story by Lily Weinacht
Kaiden Ayres makes her debut at the Junior NFR this December after qualifying at the KK Run for Vegas race held in June in Red Bluff, California. The 16-year-old from Woodlake, California, was one spot out of qualifying for the Junior NFR last year in Reno, but secured her place in Las Vegas this spring when she won the senior division at Red Bluff with a 14.3. “The horse I ran is Shes A Brisco. I call her Angel Darlin and she’s probably the biggest blessing I’ve ever gotten as a barrel horse,” says Kaiden. “She never wants to do anything less than her best. I’d never actually run as small of a pen like that (Red Bluff) before—I’m used to big outdoor pens like Oakdale. I knew as long as I helped Angel out with the three points and didn’t get in her way, she’d be fine. Bailey Nahrgang is Angel’s previous owner, and I want to thank her so much for all her support and giving me the opportunity to run such an amazing horse.”
Smaller pens have worked to her advantage in the past as well, such as qualifying for the NJHFR in Des Moines, Iowa, in barrel racing and pole bending in 2015, where Kaiden went home the NJHFR World Pole Bending Champion. She recently qualified for the 2018 NHSFR in goat tying after placing third in the state and tying the fastest time of the week with a 6.56 at the CHSRA finals. “I honestly love smaller pens more than bigger pens, because things come up quicker and it feels faster,” Kaiden explains. “In big pens I have time to over think things, but in Red Bluff I didn’t have time to, and Angel was right there with me.”
Also close by are Kaiden’s parents, Jay and Jenny Ayres, who haul her to all of her rodeos and barrel races. “They’re definitely my biggest supporters. They’re at every run before, during, and after. My mom is yelling in the stands and my dad cleans my horse’s feet before I run. They were really big high school rodeo competitors and my mom was a college competitor.” Kaiden’s parents ran a team roping business for a while, training and selling team roping horses, which is how Kaiden got her start riding and roping. She entered her first rodeo when she was 6 and the rodeo grounds quickly became her second home. “I just don’t think I could ever see myself doing anything different. I like going to different places and trying new things on horses—I love all the excitement. I think everyone is a big family in the rodeo community and we want what’s best for each other. I appreciate every single person who’s done that for me because they’ve played a big role in my life.”
Along with Angel Darlin, who is known to stick her tongue out when she’s happy, Kaiden runs barrels on Pistol, a big buckskin gelding she won state on in seventh grade; and Cash, who came to Kaiden’s rescue in eighth grade. “The barrel horse I was running at eighth-grade finals fell on top of himself and broke his neck. We’d brought Cash as my pole horse and I’d never ridden barrels on him, but I jumped on him and made a run and we won the short go,” says Kaiden. She is also training and seasoning several young horses in barrels, given more flexibility in her schedule during the school year since she started doing independent study this year. A junior this fall, she’ll go in to her school two days a week and do the rest of her work from home. She also hopes to college rodeo in the future, while her older brother, Brendan, plays college baseball.
“My biggest focus this year has been on my little black horse, Bert. I love tying and roping on him, and he got me to Nationals. I’m going to try to get Angel in the best shape I possibly can to make sure she performs her best at the Junior NFR. When Angel’s happy, I’m happy.”
