above: NRCA member, Hanna Brown – Whitney Knippling
story by Lindsay Whelchel
Success in rodeo goes hand in hand with hard work, and that’s something Hanna Brown is accustomed to. The South Dakota rancher’s daughter has poured herself into the efforts of roping and ranching, right alongside becoming a nurse; all of which are challenging endeavors.
“I grew up on a ranch. I still ranch with my dad as well now, but I started out roping- I can’t even remember how young I was, but as long as I can remember I’ve always wanted to rope,” Hanna says adding that her dad, Jody ropes, and older brothers Jeff and Luke roped in high school and excelled, and she always wanted to be just like them. Her dad taught her everything she knows about the sport and her mixed-team roping partner in the Northwest Ranch Cowboys Association just so happens to be her uncle Rory, and he’s helped her a lot with her horsemanship, Hanna credits.
Hanna has been a nurse for three and a half years and works in the emergency room in Eagle Butte, S.D.
She got her NRCA card not long after she started her medical career and knows firsthand that dedication is required in both careers.
“They’re both challenging. It takes hard work to make it work,” she admits, but loves to see the fruition from all of her efforts, in and outside the arena.
When Hanna isn’t roping or helping others at the hospital, she’s helping her parents, Jody and JoAnn out on the ranch and riding colts. “I’ve always loved horses, and I love being around them. They’ve always been part of our lifestyle ranching.”
To fit it all in just takes making time for it, she says.
And there are plenty of rewards in this lifestyle.
“It’s one of those sports you have to work at. You have to have your horses in shape. You have to have them tuned up. You have to have yourself roping sharp and thinking right but… When your hard work pays off. When you feel like your horses are working good, and you’re roping good. When you feel like everything you’ve worked for finally pays off, and you just feel like you’ve accomplished something. That’s what I like most about it,” she says of rodeo in particular.
Hanna competes in the mixed team roping and breakaway roping, and certainly saw her hard work pay off last season in the NRCA. She won the year-end in both of her events and the All-Around saddle.
