Keeping Stories Alive
When the United Rodeo Association (URA) was looking for their next president, Jeanette Jilek stepped up and assumed the role, becoming the first female president since the URA’s inception in 1962.
While new to the leadership role, Jilek’s roots run deep in the URA world as a competitor for over 28 years. Jeanette started competing as a young girl growing up in Missouri.
In a world where good horses and good people are in high demand, it is gratifying to see the perfect pairing of life and business partners in Roadey and Brooke Wilson. Out of their shared passions and talents, they have created a new industry standard with their company Wilson Cattle Co.
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.
At nine years old, Erin Johnson swung her first rope. Standing out front of a barn with her father, she remembers the trademark of the Rattler ropes in those years before EquiBrand–a braided and waxed inch and a half tail that resembled its namesake’s warning mechanism. While no warning was apparent on this ordinary day, this rope sparked the foundation to form a very competitive roper who just a few weeks ago roped one in 1.9 at Fort Worth.
For a group of women just outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, breakaway roping is providing hope in the face of one of life’s most daunting challenge–a cancer diagnosis.
Friends Beth Papotnik, Brian Ralicki, and Amy and John Lucsko recently started the nonprofit Breakaway From Cancer 2022 as a beacon of support for those battling cancer in the equine industry.
At the end of January, a young man named Austin Ashley was named Reserve World Champion and won the World Finals event for the Bullfighters Only (BFO) organization. To watch this talented bullfighter move is to observe impressive agility, consistency, and calmness.
If Mark Harrison was a superhero, his staying power would be his ability to reinvent himself. He is a man who has crossed continents, conference rooms, and cattle ranges in pursuit of a more authentic way of life for both cattle and people.
Lana Reynolds came by her nickname “the cow whisperer” the honest way– through years of hard work and learning bovine behavior.
Reynolds is a multigenerational ranch hand who considers it a privilege to carry on this cowhand legacy. Although she was born in California, she spent her childhood in Rapid City, South Dakota, seeing how life could be lived alongside four legged friends. Her grandfather was the type of man who was more often horseback than he was on foot. She never forgot these lessons and found the desire to take care of animals even after a stint in the city, she heard the ranch world still calling and soon returned to the industry full time.
Some folks are born with rodeo in their blood. Maybe it is genetic, or maybe it is a God-given surprise. Perhaps it is both. From the first glimpse of the arena lights, a stirring happens deep inside. When this is paired with a love of horses, passion is born.
Occasionally people have the opportunity to act on this innate passion from childhood, but many grow up in neighborhoods removed from the rodeo world. These individuals have to work extra hard and burn up the highway to make their goals and dreams come true.
When J. Storme was an infant, her grandpa was put in charge of watching her for a few hours. Unsure of how to handle the situation, he took her to see what he knew best: his cows. As they rode around in the pickup truck, he held her up to the window for her to take a look. This moment seems to have embedded itself in her heart, as she has been watching cows and working alongside her grandpa ever since.
