story by Lindsay King
“I always get teased because when my mom was pregnant with my sister and I, she was still team roping. When we could walk we were sitting on a horse, we were on an old rope horse and I remember riding around the round pen for weeks before my mom would let me ride in the arena,” said Jaedyn Getman about the finer details of her entrance into the rodeo life. The Stratford, Oklahoma, pole bender and breakaway roper takes her advice just the same as how she gets her horses, from her parents. “My parents, Rickey and Delvia, have always been good about giving my sister, Skylar, 16, and I good horses,” said the 14-year-old.
Rickey is the main coach for the girls, always the one in the arena telling the sisters how to get their horses to work on the next level. “Mom is our biggest fan, she is always in the stands and tells us how well we did. My dad is more of the behind the scenes guy, pushing our calves and coaching us.” Conveniently, all four family members team rope. Rickey and Skylar head for Delvia and Jaedyn. “My mom grew up in rodeo, but she did barrels and poles. My parents team rope every time we go somewhere or at the house practicing.”
Starting out in local play days, Jaedyn quickly moved through the ranks after winning multiple saddles in her rodeo career. It was at state finals when Jaedyn got her first big junior high win this summer. “Going into state I was winning the breakaway by eight points and I was sitting sixth in the poles. I ended up third in poles and breakaway.” Heading into nationals, Jaedyn wasn’t sure what to expect from the competitor side. She had gone to nationals to watch her sister, but never to compete. “It was not anything as I expected it. I hit a pole in the first round to place in the top four and then I missed my first calf. I think my nerves just got to me and I ended up missing my second calf also.”
Though nationals did not turn out how she had hoped, Jaedyn was proud of the horses she competed on. “We raise all of our horses so just getting to see my horse and all that she has accomplished is neat. It is cool to see what a homegrown horse can do next a finished rodeo horse.” Heading into her freshman year at Stratford Public Schools, Jaedyn gets to take most of her junior high rodeo friends along with her. “Everyone in the OKJHSRA always has a smile on their face and they are so friendly no matter the kind of day they are having.”
A triple threat in ball sports, Jaedyn plays basketball, volleyball and softball for her school. Though basketball is easily her favorite between the three. She likes her coach and how he pushes her to be a better player. “My great uncle and aunt used to play volleyball so every holiday we get together we play.” Outside of sports, Jaedyn also likes to cook, mostly during the summer. She tries her best to replicate restaurant recipes and plate appeal.
With so much on her plate, Jaedyn simply plans to go out every weekend and compete like the last rodeo, good or bad, never happened. She wants to use her abilities to their full potential and just go from there. “I just thank the good Lord for everything he has blessed me with: the parents he gave me who have supported me through everything and my church. No matter how good or bad I do everyone is still there for me.”
