Meet the Member Emma Arndt
story by Michele Toberer Emma Arndt’s number one goal is to make it to national finals next summer, when the top 4 rodeo athletes in […]
KJRA member Keaton Benedick at the 2015 KJRA Finals - SportsPix
By Lily Weinacht
Keaton Benedick finished the 2015 KJRA season with a bang, covering both his steers for the first time that year. The eight second buzzer had never sounded so sweet to the 13-year-old steer rider from Newton, Kan. Since then, Keaton has covered every steer he’s put his bull rope on, bringing home several checks while competing in the OKYRA winter series. He’ll start his second season with the KJRA in April. “The fun we have rodeoing is what keeps me going, and all the people that come,” Keaton explains. “I’ve made a lot of friends, and two of my closest friends compete in the steer riding with me.”
The second generation of his family to lower himself into the chutes, Keaton spent several years watching the PBR on TV before he started competing. He and his family also help out with a local saddle club, but when Keaton found out a KJRA rodeo was coming to his hometown of Newton, he wanted to give it a go. “We’ve always taken Keaton to the Bull Blowouts, and when he told us he wanted to try steer riding, we as parents didn’t think it would take,” says Erin Pryor, Keaton’s mom. “Now he won’t stop – he’s on a winning streak!”
Coached by his step-dad, Tave Pryor, who rode bulls in high school, Keaton works on building his strength at home, and he hopes to have several head of practice steers to ride this spring. “For now, I just go to the rodeos and hope for the best!” he says. “I lift weights at home and go running sometimes.” Keaton also looks up to Lane Frost, whom he’s come to admire from his well-worn copy of the movie Eight Seconds. If he could spend a day with any rodeo athlete, however, Keaton would choose JB Mauney. “I’d ask him what he does to ride well, and when he started learning to ride bulls.”
Keaton and his family make their home outside of Newton. He has two older sisters, Savannah and Aspen, as well as a younger brother, Tevin, and a younger sister, Pyper. Aspen, a barrel racer, is the only other member of the family that rodeos, but the entire family comes to form Keaton’s cheering section at his events. Keaton’s mom has several horses that the family takes trail riding on occasion, though Keaton admits that he prefers riding something that bucks. The family also has a nine-month-old miniature mule which they plan on using in local saddle clubs in the future.
A seventh grader at Chisholm Middle School, Keaton is an Honor Roll student. “My favorite subject is social studies,” he says. “We just finished the history of Kansas, and now we’re working on geography.” After school, Keaton often walks to his cousins’ house, who live in town, spending time with them before heading home to finish his homework and help care for animals. “I have two friends in the KJRA who both do steer riding with me, but the rest of my friends don’t rodeo,” Keaton explains. “When we hang out, we’ll go to a trampoline park, or have air soft gun wars.”
What Keaton is most interested in, however, is rodeo. He finishes the OKYRA series in mid March, and plans to make the upcoming KJRA season his best yet. “I want to go on to high school rodeo in a few years,” he concludes. “And then I’d like to make it to the PBR and keep going as far as I can go!”
story by Michele Toberer Emma Arndt’s number one goal is to make it to national finals next summer, when the top 4 rodeo athletes in […]
story by Lily Weinacht Lily Henderson of Meriden, Kansas, is leading the KJHSRA girls all-around standings by more than 800 points as state finals approaches. […]
story by Lily Weinacht “I really love it (high school rodeo), and I love the people there and the opportunities it’s brought me and the […]
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Finals Results
August 12-13, 2017
Concordia, KS
Average Winners for the Finals
1-6 Dummy roping Taycie Wikum
10-13 Tie Down Wyatt Wikum
10-13 Ribbon Roping Dawson Tullis/
Baylee Barker
10-13 Girls Breakaway Taylor Raupe
10-13 Boys Breakaway Pax Vogel
7-9 Breakaway Ryder Raupe
10-13 Heading Baylee Barker
10-13 Heeling Pax Vogel
7-9 Steer Breakaway Brock Baumgartel
10-13 Chute Dogging Wyatt Wikum
1-6 Sheep Riding Cash Wiseman
7-9 Calf Riding Brigg Shannon
10-13 Steer Riding Brayden Kunz
1-6 Goat Untying Taycie Wikum
7-9 Girls Goats Makayla Matile
7-9 Boys Goats Brock Baumgartel
10-13 Boys Goats Wyatt Wikum
10-13 Girls Goats Tally WIkum
1-6 Barrels Kelsey Schouten
7-9 Barrels Makayla Matile
10-13 Barrels Kassidy Rambat
1-6 Poles Taycie Wikum
7-9 Poles Ryder Raupe
10-13 Poles Alexus Hatcher
Year end Event Winners
1-6 Dummy roping Taycie Wikum
10-13 Tie Down Pax Vogel
10-13 Ribbon Roping Pax Vogel/
Hadison Hatcher
10-13 Girls Breakaway Taylor Raupe
10-13 Boys Breakaway Pax Vogel
7-9 Breakaway Brock Baumgartel
10-13 Heading Pax Vogel
10-13 Heeling Pax Vogel
7-9 Steer Breakaway Brock Baumgartel
10-13 Chute Dogging Wyatt Wikum
1-6 Sheep Riding Taycie Wikum/
Kelsey Schouten
7-9 Calf Riding Brigg Shannon
10-13 Steer Riding Brayden Kunz
1-6 Goat Untying Taycie Wikum
7-9 Girls Goats Makayla Matile
7-9 Boys Goats Brock Baumgartel
10-13 Boys Goats Brayden Kunz
10-13 Girls Goats Tally WIkum
1-6 Barrels Kelsey Schouten
7-9 Barrels Makayla Matile
10-13 Barrels Kassidy Rambat
1-6 Poles Taycie Wikum
7-9 Poles Makayla Matile
10-13 Poles Alexus Hatcher
All Around & Reserve Winners
1-6 Boys All Around Rein Roberts
Reserve All Around Ryder Reed
1-6 Girls All Around Taycie Wikum
Reserve All Around Kelsey Schouten
7-9 Boys All Around Brock Baumgartel
Reserve All Around Brigg Shannon
7-9 Girls All Around Makayla Matile
Reserve All Around Laynee Roberts
10-13 Boys All Around Brayden Kunz
Reserve All Around Pax Vogel
10-13 Girls All Around Taylor Raupe
Reserve All Around Tally Wikum