At only 17, Kaydence Crawford recently signed to attend Ranger College and rope under the guidance of rodeo coach Llew Rust. She holds her own in competition, as was especially apparent in the race for the fastest time at the American against her stepmother Jackie Hobbs-Crawford. Her future as a roper is undoubtedly bright with the wisdom of fellow competitors and her parents surrounding her.
Yet Kaydence Crawford is far more than just another roper in the Crawford clan. A smart, articulate, and outgoing young woman, Kaydence has an entrepreneurial spirit and a desire to live a well-rounded life. She speaks with humility and curiosity, eager to understand and also pay homage to the veteran ropers and leaders who impart wisdom towards her own journey.
While she does spend a good bit of time swinging a rope and sitting in the saddle at her family’s Stephenville ranch, she also works at a restaurant called the Purple Goat, taking advantage of the opportunity to earn some money and feed off the energy of the people in their local community. Kaydence enjoys people and has that innate desire to make others smile.
This comes in part from her ability to recognize the good in people. During a short interview, she spoke more about the blessing of the people she has in her life than about her own qualities. She is quick to offer gratitude to a range of folks from her family to Ranger coach Llew Rust and his wife, to performance horse trainer Erin Taormino, and to all the ropers who pass through the pen.
She credits the Rusts’ with her decision to attend Ranger College, citing Llew’s persistent kindness and presence in her life over the years. The character and leadership displayed by him and his wife is an example Kaydence wants to follow and she is excited to continue to learn from him and the rest of the team at Ranger College.
Performance horse trainer Erin Taormino helped hone Kaydence’s entrepreneurial skills. While working for her, Kaydence noticed Erin doing something bizarre to a horse’s tail. She questioned her and was introduced to the world of tail implants. With Taormino’s guidance and some practice of her own, Kaydence was soon putting tails on her horses. She didn’t think much of it until Kaleb Driggers bought a horse from the Crawfords and Kaydence mentioned he had a fake tail. Driggers was shocked but as they talked through it became impressed, asking her if she could give his other horses tail implants as well. Before long, her reputation grew, and she now is in high demand for her ability to embellish horses’ tails with extremely natural looking extensions.
Whether it is horse tails, roping, spreading joy, or a future endeavor with her Ranger college business degree, Kaydence is sure to be a pleasant and powerful presence in the industry for years to come. Wish her well as she gets started at Ranger and check out her Instagram page for more photos of beautiful horse tails.
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