Meet the Member
Tanzi Stafford
story by Ruth Nicolaus
Tanzi Stafford – Photo by Rodeo Bum
Tanzi Stafford gave a bad horse a good home.
K.C., a 14-year- old roan mare, was orphaned when she was two weeks old, and wasn’t well cared for or well fed as a filly. Various people owned the horse, but her bad temper kept her from getting a permanent home.
It was when Tanzi got ahold of K.C. that the horse’s life got better. Six years ago, K.C. ended up at the Stafford place, and immediately she and Tanzi bonded. “When I got her, she wasn’t mean to me. We connected,” Tanzi said.
Now K.C., who is thirteen hands tall, is Tanzi’s goat tying horse. She still has a temper, and will try to bite other people, but she won’t bite Tanzi. “She’s my favorite horse,” Tanzi said.
In addition to goat tying, the thirteen year old Louisiana Junior High School Rodeo Association member also runs barrels and breakaway ropes. Her favorite event is goat tying, in part because of K.C., and in part “because I get to do most of the work. It’s more active than barrel racing.”
A resident of Gonzales, La., Tanzi is an eighth grade student at St. Theresa School in Gonzales. School is good, but the best part is socializing with friends. She makes A’s and B’s and is on the honor roll, and her favorite subject is reading class, because she gets to write. She enjoys writing and being creative. Her creativity extends to drawing, where she likes to do pencil drawings of horses and Disney characters, including Lilo and Stitch and the Frozen characters.
Tanzi plays the wing and post positions in basketball, and when she grows up, wants to do something involving helping animals or kids. She considered becoming a veterinarian, but is not very good at seeing animals hurt or suffer.
At home, she has a menagerie of animals: four dogs, one duck, four chickens, a cat, cows, and three goats. Her favorite pet is Rose, a two year old Australian shepherd she bought with her own money. Rose is Tanzi’s dog and follows her wherever she goes.
Tanzi has competed at state finals the last two years, and in seventh grade, was one hole out of making it to the National Junior High Finals in the goat tying. She also competes in the NBHA and made it to Nationals in Perry, Georgia this summer.
Her beautiful name comes from her great-grandfather, whose name was also Tanzi.
She is the daughter of Marcelle and Shai Stafford.
