story by Riata Cummings
Brett Milner is the 13-year-old daughter of Ty and Valynn Milner, and has a younger brother, Weston. The family recently moved to West Mountain from Herriman, Utah, and Brett now attends Spanish Fork Junior High School. The eighth grader’s favorite subject is math because she enjoys the challenge of new concepts. Brett enjoys playing basketball and was on her school team in Herriman. She also enjoys hanging out with her friends and going ice skating. Eventually, Brett would like to rodeo professionally or pursue a career in veterinary science.
Brett’s parents competed in high school rodeo, and the cowgirl has been riding since she was only 3-years-old. Now the all-around cowgirl competes in ribbon roping, pole bending, barrel racing, breakaway roping, and team roping. Her favorite event is pole bending and she rides Trigger, a 20-year-old palomino, for the slalom of rodeo. Brett rides Patrick, an 8-year-old black gelding for barrels, Hooey, a 12-year-old dun mare for breakaway, and Texas, a 9-year-old dun to heel in the team roping. Last spring Brett had to put down her little mare, Gem. Letting go of the four-legged friend was one of the hardest things she has ever had to do, but the experience taught her to rely on her other horses and to appreciate them while they are around. Now, her hero and favorite horse is Trigger who carried her to a tenth-place finish in the pole bending at the National Junior High School Finals Rodeo last year, her favorite rodeo so far. Brett also qualified for nationals in the ribbon roping last year and hopes to return to South Dakota to compete for a world title this year.
Rodeo has helped Brett develop her greatest strength, grit. The sometimes-humbling sport has pushed her to work hard and be diligent. Learning to “stick to it”, Brett has seen her hard work pay off. Rodeo has given her the opportunity to make lots of friends and expand her horizons. Brett’s motto is the long-standing truth that, “practice makes perfect”. She knows that if you aren’t willing to put in the work you will never see the results. Brett practices every chance she gets and works hard to keep her horses tuned up and in shape.
Brett looks up to her cousin, Laynee, who is a talented rider and rodeo athlete. She also admires her parents for their hard work and willingness to support her. Brett is grateful for her horses and would like to thank them for always giving it their all. She would like to thank her parents for their constant support and for the opportunity to rodeo. Lastly, Brett would like to thank Heavenly Father, the one who makes it all possible.
