story by Lily Weinacht
Rieley Maier was running before she could walk, powered by her horses as she followed her older brother into the rodeo world. The 18 year old from Bowdle, S.D., worked her way through junior rodeos, 4-H, NLBRA, and now, the SDHSRA, where she finished seventh overall in the breakaway roping at state finals. “I also do goat tying and team roping, plus ribbon roping in 4-H and Little Britches, which I’m qualified in for the NLBFR,” she says. “I like all of my events, but two years ago, I started training a filly and decided to make a breakaway horse out of her. This is our second year competing, and we recently ran a 2.56. The feeling of that accomplishment and knowing that I trained her really gets my adrenaline pumping! Some people have a passion like basketball – mine is rodeo, and I hope I can do it forever.”
Rieley finds continual inspiration in her dad and brother. “My dad rode bareback horses for a while, and he had my brother, Jade, and I riding and swinging a rope as soon as we could. Jade rides saddle broncs and team ropes, and he’s on the college rodeo team for Chadron State College. We’re three years apart but we were born on the same day, and people think we’re twins. He’s accomplished so much and been such a good example for me. If I need anything, I can call him and he always knows the right thing to say. He has an internship here in South Dakota this summer, so he’s staying with us and coming to a few of my region rodeos.”
The Maier’s make their home in Bowdle, while Rieley’s horses live on her grandparents’ farm outside of town. “I have really good friends I met through rodeo that are like family, and they live about 90 minutes away from me in Redfield. They have roping cattle that I’m lucky enough to practice on. My high school roping partner is Kate Helmer, and I’ll go to her house a few days before a rodeo so we can practice. My Little Britches roping partner, Brooke
Ollerich, has an indoor barn, so I have good friends that help me get my practice in.” In addition to her breakaway mare, Brandy, Rieley heels off of Hondo and ties goats on Moonpie. “Hondo is interesting, because every time you get on him, he might buck you off. I started training Moonpie for goats, and he’s a great personality, but it takes special person to ride him,” she says with a laugh. “He’s intentionally turned and kicked me. Sometimes I wonder why I ride him, and then we make a good run and I like him!”
Rieley recently graduated from Bowdle High School, and in June, she passed her national EMT test. She’s now a nationally certified EMT, taking calls for the local ambulance, and working on her grandparents’ farm for the summer. “My goal is to be on the Justin Sports Medicine Team – I want to be the next Tandy Freeman,” she says. Her last semester of her senior year, Rieley took the entire EMT class, including 180 hours of class time in addition to practicing. “It was a very tough class. There were 40 chapters in my book and I spent two months practicing for the national test. I didn’t realize how hard it would be, and it still blows my mind that I did it!”
She plans to attend Chadron State College this fall and major in pre-med. “Then I’ll go on to medical school. I plan to college rodeo at Chadron, and then get back to rodeoing once I’m done with medical school. I’d also love to make it to the WNFR or The American if I can. I want to thank my parents, Russ and Colette, and my brother – I love them for everything they’ve helped me through and getting me to where I am today.”
