story by Ruth Nicolaus
After her first semester of Nebraska Junior High School Rodeo, Charli Coats is loving it.
The Juniata, Neb. cowgirl just started rodeo a half-year ago, competing in the barrel racing and pole bending, and “it’s going good,” she said. “We’re getting the hang of it.”
For her events, she rides a seven-year-old buckskin gelding named Neighbor, who is “very jumpy and has a lot of energy. Our nickname for him is Dragon.” Neighbor is owned by her aunt and uncle, Ashley and Justen Nokes.
An eighth grade student at Adams Central High School near Juniata, Charli “loves school. School is great.” She likes hanging with her friends and talking to her favorite teachers, who include Mrs. Houghtelling (the social studies teacher) and Mrs. Hassenstab (the art teacher). Her favorite subjects are math and social studies, with her least favorite being science, except for anatomy, which she really enjoyed.
She plays volleyball and basketball and runs track, is a member of the student council, and is on the honor roll. She is a 4-H member and shows Neighbor in speed events and halter classes at the county fair; he’s won her ribbons and three buckles.
The best meal Charli’s mom makes is chicken fried steak with homemade gravy. She loves apple crisp and apple pie, made specially by her Grandma. Her favorite beverages are Dr. Pepper and pomegranate acai Bubbl’r. And her favorite holiday is Independence Day, because she gets to shoot off fireworks with her family.
If Charli were given $1 million, she’d buy horses for her aunt and uncle, travel to exciting places, and help out her family.
Her aunt and uncle deserve the horses because they’ve been generous with their time in helping her. “They’ve helped me out so much with rodeo,” Charli said. “Uncle Justen always helps me out and encourages me. He’s great.”
For the traveling, she’d love to visit Africa, to help out disadvantaged kids, and go to Colombia, because of the food and culture, which “fascinates me.”
For fun, Charli likes to bowl with family and friends and swim and tube in the summer at Lake McConaughey or Johnson Lake.
When she grows up, she’d like to be a nurse. “I really like how nurses help people. When I look at photos of surgeries I think it’s cool, when other people think it’s gross.”
The first buckle Charli won, she gave to her cousin Halli, Uncle Justen and Aunt Ashley’s daughter. She wears the other two buckles: both are 4-H high point cowgirl buckles from 2019 and 2021.
Her mom and dad, Carrie and Ben Robinson, love their girl.
Since starting junior high rodeo, “she’s learned so much,” Carrie said. “The patience she has with her horses, and her ability to ride multiple horses is amazing.” She’s also quick to make friends. “She can make a friend with anybody. I don’t care how old or young they are, she can build a relationship with anybody.”
Charli has a younger sister, Hayden, who is one year old and is “very fun and very happy.”
