Kristen Lee is a bubbly, outgoing cowgirl whose passion shines through when she talks about the sport she loves: breakaway roping. An active competitor in the Southern Rodeo Association (SRA) and the International Pro Rodeo Association (IPRA), Kristen is also a local hair stylist at a salon. She likes Dub Grant and Fastback ropes and favors doing prom hair and extensions. Her favorite rodeo is the Cody Nights rodeo in Cody, Wyoming, which she had the privilege of competing in a while back. Her love for these things has been a while in the making, and her dad Ryan has been a huge part of her journey.
This young lady from Richburg, SC was on a horse before she could walk and had a rope in her hand before she could talk. Once she got those two important pieces of life down pat, she found herself learning quickly from her dad (a team and calf roper) about the finer points of roping and horsemanship. Kristen started with junior rodeo and then later began team roping with her dad, carrying on his tradition of being a high school rodeo competitor.
It all started with a horse named Frito. Kristen Breakaway roped on him, team roped on him, ran barrels on him, ran poles on him, and even did some goat tying. After these high school rodeo adventures, Kristen’s sister decided she wanted to get back into it all and needed a horse. So another horse that had taught Kristen, Rio, became her sister’s mount and Kristen started riding her dad’s heel horse, Caveman. Once she started roping calves on that little bay horse she fell in love with him and further in love with the sport.
When Kristen fell in love with breakaway roping, her dad Ryan switched over to doing more calf roping too so he could best support her in her goals.
She credits her Dad with being a huge supporter on her journey, noting what a brave and determined man he is. It doesn’t matter if it is 100 degrees or the conditions aren’t good, he will show up and make what she needs to happen.
He’s a big part of her practice routine, and some days they team rope or rope calves on young horses. When it comes to Caveman though Kristen will often just lope circles and then get off of him.
Kristen has several projects in the works, including a young Grulla horse she and her dad bought from a truck stop parking lot in Wyoming while on their way home from high school nationals. She wanted to get a cheap project horse to start working with and this cow-catching ranch horse seemed like he might be a good fit. They went and looked at him but decided he was out of their price range. They started heading back to South Carolina and got three hours down the road when her dad changed his mind, saying they were going to get that horse, and turned around.
It was a great decision, as the horse “Smokey” is progressing nicely with Kristen. She knows patience is key and incorporates that and versatility into her training program. She will only rope on her young horses once or twice a week and then other days have them trail ride, go through ponds, or do circles around a barrel.
When Kristen is not training horses or competing, she stays busy with the hair salon and tries to motivate others on their journeys. In particular, she wants the next generation to know that if they are in a slump right now to “just keep pushing and be grateful for the chance to wake up and do something you love. Keep entering. In rodeo, hard work beats talent.”
Keep an eye out for Kristen and Caveman and soon Smokey!
Photo credit to respective photographers including Allison Wilkins, Mel’s Media, Laze L Farm Photography and Acentric Rodeo.
