story by Lily Weinacht
It’s Lorah Beth Jacobson’s rookie year in the CJHSRA, and the 14 year old from Pagosa Springs, Colorado, already knows her way around barrels, poles, and a piggin’ string. The daughter of a bull rider, she started competing in county fairs, playdays, and local rodeo series as early as four years old, but this is her first year travelling beyond her hometown to compete at the state level. “The only other time I travelled for rodeos was in 2012 when I was the Red Ryder Princess, and I did grand entry and ran barrels, so I’m very excited to compete in the CJHSRA.” she says. “I did pretty well for my first rodeos this fall!”
Lorah Beth has been running barrels the longest and calls the event her favorite. “But goat tying is usually my best event – I place higher in that,” she explains. “We have an arena at our house, and a dummy my dad made out of pipe and half a tire, since we don’t have goats. When I’m going to rodeos, I’ll practice tying off my foot.” She looks up to her dad, who helps her practice and coaches her at rodeos. “He helps me learn new things, and I also like reading about Amberley Snyder and watching her Wheelchair Wednesday videos, or reading her Instagram posts. I haven’t met her yet, but I hope to!”
Animals are a main focus for Lorah Beth and her parents, Keith and Becky Jacobson, and her siblings, Macey (twelve), Tucker (eight), and Bristol (two). Macey enjoys riding with her older sister, while Tucker is riding calves. Their dad works on several ranches in the area and guides hunting trips, turning to his snow plow in the winter. Becky is originally from San Diego, and is now the 4-H coordinator for their county. “I raise pigs for 4-H, and we also have two dogs, cats, a few chickens, and four horses,” Lorah Beth describes. “Our fair is the first week of August, and my pigs took third and eighth place in their weight classes. This is my sixth year in 4-H, and I want to do it until I age out. I really enjoy it!”
She competes on two horses in the CJHSRA – Lady Bug, her dad’s rope horse, and Lacey, a gray mare just five months younger than Lorah Beth. “She’s out of one of my dad’s horses, and I’ve been riding her since I was little. I think Dad planned on her being a ranch horse, but once I started running barrels on her at kid rodeos, we decided to make her my rodeo horse. Lady Bug is my dad’s little roan mare I just started using for goat tying. I think it surprised him that I wanted to ride her since I like my horse best, but she’s working well.”
An eighth grader at Pagosa Springs Middle School, Lorah Beth enjoys math and science. She went on a school camping trip in Moab, Utah, where they went hiking and visited Arches National Park. “I’ve also played volleyball for two years and basketball for five years, but I’m doing rodeo instead this year. I really like hanging out with my friends in town at the park or the coffee shop after school. Fridays are always packed there because everyone hangs out in town.
“My goals in rodeo are to always be getting better and making sure I practice,” she finishes. “My goal isn’t always getting first place, but I enjoy staying in the top five, and I’m hoping that if I stay with goat tying, it will help me go to college on a scholarship.”
