to have to make it count,” he said. “It’s the same aspect as I’ve been doing – you need to rodeo smarter not harder.”
    He and his mom, Tammy, are the only rodeo hands in the family. His dad, Rusty, is a blaster – when people hit rock and can’t dig, he goes in and blows it up. Tammy, is his secretary, keeping the business (Accurate Drilling and Blasting) straight. Rowdy has two brothers – Griffin is 15, Bailey is 11. “Neither one are rodeo guys, they are hunting and fishing specialists. My poor mom has had to deal with four boys in her life – she’s the toughest one of all.” Tammy has made up for having so many men in her life by having a lot of mares in hers. She started barrel racing when she was 12 and married a man that doesn’t rodeo at all. She wasn’t thrilled about Rowdy riding bulls, but felt he was destined to do so. “I didn’t get to see a lot of my rides because my mom would panic and drop the camera and couldn’t watch. She gets a lot more nervous than I do. My dad was for whatever I wanted to do as long as I stayed out of trouble.”
    Rowdy has bought a little house in Liberty SC, five minutes from where he grew up, from his earnings riding bulls. “I know that I can rodeo my whole life, and I want to have something to look back on. I thought it was a smart investment. And Griffin got big enough to wear my clothes, so I had a hard time keeping them in my closet.”
    His goal is to make it to the NFR and PBR Finals. “Once you get your name into the association, you’ve got to show them you belong there. I want to rodeo as long as I can. I thank God every single day for where I’m at. I’m so blessed going all over the world and meeting the most special people and my rodeo buddies are my closest friends.” His secret to his success is “having fun. If you are so focused on doing good and that extra pressure, likely you’re not going to do very good. It can be taken away. I enjoy and live life. Winning is what takes me to the next rodeo. It never gets old. When I’m on my last straw and I win, I hit a whole different level – I’d say rodeo is definitely a drug.”

  • 9th Annual IPRA Luncheon

    9th Annual IPRA Luncheon

    The 9th Annual IPRA Luncheon took place at Devon’s Boat House in Oklahoma City on January 17.

    $3,000 was raised for the Amanda Westermier Foundation. The Miss Rodeo USA contestants put on a fashion show thanks to Ariat and Sheplers, and Elsie Frost was the guest speaker. “Our connection has been through tragedy,” said Elsie, personal friends of Greg and Tammy Westermeir. Elsie and Clyde lost their son, Lane, in 1989 in a bull riding accident at Cheyenne Frontier Days. “Lane’s death had an impact not only through the rodeo world but through the movie (8 Seconds).”  Lane was only saved a year and a half before his death and Elsie has devoted her speaking engagements to spreading God’s Word, passing out more than 270,000 Bibles.

    The money from admission and the silent auction at the luncheon went to the Amanda Westermier Foundation, formed in 2003. “Our daughter was killed in a barrel racing accident and we felt passionate about having something positive and good to come from her memory,” said Greg Westermier. The foundation is able to send future rodeo athletes to the Camp of Champions, held the beginning of June in Sayer, Okla. The camp incorporates top rodeo contestants like Paul Tierney, Cody Custer, and Alan Bach, that instruct students ages 6-17 in rodeo events in a positive, spiritual atmosphere. “These guys give their testimony and the kids get to work with the people that they see in the arena as their heroes,” said Greg. “We were able to send 40 kids there last year with the proceeds from this luncheon.”

       A portion of the proceeds also pays for a saddle and other prizes given away each year for sportsmanship at youth associations  around the area. Relationships are a cornerstone value of the foundation and the Westermeirs remember the late nights and all weekend rodeos they attended with Amanda. “Relationships with friends, family, and the father have allowed us to maintain a positive attitude as we deal with this tragedy,” said Greg.

    The Westermiers believe in the importance of relationships that the sport of rodeo. “Rodeo is definelty one that is a brotherhood that takes care of each other. We have certainly felt that.”

    he 9th Annual IPRA Luncheon took place at Devon’s Boat House in Oklahoma City on January 17.

