story by Lily Weinacht
“I love rodeo enough that all of my time easily goes into it,” says Hope Anderson. The 18 year old from Larkspur, Colorado, often starts her morning roping the dummy before school, followed by exercising horses and practicing when she comes home. A member of both the CSHSRA and CJRA, she competes in breakaway and team roping, heading for Riley Smith in high school and the CJRA mixed team roping with Justin Stundon. She has won more than 30 buckles and 3 saddles, and Hope won her favorite saddle in 2015 at a memorial jackpot for her grandpa, Dutch Anderson. “That was very meaningful to me,” she explains. “The memorial used to be an annual event, and hopefully we can bring it back in the future.”
Hope also enters barrel racing jackpots and runs poles and barrels in 4-H gymkhanas, but breakaway roping is a firm favorite. “I just love the adrenaline rush that comes with it! I started roping when I was twelve, but I was six when I went to my first rodeo. My brother and I are the fifth generation of our family to ranch, and our grandpa was part of running a lot of the Little Britches rodeos in the area. My parents, Monty and Denise, team rope together, and so do most of my aunts and uncles.”
One aunt and uncle, Dale and Kristi Anderson, are neighbors, running their Pro Rodeo Originals leather shop and helping Hope and her brother, Seth, with their roping. “My parents and aunt and uncle have been really influential and supportive in and out of the arena,” says Hope. “I’m very grateful for everything they’ve done for me. My aunt also runs barrels, so she’ll help me with my barrel horses for jackpots, and she and my uncle made me my first belt and set of spur straps.”
Hope rides two horses in her events – Spud and Kramer. Except for a white sock on Kramer’s hind leg, which is covered by boots for rodeos, the sorrel geldings look so much alike that people confuse them for the same horse. “A lot of people think I’m doing all my events on the same horse,” says Hope. “My breakaway horse, Spud, came to me as a three-year-old not knowing roping, so I trained him, and he’s my pride and joy. I run barrels on him and Kramer, who I trained for heading. I also have two young horses I’m training. One will hopefully be a barrel horse, and another has the makings of a rope horse.”
A recent graduate from Douglas County High School, Hope loved studying equine science and all of her Ag. classes. “I’m really focusing on reproduction since I want to major in equine science and eventually become an equine embryo specialist.” This is also Hope’s ninth year in 4-H and her fourth year in FFA, serving as the FFA Chapter President. “I’ve also served as the Greenhand Chapter President, and I really love reaching out to people and helping inform them about the agricultural industry and what they can do in their communities to add to it. I think it’s important to reach out to kids who didn’t grow up in agriculture and show them how they can be involved.” Hope also does horse judging in FFA, placing gold at state last year individually and with her team, while she also shows market goats in 4-H.
“My entire life revolves around horses and rodeo, and they are my family time and my hobby,” Hope finishes. “I’ve signed my letter of intent to rodeo with Frank Phillips College in Borger, Texas, on a rodeo scholarship, and I eventually want to pro rodeo as well.”
