Kaden Lewis
Kaden Lewis
If there’s not a rodeo to go to, Kaden Lewis has trouble getting out of bed.
The 17 year old cowboy, a member of the Utah High School Rodeo Association, doesn’t like getting up in the morning. “If I’m not getting up for a rodeo, I’m not getting up at all,” he jokes.
But if there’s a rodeo, he’s ready to team rope, and this spring, will add steer wrestling to his repertoire.
He team ropes with his cousin Stetson Davis, with both boys taking turns heading and heeling, depending on what they feel like that day. “We swap off whenever we feel like it,” Kaden says. He also practices with his younger brother, Cameron, who is also a UHSRA member.
He heads on a ten-year-old registered quarter horse, a dun mare named Dixie. He spent an entire summer working so he could buy her four years ago, and he trained her to rope. He heels on a seven-year-old sorrel mare named Susie, who the family has owned for a year. He also trained Susie.
For the bull dogging, Kaden borrows the neighbor’s horse, Hank (whose nickname is Tank.) Daemon Basile, their neighbor and family friend, owns the horse and his son Andrew also bulldogs off Hank.
Kaden is a senior at Snow Canyon High School but rodeos for Dixie High School, since Snow Canyon doesn’t have a team. He loves his ag classes and this semester is enrolled in two animal science classes, which is the field he hopes to study in college. Kaden serves as vice-president of his FFA chapter, is on the honor roll, and plays rugby for his school.
After high school graduation, he will serve a two-year mission trip for his church and then hopes to attend Utah State University and earn a doctor of veterinary medicine degree. He’d like to focus on large animals in his practice.
He has three brothers (Breckon, age 20, Cameron, 15, and Gavin, ten), and two sisters (Laura, nine, and Lily, four.) He is the son of Rick and Heather Lewis.
Austin Wilson
Austin Wilson is in his final year of membership in the Utah High School Rodeo Association.
Austin Wilson
– Photo by Kristin Wilson
The 18 year old cowboy lives in Henderson, Nev., and heels for Cherish Moore. He prefers to rodeo in Utah instead of his home state because he is a Mormon and Utah high school rodeos are Fridays and Saturdays, leaving Sundays for worship.
He rides a sorrel gelding named Buster who the family estimates to be sixteen years old, but since he’s not papered, they can’t be sure. Buster is a solid horse who can be a handful sometimes, but in a good way, Austin says. At home, Buster is calm. But at rodeos, he gets antsy. “He knows when it’s game time,” he says.
The best part of school at Foothill High School in Henderson is being with his friends. The worst part is the homework! As a senior, Austin sometimes has several hours of homework a night, especially in math and English. In English, the class has been doing a lot of essay writing, which is OK, Austin says, except for when the topics are boring.
He loves to go hunting with his dad and brothers, and the family often hunts elk. They’ve hunted in Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming, and Austin also likes to fly fish in the Sevier River in southern Utah. They fish for trout and usually catch and release.
In his spare time, he helps clean his dad’s dentist office, and bucks bales for a local farmer. Austin is careful to save his money. “I try not to spend a whole lot of money,” he says, “but it always finds a way of going pretty quick.”
After high school graduation, he will serve a two-year mission for his church and then plans on attending college in Utah. He’s not sure what career path he will take, but likes the idea of being a teacher.
Last year, he qualified for the state finals and finished in the top twenty in the state.
He has two brothers, Alden, age 22, and Andrew, thirteen, and a sister, Abigail, who is sixteen.
He is the son of Michael and Kristin Wilson.
Trevor Carlisle
Trevor Carlisle is as comfortable around machinery as he is around horses.
Holmes & Carlisle UHS 2014 SS Oakley – Photo by Diane Garcia
The 18-year-old cowboy, a resident of Redmond, Utah, works alongside his dad on the family ranch and excavation business. He can run any piece of equipment on the place: the loader, track hoe, mini-excavator, skid loader, water truck, and tractor.
But he loves his rodeo, too. As a member of the Utah High School Rodeo Association, he tie-down and team ropes on Jim Ed, an 11-year-old black heading horse, and Cool Whip, a 16-year-old sorrel.
As a senior at North Sevier High School in Salina, Trevor has a bad case of senior-itis. “I’m ready to be done,” he says. The best part of school is his involvement in rodeo and FFA. He was an officer his sophomore year, and this year is taking two ag classes: animal science and ag mechanics.
In his spare time, Trevor likes to do anything outside: “I like the outdoors.” He hunts and fishes, and last year got a bull elk with a muzzle loader.
After high school, he will spend a year at Snow College in Ephraim, Utah, and then serve his two-year LDS mission. He will compete in college rodeo, and hopes to run cattle someday. He also would like to work for Superior Livestock.
Trevor has competed at state finals in the team roping every year since he was a freshman. He’s also qualified for the Silver State Rodeo each year.
He has seven siblings: brothers Kasey Bosshardt, Kurt Bosshardt, Mark Bosshardt, Charles Bosshardt, Kevin Bosshardt, and Tyler Carlisle, and sister Jennifer Carlisle. He is the son of Gary and Susan Carlisle.