    $3,000 was raised for the Amanda Westermier Foundation. The Miss Rodeo USA contestants put on a fashion show thanks to Ariat and Sheplers, and Elsie Frost was the guest speaker. “Our connection has been through tragedy,” said Elsie, personal friends of Greg and Tammy Westermeir. Elsie and Clyde lost their son, Lane, in 1989 in a bull riding accident at Cheyenne Frontier Days. “Lane’s death had an impact not only through the rodeo world but through the movie (8 Seconds).”  Lane was only saved a year and a half before his death and Elsie has devoted her speaking engagements to spreading God’s Word, passing out more than 270,000 Bibles.

    The money from admission and the silent auction at the luncheon went to the Amanda Westermier Foundation, formed in 2003. “Our daughter was killed in a barrel racing accident and we felt passionate about having something positive and good to come from her memory,” said Greg Westermier. The foundation is able to send future rodeo athletes to the Camp of Champions, held the beginning of June in Sayer, Okla. The camp incorporates top rodeo contestants like Paul Tierney, Cody Custer, and Alan Bach, that instruct students ages 6-17 in rodeo events in a positive, spiritual atmosphere. “These guys give their testimony and the kids get to work with the people that they see in the arena as their heroes,” said Greg. “We were able to send 40 kids there last year with the proceeds from this luncheon.”

       A portion of the proceeds also pays for a saddle and other prizes given away each year for sportsmanship at youth associations  around the area. Relationships are a cornerstone value of the foundation and the Westermeirs remember the late nights and all weekend rodeos they attended with Amanda. “Relationships with friends, family, and the father have allowed us to maintain a positive attitude as we deal with this tragedy,” said Greg.

    The Westermiers believe in the importance of relationships that the sport of rodeo. “Rodeo is definelty one that is a brotherhood that takes care of each other. We have certainly felt that.”

    For more information on the foundation or the camp please visit  Just As You Are or Amanda Westermier Foundation.

     

  • Miss Rodeo USA 2014 – Elisa Swenson

    Miss Rodeo USA 2014 – Elisa Swenson

    Miss Rodeo USA 2014, Elisa Swenson is a native of California. Serving as Miss Rodeo Lakeside, she is leaves a full time job with West America Corp. to take on her reign as Miss Rodeo USA. “I was working in estimating and assisting the financial controller,” said the 25-year-old from Lakeside, Calif. She is also researching nursing school after her reign as Miss Rodeo USA. “I know that different opportunities might arise, but my passion for helping others through nursing is where my heart is right now. My main goal in life is to grow in my relationship with God and the nursing school at Point Loma Nazarene a prestigious nursing program.”

    Elisa wasn’t allowed to ride horses as a young girl. “My mother asked me to quit riding because of her fear that I would get hurt. Her greatest fear became my biggest asset,” she said. Viola passed away in 1998, when Elisa was 10, after a six year battle with breast cancer. “My father sent me to a riding camp and my love of horses returned.” She began her queening career on a trail ride in January of 2011. “Nikki Tremblay and I were riding in the riverbed in Lakeside, Calif., and she asked me and another girl which one of us was going to try out for Miss Rodeo Lakeside and I had no idea what she was talking about.” The quick learning curve, less than two years, has taught her about respect, perseverance, and not to give up. “I was very passionate about it (queening), and this helped me overcome the passing of my mother. Queening helped lift me up in a different way – it was about chasing my goals and setting my mind to those goals.”

    Her title as Miss Rodeo Lakeside introduced her to the International Pro Rodeo Association. “The Bulls Only rodeo is the only rodeo I knew of for IPRA in California. I know that California has a history of IPRA,” she said. She has been to Oklahoma only once before the competition. “I love Oklahoma. It’s a reflection of our Western heritage. The open land, horses, and fields, is much different than California.”

