story by Michele Toberer
With a wanderlust soul, having already traveled to 47 of the 50 United States, Janet Kerr hopes to step foot on all seven continents before all is said and done. She’s well on her way and only lacks checking off Antarctica, South America, and Asia from her bucket list. “We had a trip planned to Poland, Czech Republic, and the Netherlands in May, but had to cancel plans because of the Covid-19 Pandemic. We may try to make it up to Maine and New Hampshire to get two more states off of my list since we aren’t able to leave the country right now. We also had a trip to Cambodia planned for 2021 but that’s on hold now too.” If she’s not marking new states and continents off of her list, Janet’s happy to traveling to American Professional Rodeo Association events nearby.
Originally from Illinois, where Janet started running barrels when she was 8 years old. She competed on the Southwest Missouri State University rodeo team for three years while studying for her animal science degree and qualified for the CNFR as a barrel racer in 1996. Janet moved to Ohio in 2003 after marrying her husband, Wayne Kerr. “A good friend in northern Illinois, Tony Miensma, raised and trained nice barrel horses and took me under his wing. Tony set me up to meet Wayne; he knew what he was doing, and the good Lord said this was going to happen; we were married 6 weeks later! When I moved out to Ohio, Wayne was training Thoroughbred racehorses, and I groomed horses and worked as the bookkeeper. I spent several years showing horses, but in 2011 went to a rodeo and got sucked right back in. I’ve held my APRA card pretty much every year since then.”
Janet and Wayne have transitioned from racehorses to barrel horses, and now have a barn full of colts. “Wayne loves to start colts that have never been handled, so we buy long weanlings for our program and he does a fantastic job of bringing them along. I prefer to ride horses that have a really good start and can just do some fine tuning to get them ready for rodeos, so working together has been a perfect fit.” The couple has a mixed breed dog named Jinx that is the center of their world. “She’s out of a Lab-Pit-Beagle cross, and a King Charles Spaniel mix, and might as well be our kid.”
Janet is grateful to have qualified for the APRA finals three times since joining the association; in 2013, 2018, and 2019. “The finals are always fun, and I love going to rodeos and seeing new places. In 2018, the finals were in Atlantic City and they were so much fun! My closest family is 10 hours from where I live, so the term “rodeo family” is really true and I appreciate having the APRA rodeo family. They’re a great group of people from the board of directors to the contestants. Everyone’s there for the love of the sport.”
For the past 2 ½ years, Janet has run barrels on her sorrel mare, Baby Fame, who was the 2019 APRA Barrel Horse of the Year. “It was the most emotional award I’ve ever received. Baby Fame is 7 years old and is a red-headed dragon. She’s the epitome of all the memes they do of sorrel mares; it’s her way or the highway. But she’s taught me more patience than I ever thought I’d learn.”
Although Janet gets jokingly picked on for her love of running, she aspires to run a marathon one day if the timing works out. “I love running because it helps me keep my head screwed on straight. But you can’t give up a rodeo weekend to run a marathon!” She hopes to make the APRA finals again and would love to finish a season in the number one spot one day. “This year as taught me that I just appreciate being able to go to rodeos; when they tell you that you can’t, it changes your perspective on things.”
Janet is appreciative of her sponsors for their support in traveling down the rodeo trail: Draw It Out East Coast, Chrome Girl Accessories, and Alpha Outfitters Equine Supply.
