NJHSRA member, Cody Fosket – JJJ Photo
story by Ruth Nicolaus
Every time Cody Fosket steps into the rodeo arena, he remembers and honors his grandpa.
Grandpa Gerald Fiscus, his mom’s father, introduced him to rodeo, taught him to rope, and cheered him on till he passed away five years ago.
Cody, who is a member of the Nebraska Junior High School Rodeo Association, was just a little boy when he spent countless hours roping the plastic toy dummy at Grandpa’s house. “We’d sit in the living room, and I’d rope that all day long,” Cody remembers. “He was just fun. He taught me how to rope off a horse, and he helped me a lot.”
The 13-year-old, who lives seven miles outside of Mitchell, Neb., competes in the breakaway roping, team roping, ribbon roping, and chute dogging. In the team roping, he heels for Andy Koenig, and in the ribbon roping, his runner is Mallee Jones.
He rides Penny, a 22-year-old sorrel for the breakaway and ribbon roping, and for the heeling, he rides Dually, a chestnut 13-year-old. Penny is an all-around horse who takes care of her rider, but Dually is another matter. “He keeps you on your toes,” Cody says. “He’ll really love on you when you feed him, and in the practice pen. But you have to watch out for him. He’ll try to bite you.”
Cody is an eighth grade student at Bluffs Middle School in Scottsbluff. He enjoys social studies class and especially likes the history of the settlement of the West, including the Oregon Trail, the California Gold Rush, and how ranching began. From his house, Cody can see Scotts Bluff National Monument, a landmark along the Oregon Trail.
Cody is also a Little Britches Rodeo contestant, where he competes in the flag race, ribbon roping, breakaway, and team roping. In 4-H, he does the shooting sports and shows goats. This year, he named his goats Storm and Hail because the family picked up the goats during a hailstorm. Hail won grand champion heavy meat goat at the Scotts Bluff County Fair, and Cody won Reserve Grand Champion Showmanship.
Cody competed at the state junior high finals his sixth and seventh grade years in all of his events. He was eight when his grandpa died. “I just always admired him,” he says. “I always want to be like him and rope like him.”
He’s not sure what he wants to be when he grows up. Right now, his focus is school. “I haven’t made that decision yet,” he says, regarding his future career. “I’m still trying to get through middle school.”
He is the only child of Mike and Jennifer Fosket.
