Breakaway roper Ashlee Freels and her husband calf roper Glen Freels have covered the continent pursuing their love for calf roping together. Today, they continue the family tradition of rodeo with their own children at their Georgia home.
For Ashlee, her journey with rodeo began during her childhood in east Tennessee. Her brother, Steve Miller, is a good bit older than her, and he and her uncle were heavily involved in the horse world. Both men roped and steer wrestled; while also clowning at some rodeos, working the Dixie Stampede, and working at Dollywood in the days it was Silver Dollar City. At Silver Dollar City, they even had a show with their trained donkey. But roping was a great passion for her brother, and he soon began to share his love of horses with his little sister.
His fellow teacher was Lightning, a little old, crippled horse that came out of the Dixie Stampede and had none of the characteristics his name might imply but was the perfect kid’s horse. Ashlee learned to ride through her time on Lightning and got to tour the southeast some with her extended family as they went to rodeos in their little camper topper setup. Then in seventh grade she told her brother she was ready to do something more–either rope or run barrels or both.
Ashlee’s mom told her if she wanted to compete, they would buy her a barrel horse. They went off to Alabama and came back home with one. As she learned the barrels on that horse, Ashlee also got to work on her roping off her brother’s first rope horse, which he still had.
As time went on, she began roping on her cousin Cody Miller’s rope horse and got involved in junior and high school rodeo. During those years she competed in every event that a girl could enter. On the whole, she felt that the roping was the event she had the most level playing field in, as her old barrel horse wasn’t as comparable to what other people had. However, her family stepped in again and her sister-in-law let her ride her main barrel horse during her high school rodeo days.
After high school, Ashlee went to the University of Tennessee at Martin on a dual scholarship for both academics and rodeo. While on the rodeo team, she breakawayed and tied goats. During her freshman year the women’s team won the region. She speaks fondly of the friends all across the country she made through the rodeo program and the ways in which the steep competition forced her to be better.
Always one to continue her pursuit of excellence, after she graduated with her degree in biology, Ashlee continued her education journey by obtaining her master’s in education.
Today, she teaches high school biology, which allows her summers off for rodeo. She and her husband Glen share a great calf horse, a palomino named Elsa, who has led them both to multiple victories.
Ashlee also remembers a small sorrel gelding named Straw who had a particularly big impact on her life and career. He was her first rope horse and her favorite one ever. She won a bunch of saddles on him and remembers his playful personality. Despite his struggles with navicular, Straw was just a safe, good horse who made it easy for her to perform well.
Her second favorite horse was Dolly, a horse Glen had that they sold in 2020. She was horse of the year for the International Pro Rodeo Association (IPRA) while he had her and did so much good for them and their friends. Justin Thigpen rode her in Canada to a win and four different guys rode her at the IPRA. This special horse came from their friend Ryan Jarrett.
When their kids were little, Glen and Ashlee enjoyed rodeoing in Canada in the summer, and while they may return to that some, they currently attend more rodeos in the Southeast, as they both work full-time, and their kids are involved in sports. Plus, the added money has greatly improved at the Georgia rodeos in the past few years.
One of Ashlee’s favorite rodeos is the Rockmart rodeo. It has a really long score and a handful of barriers that make it unique and often leads to a different set of winners. Her favorite rope is the King 10.0 four strand.
In addition to pursuing her roping, Ashlee also has a return to barrel racing on the horizon. Her up-and-coming mare sadly got tetanus, but survived and is now almost ready to start hauling some after being started by Emma Abbot.
Ashlee is so grateful for the friends the sport of rodeo has brought them and how she and Glen get to enjoy it together. They also get to share this love with their children, passing on what they have learned and watching their children’s passion for the rodeo world come to life.
The Freels family is a beautiful example of how shared passions can bring people together and spark lasting joy.
You can learn more about their journey through the story on Glen.
