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Alexis Manley at the 2017 WHSRA Finals - Burning Ember Photography

Meet the Member Alexis Manley

story by Lily Weinacht

Alexis Manley of Laramie, Wyoming, is sitting first in goat tying and second in breakaway roping—her two favorite events—while she’s third in the all-around standings. The 18-year-old cowgirl has made it to state every year since she joined the WHSRA as a freshman, and she wants to cap off her senior year with a qualification to the NHSFR. “I just love my horses and I love the people in rodeo. I just think it’s fun and it’s rewarding,” says Alexis. She started out in the NLBRA and WJRA, placing high in the NLBRA world standings in breakaway roping and goat tying, and winning the state all-around and rookie of the year titles in the WJHSRA.
She continues to compete in goats and breakaway, along with barrel racing and team roping as a header with her friend Kyle Dory. Kyle beat cancer and is returning to rodeo competition this season. “We’ve been friends since our freshman year—we had class together,” says Alexis. She enjoys the teamwork of team roping, but says goat tying and breakaway roping are consistently her best events. “They’re my favorite because you’ve really got to work hard at them and stay in shape.” Alexis also spends time on her mental game, and recently went to a Paul Tierney clinic held in her hometown. “He’s very inspiring and a very good breakaway roper. I feel like every time I go to one of his clinics, I get better every time. He said that no matter what anything throws at you, take what you’ve got and keep going with it.”
Alexis can practice right outside her back door, her parents, Don and Amy Manley, helping run chutes. She’s an only child, but Alexis calls her cousin Stephen Manley, whom she grew up with, as close as a brother. He comes to watch her high school rodeos that are close by. Alexis’s hometown rodeo in Laramie is her favorite. “I really like it because we’re the only (high school) rodeo that has a Saturday night performance. It’s always super cool—we have an announcer and a big crowd.”
All of Alexis’s horses are ones that she finished. Red, her barrel and team roping horse, stands at least 16.2 hands high. He came to the Manleys from Michigan, while they raised Shelby, Alexis’s breakaway horse. “She’s been around, and she’s a sweetheart. My goat horse is named Cruze, and he’s full of himself but he gets it done. He was a heel horse and I turned him into a goat horse.” Alexis’s border collie puppy is the latest addition to the family, named Willow for the W shape on her side.
While rodeo is now her sole focus, Alexis played basketball her first three years of high school, including the varsity team her sophomore and junior year. She’s a member of the National Honor Society, and graduates from Laramie High School in May. Much of her semester has been spent looking at colleges—she’d like to rodeo in the Central Rocky Mountain Region and plans on studying kinesiology. One of her favorite high school classes is equine science, but she wants to become a chiropractor.
In her very spare time, Alexis enjoys skiing in the winter at Steamboat or the Snowy Range Ski Area when her uncle visits from Iowa. She also likes roping with her dad, who rode bulls for a while before moving on to roping. He also worked on a dude ranch, where Alexis started riding horses. “I want to take home a state title, and I want to make it to Nationals this year,” Alexis finishes. “I’ve gone into state in the top four every single year and not done well, and I don’t want that to be the case this year. I’d like to take advantage of the standings this year and get it done.”

