story by Lindsay Humphrey
Running poles at the NJHSRA Finals is old hat for Chaynee Slavin who’s now a three-time qualifier. New this year, were the nerves that came with each round during the Perry, Georgia, event. “Last year at nationals, I went around my final pole in the second round and my over-under wrapped around the pole and pulled it over,” said the 15-year-old from Canadian, Texas. “I’ve never been as nervous as I was this year when I was running the poles. I was kind of glad for it because it took my mind off everything. I had to start thinking about things that weren’t related to poles at all so I could take my mind off it.” To make matters worse, Chaynee had to wait almost 3 hours to make her pole run in the short round. The hours of work, waiting and wondering paid off when Chaynee left Georgia as the National Champion Pole Bender.
“All the rounds were tough. I was nervous watching everyone compete, but it was also fun because all the times were so close together.” A palomino named Princess helped Chaynee make it to nationals both this year and last, but she didn’t make the trip to Georgia. “I ran my sister’s horse, Frenchy, at nationals because she runs betters indoors. My sister (Camree, 17) took Princess to run in the Best of the Best in New Mexico because she’s better outside.” Even though Frenchy helped Chaynee nab a national title that’s eluded her for the past two years, Princess is still her favorite. “I just love her, and she makes running poles really fun. Quinton and Amy Stover own Princess, but they’ve been letting me ride her. I have to give a huge shoutout to them because I couldn’t have done this without her.”
More than just a quick foot in the pole bending, Chaynee can also throw a fast loop in the breakaway roping. For the second year in a row, she qualified to rope at nationals. It was a much different trip this year in that event. “Last year I was nervous in the breakaway but this year I was calm as could be. I guess I got all my nerves out last year.” While it was important to perform well in the breakaway, Chaynee knew pole bending was her main focus for the week. She finished the finals with 11th place in the breakaway roping after catching all three calves. Even though Chaynee’s parents (Rusty and Kristol) were split between two daughters, two major events and two states, all their hours of coaching hung in their daughter’s ear when she needed it most.
“My dad competed his whole life and my mom ran barrels in high school. My sister started when she was 4, so when I was old enough to ride, they entered me too. I’ve rodeoed my entire life so far.” With both parents as coaches, Chaynee and her sister get a lot of reps in at home, no matter the weather. It was two winters ago that Chaynee was finally getting the hang of breakaway roping when her dad built an indoor arena so she could finally rope inside. “All I did for a long time was rope, and it’s finally starting to pay off. My dad wants me to do well and to try my best, so we pretty much rope every single day.” This fall Chaynee will be a freshman in high school, which means she’ll be competing against her sister in the OHSRA.
“We share a lot of horses, so we get along. Most of the time anyways. When we need each other, we’re always right there. I have a video of Camree after I won [nationals] and she was so excited for me. It showed just how kind and caring she is as my sister.” Despite their loving relationship, beating each other at their favorite sport is always the goal. As Chaynee steps up into high school, she’s thankful for her time with the OKJHSRA. “I really like how the rodeos were mostly indoors, because you get the same ground as everyone else no matter what the weather is doing and that makes it more fair for everyone.” The people in the association, and the state, keep Chaynee excited about the years of rodeo ahead.