    Her life is going to forever change with her new title. “I think about what Lisa Lance (Executive Director for the Miss Rodeo USA Pageant) wrote about being and becoming – it’s something you grow into – it’s all about taking it as it comes.”Elisa’s platform is Brand your Attitude. “My goal is to encourage others to think more positively in all aspects of their lives. I want to do that by encouraging people to choose words to live by. For example, I have a lot of quotes and images that inspire me – I look at rodeo and the athletes that compete. They face challenges and they push on and don’t let anything stand in their way. That image helps me whenever I’m in a tough situation.” She has no idea what to expect throughout the year. “I have a brief idea of what I’ll be doing, but it’s really about all the things I’m not going to be expecting that is exciting for me.”

  • Cheryl Cole

    Cheryl Cole

    Cheryl Cole is the newly appointed event director for the ribbon roping and has been in the association for the last 15 years. She likes the association for camaraderie found at each rodeo. “I really enjoy the people that I have gotten to know. I never got to rodeo much when I was younger and now I am able to go and that has really worked out well.” She is still in the process of finding out what her duties as event director will entail but says, “I have visited with some of the other event directors and I know I’ll need to have ribbons ready and make sure the right calf is in the chute for the competitors and the judges are ready. I’m a little bit nervous about being the director, but we’ll make it work.”

    Cheryl and her ribbon roping partner and husband, Dan are tough competitors in the arena and claimed the 2013 Reserve World Champion Ribbon Roping titles for both roper and runner in the 50’s division. Cheryl says that her preparation for making a quick run starts with visualization of what she wants to do. “I try to be pretty close to the chute on the left and help push the calf to the right for Danny. We do a lot of practice at home and that helps so we know what each other is going to do.” She also says that she has a competitive spirit and puts that to work when she walks into the arena.

    Besides ribbon roping, Cheryl competes in team roping on the heading side. “I rope a lot at home just to turn steers for Danny, but I do compete in jackpots. Danny competes in the team roping and calf roping in the Senior Pro. He’s been in the Senior Pro Association for about 17 years.”

    Starting into rodeo for Cheryl was just a part of growing up in Central Wyoming. “I grew up on a ranch and I ran barrels in high school rodeo. I didn’t start roping until I met Dan. I was a sophomore in high school when we started going together and he got me started roping.” Cheryl says that her biggest influence has been her husband, Dan. “He always been there for me and I doubt that I would rodeo at all if it were not for him. He keeps me going.”

    Currently, Cheryl and Dan are spending a couple of months in Arizona and will be competing in the Senior Pro rodeos there before returning to their home near Douglas. The couple has two grown children; a son Shane and a daughter, Haley. “They were both in high school rodeo. Shane rode saddle broncs and Haley goat tied. Haley has a daughter, Alana and Shane has a son, Hunter, 13. Hunter has started team roping.”

    During the normal workweek in Wyoming, Cheryl is involved in helping Dan with the oil field reclamation business that they have. “I do all the books for our business and help out Dan in the field when he needs helps. During the winter, the ground is frozen up there, so it’s a great time for us to come to Arizona for a couple of months. We’ll be here for the February rodeos then we’ll head back to Wyoming about the first of March.”

    Goals for the future are to, “…do exactly what I’m doing right now. We’re happy doing what we’er doing and really don’t look for any changes.”

  • Cole Bass

    Cole Bass

    Kansas Professional Rodeo Association (KPRA) bull rider, Cole Bass, is looking forward to his third year within the organization and has his sights set on qualifying for the finals and ultimately winning the year-end title…that is, after he regains full health. Competing in the extreme event of bull riding often sees injury and Cole has been dealing with his since 2012. While traveling to the National High School Finals Rodeo (NHSFR) in Rock Springs, Wyo., Cole dropped in for one more eight-second ride at the 26th annual KPRA rodeo in McCracken, Kans., but ended up tearing a ligament in his riding hand. He went on to compete at the NHSFR and finished his 2012 season out as the KPRA rough stock Rookie of the Year and fifth in the year-end standings.

    Finally deciding to get things fixed, Cole has undergone two surgeries to repair the ligament, but the set back cost him a year in the KPRA, where he was only able to hit a small number of rodeos in 2013. “I would like to get healed up and go at it hard. The KPRA has good people and good money in the bull riding,” he said, but included that the two things that sets the organization apart from any other association he has competed in is, “Better bulls and more wind.”

