story by Ruth Nicolaus
Garrett Larsen is in his first year of membership in the Utah Junior High School Rodeo Association, and he loves it.
The fourteen year old cowboy, a resident of Diamond Valley, Utah, is a team roper (heeling for Garrett Riding), tie-down roper, ribbon roper, and goat tyer.
He is an eighth grade student at Dixie Middle School, where he likes science, language arts and math classes the best. He is on his school’s high honor roll, and his favorite teacher is Miss Jurca, his language arts teacher, because “she’s really strict and she doesn’t let kids mess around.” Miss Jurca is also a good instructor. “She gets it in your head,” Garrett said. “You’re there to learn.”
Garrett, his dad Coby and his little brother Jake rope nearly every evening in their outdoor arena. When he’s not at school or roping, he likes to hunt and fish, rope the dummy, and visit Lake Powell each year, where his family gets to stay on his grandparents’ house boat. He enjoys working with his two-year-old colt named Lizzi as well.
He likes to read realistic fiction, with his favorite book being My Side of the Mountain. His mom, Shelly, has taught him how to cook. He makes a mean Mexican enchilada dish and burritos, and each night, he and his brother take turns making their peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for school the next day. His favorite kind of jelly is his grandma’s homemade strawberry jam. “It’s the best,” he said.
In his first year of junior high rodeo, Garrett was a bit nervous but not for long. “My first rodeo was a little scary, but it’s a lot of fun. I’m just trying to do my best.”
When he grows up, he’d like to be a
veterinarian.
