story by Michele Toberer
Ethel, Louisiana cowboy, Cade Baxter is a star, 7th grade homeschool student, with a 4.0 grade point average. He is proud of his accomplishment of having the highest math grade average for the past three consecutive years, in his homeschool co-op group. Cade lives with his parents, Jennifer and Chris Baxter, and brothers Coy, 16, and Carson, 10. Chris is a construction project manager, and Jennifer is a stay at home mother. Cade likes being homeschooled, because it gives him the flexibility to channel all of his extra time into practicing for rodeos.
Cade has enjoyed entering local junior rodeos and Little Britches rodeos, for the past three years, and he started as a member of the Louisiana Junior High Rodeo Association last year, while in the 6th grade. He competes in goat tying, breakaway roping, ribbon roping with partner Kylie Cliburn, and in team roping, as a header, with partner Grace Dubois. The two horses that he uses for competition are Dusty and Duffy. Fourteen-year-old, Dusty, is a pretty, 16 hand, buckskin Quarter Horse, that puts him where he needs to be, when heading, “He doesn’t get outran by any steers, but he’s like a dog on the ground. He will follow you everywhere and will let you climb all over him when he is laying down in the pasture.” Duffy is a 22-year-old sorrel Quarter horse that is short and easy to get off in goat tying. Cade likes that Duffy has a good stop in breakaway, “and he’s been doing it a long time, so he knows his job. In the pasture, Duffy is the boss of the herd, and always stands up for himself; he sometimes chases the other horses and cattle off.”
Last year, Cade made it to the short round in breakaway roping at the LJHSRA finals. Cade has made it to the Little Britches national finals twice. In 2014, he made the short go at the finals and ended up in 6th place in goat tying. He is working hard to make the junior high national finals this year. He attributes most of his rodeo ability to the training he has received from his dad. Chris rode bulls in high school, but later started team roping, and has shared his knowledge with his sons. He also shared his team roping horse, Peanut, until he passed away two years ago. Cade has fond memories of he and his brothers all learning to ride on Peanut. Judd Corkern, and Remy Forbes are both men that have also been instrumental in helping Cade further his rodeo skills. Cade’s older brother Coy once competed in the LJHSRA and now competes in the LHSRA as a 10th grader. His younger brother, Carson, plays baseball, but plans to start team roping again soon.
Cade’s typical days involve schoolwork, practicing for rodeos, and taking care of horses and his favorite dog, a Rhodesian Ridgeback-Catahoula-Curr mix, named Jewel. A busy kid like Cade doesn’t have a lot of extra time, but when he does, playing with Jewel is one of his favorite pastimes. His family keeps calves at their home arena to practice on, and they practice team roping at a few local arenas. As for the future, Cade dreams of one day attending Louisiana State University, and becoming a lawyer.
Cade plans to begin tie-down roping after junior high, and aspires to be like a cowboy that many look up to, former world champion, Trevor Brazile. “I like how he has won 23 world champion titles, and that he does the same events that I like to do.” He is confident that he could follow in his footsteps one day, as he is reminded of his favorite Bible verse, “I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13.”