    The 19-year old southpaw has been climbing on the beast since he was nine years old. Following in his dad’s (Butch) footsteps, Cole says that it runs in the family. While his mom (Linda) was not fond of the idea of her only child riding bulls, she has overcome her fears and is now supportive of his decisions. “Both of my parents have been supportive through it all and I could not have done it without them,” he said.

    Competing in “Young Gun” events allowed Cole to gain the experience needed to compete in the NHSRA, where he was crowned the Missouri reserve state champion his junior year, followed by a 12th place finish at the NHSFR the same year. He then went on to winning the state championship his senior year. Alongside of the KPRA, Cole continues his progression in the National Federation of Professional Bull Riders, where he finished 15th in the nation his rookie year and is currently sitting ninth in the 2013 season. “After I get healed up, I would like to go pro as well. Doing a little of both of the PBR and PRCA,” he said of a 2014 goal.

    Growing up on a ranch in Jonesburg, Mo., Cole has decided to continue in the business through a major in farm and ranch management. He started his collegiate career through a rodeo scholarship in Miami, Okla., but transferred to Moberly Area Community College to be closer to doctors through his recovery period. The student-athlete has also been found on the baseball field, where he played the pitcher and first-base positions, but declares that rodeo is where his future lies. “It is something that I’ve done for quite awhile and the only thing I’m really good at,“ he said of why he likes the sport. He plans on returning to Oklahoma in the fall, where he will continue rodeoing.

  • Debbie Colyer

    Debbie Colyer

    Recently stepping down from the Junior Southern Rodeo Association (Jr. SRA) association secretary position after 11 years of dedicated service, Debbie Colyer, will now devote her time as a newly elected member of the Board of Directors. “I just feel that we needed new blood in there and Glennis [Ussery] will do a great job,” said Debbie.

    Debbie’s roots are ground deep within the Jr. SRA and its parent division: the Southern Rodeo Association (SRA), as her father (Jack Laws) was one of whom responsible for starting each organization in the 1950s. Although, never a competitor, Jack represented the associations as the president for many years. “He just loved the sport,” said Debbie.

    Just imagine…North Carolina cotton farming in the 1930s. A young man (Jack) was out picking, but when he got to the end of the row he was working on, he just kept walking. Headed out to find, whatever it was that he was looking for, Jack made it as far as Big Spring, Tex., when his car broke down. Instead of giving up, Jack hopped a freight train to Arizona and found himself apart of the construction of the Hoover and Parker Dams. “Through his journeys out west, he found out about rodeo,” reminisced Debbie.

    Upon returning to North Carolina from military service in World War II, Jack started his a business (Laws Stained Glass Studios in Statesville, N.C. – a business that Debbie and her brother continue to run today). But holding onto a love for rodeo, he started his first rodeo company (Carolina Livestock and Rodeo Company) on the side. By the time Debbie was around 12 years old, Jack had sold the rodeo company and bought a new string of stock for junior competitors. “We would travel to different local arenas holding junior rodeos, when dad and a few other guys started the Jr. SRA in approximately 1958,” Debbie explained.

    Obviously, Debbie and her brother (Mike Laws) took up a membership within the newly formed organization. While Mike competed in the bareback and bull riding and later went on to compete in the SRA, Debbie was crowned the 1966 Jr. SRA junior barrel racing champion. She, too, went on to compete within the SRA and grabbed onto three barrel racing titles (1970, 1985, 1986).

    After competing, Debbie and her husband (Mike Colyer) did their part in keeping her father’s work alive. In the early 1980s, Mike served four years as the president of the SRA and Debbie as the secretary. The pair returned to the Jr. SRA in 2001, where Mike served another four years as the president, but Debbie continued her work as the secretary for another seven years. “The responsibility came back to me and my husband and we did our share to keep the association going,” she said. Holding strong to 42 years of marriage, Mike and Debbie currently reside in Olin, N.C., where Mike raises bucking bulls from a direct line of Bodacious and is the chief flight director for Dale Earnhardt Incorp. “Mike was a paratrooper in the military and later became a pilot. While he was stationed in the east, and was already a bull rider, originally from Colorado, he entered a rodeo out here, where he had to borrow all of his gear and that is how we met,” explained Debbie. “He then went on to being Dale Earnhardt’s personal pilot up until his death.”

