story by Ruth Nicolaus
Blaise Frey – Thomas Trosclair Photography
Blaise Frey is in his final year of Louisiana High School Rodeo competition.
The senior at Iota (La.) High School is a header whose heeler is Colton Rodriguez.
He rides an unusual mare, Lili, a thirteen year old who is half Arabian and half quarter horse. Born during Hurricane Lili in 2002, she was named after the storm. The family bought her as a trail riding horse, but Blaise recognized a heading horse in her and trained her. She comes with high credentials; her sister is an Arabian champ, and her quarter horse lineage is really good. She’s an intelligent and loving horse, Blaise said. When he goes to the pasture, she comes to meet him, and when he took senior photos with her, she did everything the photographer asked her to do. Blaise doesn’t plan on parting with Lili, who he has roped off of for four years.
In school, his favorite subject is agriculture. Right now, his ag class is welding and doing woodworking. They make projects for anyone who requests one, only requiring payment for materials. They’ve made some picnic tables and fire pits, and they’ve made a huge, beautiful round wooden table with a glass top. They’ve had trouble selling it, as it’s so huge it has eight legs and won’t fit in the average kitchen, but it would be a perfect fit for a boardroom or meeting room.
Blaise is a four-year member of his school’s FFA program and was an officer a few years ago. At State Rally, he won first place in the ag test last year, and he is on his school’s honor roll.
He will attend college this fall either in his home state or in Texas. He’d like to major in business and someday own his own business.
For fun, he ropes, rides four-wheelers, and travels with his friends to Crowley, Eunice or Lafayette. His favorite place to eat is Hardee’s, where he loves to have the hot ham and cheese sandwich, fries and root beer.
He has qualified for the state finals the last two years and is on track to qualify this year as well.
In addition to the LHSRA, he also competes in the Cajun Rodeo Association, the Louisiana Rodeo Cowboys Association, the US Team Roping Championships, and the Louisiana Team Roping Association. He’s qualified for the CRA Finals twice and the LTRA Finals once.
He has three older brothers: Jason, Brandon, and Derek, and a sister-in-law, Lacey, who is married to Brandon. He is the son of Francis and Germaine Frey.
