story by Lily Weinacht
Family and rodeo are synonymous for Taylor Bunot, a wife, mother, and breakaway roper from Kaysville, Utah. She was on horseback as soon as possible, living for a short time on a ranch in Oklahoma her dad ran before the family returned to their home state of Utah. By then, Taylor, now 24, was ready to junior rodeo, followed by junior high and high school rodeoing for Utah, supported through every experience by her family. “My motivation is that rodeo is a part of me and I don’t want to let that go, and I want to have that achievement to give to my kids and help them be successful in that. It helped me through college, and I want my kids to be able to have that. My parents, Brett and Jann, are a huge part of the reason I keep going, and they are so supportive.”
Taylor also competed in goat tying and team roping at Weber State College on a full-ride scholarship, but breakaway has long been her favorite. She qualified for the NJHFR in the breakaway and the NHSFR in cow cutting, while she’s sitting in the top ten in the RMPRA standings. “I like that the talent comes from me, and you have to have a good horse underneath you, but I like that it takes my talent too.” Last year, Taylor sold her breakaway horse to one of the girls she gives riding lessons to, and presently, she rides her brother Morgun’s horse, Diamond. “She’s awesome—once you rope the calf, she stops really hard and makes the rope break away from the horn really fast,” says Taylor. “I appreciate Morgun letting me ride her. My little brother, Ladd, is riding a young horse for me, and my goal once he gets her going is to compete on her so my kids can compete on her, and to compete on a horse that we’ve raised.”
Whether starting horses or roping, the indoor arena at Taylor’s parents’ is a second home, and her dad continues to coach her. He also high school rodeoed for Utah, and continues to rope in the Evanston Rodeo Series in Wyoming. “He’s helped me not only in the rodeo world but in life, teaching me different things to go through life,” says Taylor. “He’s there for us and spends countless hours on us. A lot of people have contributed, and I learned as a little girl to always listen even if you don’t want to do it or you don’t think it will teach you anything, and it helps in the rodeo world and in your life.”
Taylor’s brothers and sister, Shalee, all compete in the RMPRA, along with her husband, Dax Bunot, who was sidelined by a roping accident last fall. Six days before their daughter, Bexlee, was born, Dax severed a thumb in a roping accident and went through four surgeries to re-attach it. He’s on the mend and ready for physical therapy, and hopes to return to rodeo. Between rodeos, Taylor works in a dental office as a dental assistant three days a week, and she also gives riding lessons three days a week. Her ultimate goal is to be a stay-at-home mom. “I just love to be with family. In the summer, my husband’s family goes camping and we really enjoy going camping with them,” says Taylor, who’s also working to qualify for the RMPRA finals for the first time. “Vacationing is rodeo, and whatever the family is doing, that’s what I like to do.”