    The family heritage of the two associations has continued to move throughout the Laws/Colyer family. Mike and Debbie’s two daughters (Jeani Almond and Kaycee Brown) both competed in the Jr. SRA and continue to compete within the SRA. Jeani’s husband (Eddie Almond) has just completed serving two years as the President of the Jr. SRA and was re-elected for another two years. Her oldest granddaughter (Hayley Knox, 20) is a past Jr. SRA 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 currently in college, but continues to compete in the SRA whenever she is home,” said Debbie. Going on through the line, Debbie still has two granddaughters that are contenders in the Jr. SRA. Mikayla Almond, 13, is a four-time all-around champion and has broadened her horizons to the 2013 National Junior High School Rodeo Associations reserve pole bending champion (Gallup, N.M.). Finally, her youngest granddaughter (Jolie Brown, 12) competes in the barrel racing, pole bending and goat tying in the Jr. SRA. “We are a generation after generation Jr. SRA and SRA people,” said Debbie.

    Having seen the Jr. SRA’s membership double in the 11 years as the secretary, Debbie says that she would like to see the association branch out and get even bigger. “The Jr. SRA produces cowboys and cowgirls with the knowledge to continue on with their careers. Even if they don’t decide to rodeo as adults, the association gives the opportunity for kids to be a cowboy once in their lifetime,” said Debbie. JB Mauney and Jerome Davis are among some of the greats that got their start in the Jr. SRA. “It prepares kids for higher ranks and enables them to compete in larger associations such as the SRA, IPRA, PBR and the PRCA,” she continued.

    While hoping to see the Jr. SRA expand and planning to be apart of it for a long time to come, Debbie says that it’s the love of rodeo that drives her forward. “While I was competing, it was the urge to be the best, but now that I’m older, it’s the people and family that makes me love it. The most unique thing about the sport is the people you meet and the memories that are made,” she concluded.

  • Kristin Mulkey

    Kristin Mulkey

    At only 18 years old, Southern Rodeo Association (SRA) member, Kristin Mulkey has made a career inside of the arena. Owning a résumé containing the Georgia Junior High School Rodeo Association (GJHSRA) state champion titles in the barrel racing, pole bending, all-around and back-to-back titles in the goat tying, Kristin recently topped her list as the 2013 SRA year-end and finals breakaway champion. “The finals are great. The rodeos are laid back, family oriented and the board and committee members are wonderful. They really seem to care about the contestants and make sure that there is good stock to compete with,” she said of the high points of the association. As a third year member leading up to the SFR-40, Kristin already had one finals qualification under her belt. She had gone in the previous year with a ninth place ranking and was rewarded for her hard work in the breakaway and barrel racing through an acceptance of the Cathy Cudd Memorial buckle.

    Kristin’s talents are not handed down through family lines, instead, are the work of a decision made by a 10-year old little girl. Her start as a rodeo contestant stems back to the high peaks of the Colorado Rocky Mountains, where her dad (Tim) worked as a hunting guide. “Because of dad’s work, I was raised on horses and always loved them,” said Kristin. Tim soon took Kristin to a rodeo and during the event asked her if it was something that she would like to do. “I already loved riding horses and thought it would be something great to try,” she included. Quick progression led to the expansion of events and even the work as the GJHSRA princess her eighth grade year. Upon reaching high school, Tim offered up the option to either continue on with the Georgia High School Rodeo Association or to advance to the amateur level. “I chose to go amateur and I love it. I love the people and the competition,” said Kristin.

    The Calhoun, Ga., resident can now be found competing within the International Professional Rodeo Association, where she qualified for the IFR held in Oklahoma City her rookie year (2012).   She has also added the Professional Cowboy Association to her agenda and will enter into the 2013 finals seated first in, both, the rookie all-around and rookie breakaway roping standings.