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May 12, 2019
Bareback Riding
1 Donny Proffit 120
2 Riggen Myers 71.5
3 Derrick Robinson 10
4 Dimaggio Hamilton 9
5 Denton Pavlenko 9
6 Drake Amundson 9
7 Cameron Henson 8
Barrel Racing
1 Shelby Petersen 109
2 Shay Hough 102
3 Maddie Fantaskey 91
4 Taylor Nichols 89
5 Ellie Bard 83
6 Haiden Thompson 78.5
7 Cedar Kohr 75
8 Isabelle Camino 51
9 Baily Coombs 37
10 Halle Hladky 32
Boys Cutting
1 Wes Bray 111
2 Hunter Hayden 100
3 Preston Schwartzkopf 92
4 Joseph Hayden 91.5
5 Kasen York 91
6 Broc Schwartzkopf 15
7 Kall Mayfield 11.5
Reakaway Roping
1 Ellie Bard 67
2 Ellie Anderson 59
3 Jordyn Mcnamee 56
4 Rayne Grant 56
5 Kaydin Davis 49
6 Hadley Furnival 45
7 Shaylee Terry 42
8 Haiden Thompson 40
9 Hailey Hardeman 36
10 Kyra Corson 35
Bull Riding
1 Brody Hasenack 90
2 Dalton Mccaslin 84
3 Zain Fitzgerald 82
4 Wyatt Phelps 74
5 Donny Proffit 43.5
6 Matthew Fenton 41.5
7 Cjay Firnekas 41.5
8 Landen Brownlee 34
9 Tipton Wilson 28
10 Derek Grant 18
Girls Cutting
1 Ayanah Winsor 115.5
2 Emme Norsworthy 100
3 Taylor Gibson 92
4 Aniya Teppo 88.5
5 Maddie Fantaskey 34
Goat Tying
1 Tavy Leno 118
2 Haiden Thompson 109
3 Brooke Worman 92.5
4 Shaylee Terry 79
5 Karissa Phillips 76
6 Mckenna Clingman 56
7 Ellie Bard 49
8 Rayne Grant 47
9 Baylee Delbridge 41
10 Lanna Jordan 38
Light Rifle
1 Colter Nunn 30
2 Stratton Kohr 27
3 Tipton Wilson 23
4 Cody Caldwell 20
5 Peityn Manor 19
6 Alexis Wilson 14
7 Kennedy Sheehan 10

Pole Bending
1 Shay Hough 118
2 Halle Hladky 99
3 Shelby Petersen 73
4 Rayne Grant 66.5
5 Ellie Bard 64.5
6 Madison Wolff 61
7 Jordyn Mcnamee 45
8 Hailey Hardeman 44
9 Haiden Thompson 42
10 Amber Salazar 42
Reined Cow Horse
1 Clay Kinnison 38
2 Preston Schwartzkopf 32
3 Kasen York 30.5
4 Maddie Fantaskey 27
5 Tierney George 23
6 Peyton Kottwitz 21.5
7 Ayanah Winsor 19
8 Morgan Vaughan 12.5
9 Scotlyn Flitner 11.5
10 Hanna Griemsman 3
Saddle Bronc
1 Jase Longwell 63
2 Kayson Dory 49
3 Donny Proffit 38
4 Cian Ahern 20
5 Parker Manor 18
6 Wyatt Phelps 10
7 Guston Lozier 10
8 Cody Acord 8

Steer Wrestling
1 Winsten Mcgraw 98
2 Kaden Berger 78
3 Kagen King 73
4 Skyler Lubkeman 69
5 Jake Deveraux 63
6 Chase Stricklin 60
7 Danny Goold 52
8 Derrick Robinson 37
9 Chance Sorenson 33
10 Donald Quick 19
Team Roping
1 Jade Espenscheid 95
2 Coy Johnson 95
3 Kolby Bradley 62.5
4 Arye Espenscheid 62.5
5 Blake Afdahl 61
6 Clay Reiner 61
7 Carson Johnson 53
8 Teegan Leno 51
9 Bryan Lemmon 51
10 Jared Lemmon 51
11 Jase Longwell 48
12 Winsten Mcgraw 44
13 Lane Anderson 44
14 Cooper Deveraux 40.5
15 Jake Deveraux 40.5
16 Tanner Handy 40
17 Cameron Klatt 40
18 Bryton Scheller 37
19 Teagan Bentley 36
20 Dawson Mccuin 36
Tie Down Calf Roping
1 Jake Deveraux 83
2 Preston Schwartzkopf 77
3 Cooper Deveraux 69
4 Colter Ellis 67
5 Clay Reiner 63
6 Teagan Bentley 46
7 Cody Caldwell 45
8 Teegan Leno 45
9 Coy Thar 44
10 Weston Mills 43
Trap Shooting
1 Colter Ellis 28
2 Bryson Bartholomew 27
3 Carsten Hughes 25.5
4 Kolton Miller 17
5 Dawson Mccuin 12.5
6 Quincy Reynolds 12
7 Brodee Barkhurst 11.5
8 Alexis Wilson 10.5
9 Kagen King 8.5
10 Clay Reiner 7.5

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TENTATIVE SPRING RODEOS
May 25 Sheridan (Held in Buffalo)
May 26-27 Buffalo

FINALS
June 3-8 WY HS State Finals – Gillette
July 14-20 NHSFR – Rock Springs, WY

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