story by Riata Cummings
Jake Woodland is a rodeo athlete and senior at Juab High School. He enjoys is agriculture classes and is an active member of the Juab FFA Chapter, through which he served as a chapter officer and competed at the National FFA Convention in the horse judging career development event. After graduation, Jake hopes to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to “help people, share the gospel and help the family.”
Jake is the son of Dan and Lisa Woodland of Mona, Utah. He has an older brother named Zeak and a younger sister named Kaci. The family enjoys practicing for rodeos together, going hunting and supporting one another’s pursuits. Jake has been competing in rodeo since 3rd grade, working his way through the Utah 5th And Under Rodeo and the Utah Junior High School Rodeo Association. He now competes in the team roping, tiedown roping and reined cow horse in the Utah High School Rodeo Association.
In the team roping, Jake ropes the heads for Skylee Draper. Jake’s favorite event is the reined cow horse. “I love that it means you are always striving to be a better horseman and to make your horse better. You work hard to make your riding better, and then you get to go show that off and give it all you’ve got.”
Jake has a list of rodeo accomplishments, including qualifying for the National Junior High School Finals Rodeo and for the Utah High School State Finals Rodeo. Last year he finished 9th in the Utah high school reined cow horse. This year he has set a goal to qualify for the National High School Finals Rodeo in the reined cow horse and tiedown roping.
One of the most challenging and rewarding experiences for Jake was training a young horse. The task taught him patience and persistence, as well as many valuable horsemanship skills. His father and his Uncle Aaron helped him through that process. “My dad is always there for me to bounce ideas off of, and he helped me learn how to get through the roadblocks. One of my heroes is my Uncle Aaron, who is a great horseman. He is a great guy who is always willing to help everyone around him.” One day, Jake would like to be helpful, supportive and knowledgeable like those two men.
One of Jake’s greatest strengths is his sense of humor. “When you are funny and look for the fun in life, you can make friends and get through tough things. Rodeo can be so serious, just like life, but if you keep it light it makes it all easier.” Jake lives by the saying, “Quitters never win, and winners never quit.” This motivates him to “keep getting better and always keep trying.”
Jake would like to thank his family for taking care of him and “getting him down the road.” He would also like to thank his Uncle Aaron for supporting him and teaching him. Jake would also like to thank Key-Lix for taking care of his horses. Jake knows it takes a village to raise a rodeo athlete, and he is grateful for “the people who have made it so fun and so fulfilling.”
