story by Ruth Nicolaus
Ella Lacey hasn’t been a member of the Nebraska High School Rodeo Association for long, but she loves it.
The Weston, Neb. cowgirl, a barrel racer and pole bender, began high school rodeo in the fall of 2021, but the following spring, didn’t rodeo due to having mono and no horsepower.
She started back up with the sport last semester.
For the barrels, she rides a fourteen-year-old palomino gelding named Legit, who was purchased from Diane Axmann last April. Right away, the two connected. “I’ve been told he picked me,” she said. When she took the saddle off, after riding him to try him out, he rolled and walked up to her. When he’s done rolling, he usually walks to Diane instead.
He’s a lovey-kind of horse. “He likes to follow everyone all over and loves to be loved on,” Ella said. “And he’ll only eat his grain if I stand next to him.”
For the poles, she rides her mom’s barrel horse, a bay named Faith. The mare “is really good, better at poles than I am, so it’s me trying to catch on with her. But we’ve been getting a lot better.”
A senior at Wahoo High School, she loves school and all her friends. Math is her favorite class: “I like working out the problems and finding the answer.” Her least favorite class is English: “I just don’t like reading or dealing with words.”
Ella plays basketball and is a member of the National Honor Society, the Multi-Cultural Club, Blue Crew, and is on the honor roll.
The best meal her mom makes is hamburger soup, consisting of hamburger, cabbage, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots and celery. Her favorite sweet is a brownie dessert her mom makes: brownies, whipped cream, chocolate pudding, and strawberries, all in layers.
Ella’s favorite holiday is Christmas: “I like the coziness inside, the presents and the food.” Her favorite buckle, with silver and teal accents, is one she won at a jackpot in Ravenna, Neb.
If she were given $1 million, she’d buy a nice house with a nice barn, indoor and outdoor arenas, a big pasture, and an outdoor heated pool.
For fun, she and her friends hang out, driving around Wahoo or going to Lincoln, only thirty miles away. She loves eating shrimp tempura rolls at the sushi place in Lincoln, or eating Mexican in Wahoo.
After high school, Ella plans on attending college to earn an accounting degree, so she can help her dad with his construction business.
She has benefitted from high school rodeo, she says. “I think it’s a good surrounding to be in. Everyone’s nice to each other, and it’s competitive, so it’s nice to have competition that pushes you.”
She has two older brothers: Brendan (23) and Blake (22), a younger brother Logan (14) and a younger sister, Emma (12).
She is the daughter of Chuck and Kari Lacey.
