I have been involved in rodeo for as long as I can remember. I started out running in the novice barrels at the Roughrider Rodeo Association rodeos. I then moved through the junior high, high school, and college rodeo ranks. The summer before my freshman year of college I hit the NDRA rodeos pretty hard and also decided to buy my WPRA permit.

Every family, parent, and kid are very different and everyone has their own situation, but I’d love to share mine with you.

When I started out, my parents put me on the dead broke, slow-going horses that were safe for me to ride. They were all stubborn old geldings that sure gave me a run for my money, but that is what I had to learn off of and work with. I don’t think I won any prizes or points until I was maybe a freshman in high school.

But the thing of it is, I was competitive enough to keep going and keep wanting to get better. It seemed as though all the trials, frustrations, and failures set a fire in my belly to keep pushing forward. It wasn’t until my senior year that I won my first high school rodeo buckle. I don’t think I ever had cherished a moment so much in my life. So, I believe it’s okay to start from the bottom and have to really work your way to success, I think it makes it a little sweeter of a victory.

I am now very blessed to own and ride two great equine athletes, Streakin in 3D “Minnie” and SJS Bombshell “Peeps.” Minnie is a 13-year-old sorrel mare out of Three Bugs Alive and goes back to StreakinSix. Peeps is an 8-year-old grey mare out of Famous French Flare x Fiestas Gotta Gun, and goes back to Dash Ta Fame. They both have their similarities and differences.

Minnie is going to make you work for every second of your run, she is small, gritty, and loves to turn the barrels. I cannot count on one hand the number of times people have came up to me and said she looks extremely hard to ride, and I won’t lie, she is.

Peeps is a bigger built mare with a big stride and always wants to please. She will never miss a barrel, and I swear gets faster and faster every run. This summer, especially, she has really come into her own and matured.

Minnie loves the deep ground, big or small pattern, she will clock. Peeps is my any type of ground horse, and we have learned this summer that she loves the mud.

If there is one tidbit of advice, I would want to share with the readers or anyone wanting to get into horses and rodeo, is that you have to be willing to make the sacrifices. In my opinion, rodeo and this caliber of horses are not just a hobby. It is a lifestyle and a job in itself. I don’t think people realize the time, effort, and money it takes to keep these horses healthy, running, and going down the road.

I believe its important to keep your horses in tip top shape, whether you are riding them out and exercising them or doing drills in the arena. Horses cannot perform to the best of their abilities, unless we have them in tiptop shape. It is also important to make sure they are on a healthy diet and getting the nutrition they need.

I personally like to ride my horses out and long trot 4 to 5 days out of the week, depending on what I have for rodeos that weekend. I, honestly, do not spend much time working them inside the arena, unless I absolutely have to. I also feed them good hay, and they get to be on grass during the summer. I like to grain them using Purina’s Ultium Competition and MVP’s Exceed 6 Way and Gastro Pellets.

As a 20-year-old, I have sacrificed a lot of things for this sport. But the places it has taken me and the opportunities it has given me are irreplaceable.

Rodeo is an extremely humbling sport, and one of the best parts about it is the people you gain in your corner. From those who help you learn along the way to the ones clapping for you and your success. We all know each other’s hardships and are always willing to help and support each other down the road. I would not be where I am today without the people behind me, a special thank you to all.