story by Lily Weinacht
Rodeoing and competing in the APRA is a family affair for brothers Dakota and Kiowa Tempest and Dakota’s wife, Danielle. This is her first season in the association, and the brothers’ third. All three have their eyes set on making AFR 41, but it’s more important that they reach that goal as a family. “My brother, Paul Kerrick, is bull riding, and Dakota and Kiowa are bronc riding, and I’d be at home taking the kids to a jackpot,” says Danielle, who barrel races. She and Dakota make their home in Branchport, New York. “I thought one day I should give rodeo a shot, and my first day out I pulled a third-place check. This year I actually got my card, and it’s easier all going together. We keep it a family thing and everybody supports everybody, and we don’t have trailers going in two different directions.”
Danielle, 32, grew up barrel racing, while Dakota and Kiowa grew up riding horses and branched into team roping when they were 7 and 9. Both brothers trained horses, and didn’t mind the occasional wild ride. “I think saddle bronc has appealed to me more, which is hard to believe because Chris LeDoux is one of my favorites,” says Dakota, 23. “It’s the most cowboy sport,” adds Kiowa, 20, who lives in Beaver Dams, New York. “That’s the original event, and that’s why I really wanted to do it.”
A friend and fellow APRA saddle bronc rider, Justin Rhoads, helped Dakota and Kiowa get on their first bronc. Another APRA member, Theron Seeley, gave Dakota his first bronc saddle, and the brothers put in hours of practice at Sam Swearingen’s arena in Attica, New York. “That first year was a lot of miles we put on getting bucked off, but it’s gotten better the more we get on.” Dakota and Kiowa are stacked first and second in the APRA standings, and they both competed in AFR 40 last year. “We’re happy if the other one wins,” says Kiowa. “We’re there to help each other, and we’re not jealous of each other. I get on my spur board a lot, and I’d like to start roping more, but I’d like to get the broncs figured out more first, and get faster with the feet. Bar 55 of Rawhide Rodeo is a nice horse to get on—he’s pretty honest.”
Dakota and Kiowa still team rope together occasionally, Dakota heading and Kiowa heeling, and they entered NTRL ropings before focusing on bronc riding. “We’ve been going to Ty Eglin’s jackpots at Lucky E Ranch to practice our bronc riding, and when all else fails, we take our sister’s bucking horse out of the pasture,” says Dakota. “It’s a saddle horse that likes to buck.” He helped Danielle train her barrel horse, Wimp, who liked to buck at the start, and Danielle finished the quarter horse gelding, who is now 11. “I got him three years ago, and he’s kind of my diamond in the rough. He came a scrawny little thing, and we started slow. I trotted him for a whole year and then loped him for a whole year, and here we are trying to make it in rodeo. From when I was a kid, my dad was the one on the top of the fence helping me, and my mom hauls with me when I go to local shows and jackpots. If it weren’t for Dakota, I would never have gotten my card. Once I started in the APRA last season, Julia Prebula, also a barrel racer in the APRA, was a big help giving me advice and showing me the ropes.”
Danielle, Dakota, and Kiowa all agree that the APRA rodeo in Attica is one of their favorites. “They put on a really good show, as well as being family-oriented, and it’s local and good added money,” says Danielle. “What we like most about it (the APRA) is that it’s a family event. No matter if it’s Pennsylvania or the Adirondacks, everybody comes to us saying they’ll take the baby or take care of our daughter. They’re great.”
Dakota and Danielle have a 6-year-old daughter, Rhiannon, who loves horses and was a peewee barrel champion last year, and a 1-year-old son, Ryder. Rodeo is their family and vacation time, along with camping and trail riding in the state forests around their home. Danielle is an office manager, and Dakota works in construction and concrete, and he also shoes and trains horses. A big goal for their family is building an arena at their house so they can work horses from home.
Kiowa is also in the construction field, working for a roofer between rodeos. “The guy I work for lets me take quite a bit of time off to rodeo, and when I’m not doing that, I’m training horses at the house. They’re mostly for myself. I have two I’m working on right now.” He also loves spending time outdoors, fishing, and bow and deer hunting. “My goal for the finals this year is to make the finals again and maybe get a chance at winning it,” he says. Danielle is working toward the same goal of qualifying, and so is Dakota. “I’d like to try to win the AFR this year. I came in the middle last year and the last hole the year before, so we’ll make a pretty good run this year and see how the season goes.”
