story by Ruth Nicolaus
Teri Dawn Haws is a science geek. The cowgirl, a member of the Utah High School Rodeo Association, calls herself that, because she’s good at chemistry, physics, and biology, and her classmates look to her for help when they are stumped. In fact, school in general comes easily to her; she has a 4.0 GPA and is ranked fourteenth in her class, out of 150 students.
In rodeo, the Erda, Utah cowgirl competes in the breakaway roping, team roping, cutting and reined cow horse. Reined cow horse is her “absolute favorite event” and it shows through her accomplishments.
She has competed at the Utah High School State Finals the past three years, and has qualified for her fourth next spring. At state, she finished fifth in the reined cow horse her sophomore year and third this past spring.
The senior at Grantsville High School is secretary for her school’s FFA chapter, is on the honor roll, and is very involved in community service through her school’s National Honor Society chapter.
This past summer, she was one of ten youth chosen for Team USA for the AQHA Youth World Cup. She spent three weeks in Australia in a leadership role, coaching and mentoring the riders in the group. She loved her time in Australia, even though it was winter – very cold, she said, and the food was terrible!
After high school, she hopes to compete on a collegiate equestrian team as a reiner. She would like to earn a degree in veterinary medicine, and is considering colleges in Texas and California.
After she returned from Australia, she competed at the National High School Finals Rodeo in the reined cow horse.
She has an older sister, Ashlee, and two younger sisters, Macady and Rylee. She is the daughter of Shamus and Jolyn Haws.
