story by Lindsay King
One of the best aspects of rodeo is growing up with all your friends doing what you love, this holds true in the JSRA for Jackson Rymer from Campabello, South Carolina. A long-time calf roper, it is easily his favorite event but heels in the team roping also. “I have always liked heeling but I grew up around calf roping ever since I can remember. It is all I have been around really,” said the 15-year-old.
Jackson is lucky to be able to rope with his dad, Donnie, and brother, Brad. “My dad has always been the one who showed me what to do and how it gets done right. My brother always tells me when I am doing well but also shows me things he has learned over the years to make it easier.” Brad has always been Jackson’s role model in the calf roping pen. “Growing up in rodeo has allowed me to go to different places and do all sorts of new things.” Roping with family is fun but gets pretty competitive also. “I have always team roped with my brother and we are doing decent lately.”
No one accomplishment stands out for Jackson but the collective experience of working hard towards a goal and seeing it pay off does. “It has been rewarding to get better at my events and know that when I start winning some rodeos and buckles.” His sights are set on the NFR and setting a record for the youngest competitor there. “Right before the NFR, I will try to get a rodeo scholarship and go through there. I have always thought about going to Mount Vernon for school.”
Currently a sophomore, Jackson takes vocational classes through Landrum High School. “My whole family welds. I am planning to take the welding classes all four years of high school and then maybe go to school for it.” Outside of his welding, math is his favorite class because it has always come easy for Jackson. He is also a third base-man for the baseball team and a line backer in football, something he has done ever since he was old enough to play. “We do a lot hunting on our land and my uncles land. My most prized game was a big doe; she was my first deer.”
Rodeo started for Jackson when he was four until he could start breakaway roping. “My dad thought I should wait to calf rope until I was older. I was pretty excited when I finally talked him into letting me calf rope.” Competing ever since he can remember, a car seat once graced the back seat of the pickup to and from rodeos when Jackson was only a toddler. Between school, ball practices and roping, Jackson’s life is very much a balancing act. “It is not easy, that is all I can say. Usually we ride early on weekends and practice after we get home late during the week.” His summer days are filled with roping practice and a work schedule as an assistant diesel mechanic with his brother-in-law. “Between rodeos and working, we just go to the lake house when we get the chance and that is about it.” The Rymer family are all big fans of Clemson football, attending as many home games as they can. “There have been a lot of people who have helped me. Greg Whiselle, a friend of my dads, Rick Moore, and Paul Collins, a rodeo friend of my dad’s. They have all been supportive and helped me through the years.”
