story by Ruth Nicolaus
Saige Bell is one of eight students in the senior class at Corona, N.M. High School. The seventeen-year-old cowgirl, a member of the New Mexico High School Rodeo Association, competes in the goat tying, breakaway roping, and team roping, as a header for her brother, Kyler.
She enjoys the small class size at Corona High. There are three girls and five boys in her class, and “we’re all like brothers and sisters,” she says.
Saige is taking a mix of high school and college classes this year. Her favorite class is English, in part because of Mrs. Roxanne Erramouspe, the teacher. “She’s a good teacher,” Saige said. “She makes sure you know what you need to know, and makes me feel like I’ll be ready for college.” Her least favorite class is history.
Saige is a member of the National Honor Society, youth group, is president of the Student Council, and played basketball from eighth grade through her junior year. With so few students in school, students participate in every activity. “Everybody’s something,” Saige laughed.
For fun, she loves to hang out with friends and shop. Corona is two hours from any major shopping: Albuquerque, Roswell, Clovis, Alamogordo, and Ruidoso. Of all of them, Albuquerque has the best shopping, she thinks. She loves to hit the Coronado Mall (The Buckle is a favorite stop there), and eat at Tucanos, a Brazilian grill with excellent brisket, steak and mashed potatoes with cheese.
Saige’s weakness is jeans and shoes. She claims she has “more than I need in that closet,” she laughs. Flip flops and sandals are her favorite types of footwear.
She has competed at state finals every year since sixth grade, and has qualified for the National High School Finals every year since seventh grade. She has qualified for Nationals in goat tying, breakaway, and poles.
After high school, she will study business in college and compete collegiately. She’d like to be a banker.
Roping with her brother is a pleasure, usually. “Sometimes there’s a lot of arguing,” she laughs. She will miss him next year, she says, and “he won’t admit it, but I think he will miss me, too.”
She is the daughter of Dan and Crystal Bell.
