story by Lily Weinacht
‘Good, better, best, never let it rest; till your good is better and your better is best.’ The quote by Tim Duncan is the motto of 15-year-old Kali Thompson and her friends, driving them through practice and competition alike. Kali’s fervor for the sport resulted in qualifications to the NJHFR, NLBFR, and winning the 3D goat tying during the Ty Tuff Challenge with a new personal best of 8.174. She also competes in barrel racing, light rifle shooting, and breakaway roping. She finished 28th in the nation at the NJHFR despite a rifle malfunction, and placed tenth in the world goat tying standings of the 2016 NLBFR. “I really like the adrenaline and the excitement, and trusting my horse when I step off,” Kali explains.
She attributes much of her success to her family, friends, and sponsors. “Girls With Guns Clothing was my first sponsor, besides my family, and Mike from Excalibur Sporting Goods helped me with my light rifle shooting. Tana Poppino has qualified for the WNFR three times and she’s helped me train, Rebecca and Waycee Brassart with 3B Livestock supply the EquiPride to keep my horses healthy and running strong, and Charlie 1 Horse Hats keep me riding in style. My farrier, Chris Attkisson, moved to Texas, but he comes every five or six weeks just to shoe my horses. I couldn’t be more thankful! Most of my drive is knowing that I can always improve,” she adds, “and waking up in the morning knowing I can do the sport I love.”
The equine side of her rodeo team is made up of six horses, three of which she’ll compete on. “Lena was my backup horse, but she stepped up when Beauty cracked her cannon bone. We didn’t know she was hurt at first because she’s so determined to do her job, but Lena took up my barrels and poles. I borrowed my brother’s horse, Sparky, for goats until mid-season when I got Jiggs, my rescue horse from Texas. He’s an EPM survivor, and he likes to play but also gets the job done. Pistol is my new horse – she’ll be my high school horse for barrels and poles, and Mini is my breakaway and barrel horse.”
For her birthday in early August, Kali was surprised by her parents, Kade and Katie, with a trip to Minnesota to attend a Charmayne James barrel racing clinic. During the three day clinic, Kali and Pistol were given the award for most improvement, while also setting a new personal best in the barrel racing. “It was a blast!” says Kali. “They even had dentists check our horses’ teeth, and I got a new bit since my other one was pinching. When I put that new bit in, Pistol and I made our best run. I’m really proud of her.”
A freshman at Wyandotte Public High School, Kali enjoys math, softball, basketball, and running track, though she hung up her softball glove when it started conflicting with rodeo. She goes hunting with her dad and practices with her brother, Kutter, who competes in the NLBRA in flag racing, goat tying, breakaway roping, and saddle bronc steers. “Most of my goals revolve around high school, because that’s where it starts for the rest of life,” says Kali, who was on the dean’s list and a member of the National Junior Honor Society. “I want to make it to the NHSFR in all my events, and be a 13-time WNFR barrel racing champion. My goal is to attend college on a rodeo scholarship and study business management. But right now, I have a new team for high school, and I’m ecstatic! I like being thrown into deeper waters and knowing where to push myself. We might have our favorite mottos and sayings, but my favorite Bible verse is 1 Timothy 4:12, ‘Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.’”