    The Sonoraville High School senior has chosen to dedicate her extracurricular time to the sport of rodeo. “Rodeo is all I do. I have done school sports in the past, but found that rodeo is where my heart lies,” she declared. “My horses take up all of my time anyway.” Still considered a high quality student-athlete, Kristin spends her “student” time preparing for a future in nursing and is graded through her help at AGC Pediatrics for a class. But her
    continuation in the sport of rodeo also weighs in on her collegiate selections, where she is hoping to get into nursing school at Dalton State College in Dalton, Ga. – only 20 miles north of her home town. “I want to stay close to my family. I really enjoy traveling with them and want to still rodeo with the SRA,” she said. Aside from all of her hard work, Kristin credits her parents. “My dad always helps me ride my horses after school and my mom [Patricia] is there for support and helps me, in other ways, every inch of the way,” she said. Of course, Kristin’s past and future rests in her 18-year old paint gelding (Auction the Farm), who she simply calls “Ranch”. “He has been an awesome horse for her and has truly helped her,” said Patricia of the horse they have owned since 2010. “He has become one of the family.”

    For the upcoming season, Kristin has decided to hit the SRA trail hard and has set the SFR as her target. “I want to get the breakaway and all-around titles,” she determined.

  • Tim Palmer

    Tim Palmer

    Climbing on with a motto of: “Ride for God’s glory,” American Professional Rodeo Association’s (APRA) bareback riding Rookie of the Year – Tim Palmer – has already found success in his three years of bearing down on buckin’ horses. “I don’t want the crowd to see me, I want them to see the grace of God, because without Him, I am nothing,” said Tim.

    As a third generation cowboy, Tim was handed the reins early on in life. His granddad (Jack) started a string of ropers competing in the calf roping, which led to Tim’s dad (Tom) and uncle, who both left the box as team ropers. The passion followed with Tim and his older brother (Andrew) and he began competing in the team roping at the age of 12. “We were roping dummies since we were in diapers, because it was just something that we loved to do,” he explained. Both his mom (Patty) and his older sister (Julie) have never competed, but he says that they are super supportive and are his number one fans. It wasn’t until Tim had left the nest and was living in Arkansas, when a friend and retired multiple association bareback rider (Nathan Chuckfield) revealed that Jim was built to be a bareback rider. “I gave it a try and covered my first six out of ten horses. It was then that I realized that it was the event for me,” Tim said.

    By the summer of 2012, Tim had purchased a membership with the APRA and the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA), where he made an impressive start. He was able to fill his permit and finish second at both the First Frontier Circuit Finals and the year-end standings, which earned him a qualification to his first Ram National Circuit Finals, following a fourth place finish in the 2013 APRA year-end rankings. “I love the tight knit group in the APRA. It has the feel of a pro association, but you know everyone and are good buddies with those you are competing with, along with the stock contractors,” he said of the organization. Already hitting the trail, Tim is currently sitting fourth in the standings with approximately $800 won in the 2014 season. “I would love to win both the finals and the year-end,” he said of his goals for the APRA.

    The 21-year old cowboy was born in Lewistown, Pa., but says that he never spent more than four months in one particular location up until the age of 17. “My family moved around a lot, because my dad was a traveling preacher,” he explained. But he claims that it is his upbringing that urges him to rodeo. “I was raised on the road and we went to a lot of rodeos. It may be because it is a part of my blood, but it’s the competition that I crave,” he said. “It is a dream that you can chase, and sure, there are bumps and bruises along the way, but it’s not like anything else out there – it’s just you and the world.”

    While Tim will head to his second First Frontier Circuit Finals seated fifth with almost $2,000 won in the season, he will get on his first horse in over five months. Having suffered a compound fracture to his left tibia and enduring two surgeries, he says that he is ready to get back on and has future targets set. “You can never be happy where you are and I would like to keep pushing to get better. I feel that I can compete with the best cowboys in the world and want to expand myself by hitting some bigger shows and traveling a lot more in the PRCA,” he said.

  • 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.