Meet the Member Teige Whetham
story by Ruth Nicolaus Teige Whetham is a busy man during football and rodeo seasons. The Nebraska High School Rodeo Association member plays ball for […]
story by Ruth Nicolaus
The whole world knows when Jasper Neal is driving by.
That’s because the cowboy, a member of the Nebraska High School Rodeo Association, has one of the loudest trucks in the county, loud even by his standards.
The eighteen-year-old, a resident of Amherst, Neb., is a team roper, heading for Dawson Doggett.
His rope horse is a gray horse, purchased from his grandfather, Tom Knott, as a four-year-old. Jasper has been roping on the gray for the past three years. Baldie, a gelding, started as a tie-down horse but Jasper switched him to a head horse.
Baldie loves his job. “He likes to rope,” Jasper said. “He loves the sport. You can pasture ride him all day, and when you get him to an arena, he’s loving it. He just likes to go. He has a big motor and he really likes it.”
Jasper is a senior at Amherst School with an easy schedule this year: English, history, marketing and personal finance. He leaves school at 1:45 pm each day, for work release, working at a mechanic shop near Kearney, which was also his summer job. In the summer, he works on motors and engines. In the winter, he helps haul loads of dirt and manure to and from a local feedlot.
He’s budgeted his earnings, half towards roping and the other half for spending. Much of the spending goes towards his 2001 F150, which is bright red. “You can’t miss it,” he said, of his truck. It’s a super-cab four door, his pride and joy. “I put a lot of my hard-earned money into it,” he said.
He’s made several modifications to it, including cutting off the muffler, and then cutting it off even higher, when it wasn’t loud enough. “Now it’s almost too loud,” he admitted. Jasper makes sure it’s shiny and polished. He’s owned the truck since the eighth grade.
One of his role models is his grandpa Tom. Before Tom retired from his job with a public power company, he’d saddle a horse every day and check cows before and after work. Grandpa Tom gave Jasper the “family discount” when he bought the gray horse. Jasper’s grandma (and Tom’s wife) is Karla. Grandpa Tom comes to Jasper’s place at least once a week in the summer to practice with him. In the winter, Jasper drives to Broken Bow, the closet indoor arena he has access to, to practice. His uncle Andy Knott has also helped him become a better roper.
His other grandpa is Tim Neal of Thedford. Grandma Dee Neal passed away a few years ago.
After high school graduation, Jasper will attend WyoTech in Laramie, for their diesel tech program. The program is nine months in length, and he plans on starting in October of next year.
Jasper is a member of his school’s FFA program and is on the honorable mention honor roll.
He and Sage Dieter finished fifth in the state after Nebraska state finals last June, one hole out of qualifying for Nationals.
He has an older brother, Colton, who is 20, and a younger brother, Cooper, who is in the seventh grade.
He is the son of Dan and Lisa Neal.
story by Ruth Nicolaus Teige Whetham is a busy man during football and rodeo seasons. The Nebraska High School Rodeo Association member plays ball for […]
story by Ruth Nicolaus Bo Bushhousen is a state champ. The 19-year-old, a resident of Worms, Neb., finished as the Nebraska State High School champion […]
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Rodeo Life Magazine™ (ISSN 1934-5224) is located at P.O. Box 93598 Southlake, TX 76092. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Rodeo Life Media, P.O. Box 93598 Southlake, TX 76092
September 20, 2020
Girls All Around
1 Madison Mills 3176.75
2 Brooke Mccully 2248.35
3 Elle Ravenscroft 2232.8
4 Wacey Day 2219.93
5 Clancy Jo Brown (R) 2068.18
6 Jessica Stevens 2060.55
7 Mekenna Fisher 1996.93
8 Faith Storer 1756.85
9 Emma Ohm 1720.71
10 Abigail Lawton 1577.7
Boys All Around
1 Cooper Bass 2348.35
2 Rhett Witt 2238.35
3 Zane Kreikemeier 1579.85
4 Cody Miller 1548.61
5 Sage Schrunk 1521.75
6 Tanner Drueke 1520.7
7 Jate Saults 1379.6
8 Coy Johnston 1225.65
9 Cole Kerner 1079.25
10 Sid Miller 1076.6
Bareback Riding
1 Tanner Drueke 73
2 Tate Miller 63
3 Cole Kerner 47
4 Spencer Denaeyer 46
Barrel Racing
1 Elle Ravenscroft 87
2 Taci Flinn 57
3 Brooke Mccully 57
4 Madison Mills 56
5 Jenae Whitaker 35
6 Bailey Bell 32
7 Ashlyn Henderson 30
8 Ashlyn Jensen 30
9 Mekenna Fisher 28
10 Morgan Rosander 28
Boys Cutting
1 Cooper Bass 81
2 Cody Miller 73.5
3 Tatum Olson 66
4 Hayden Jennings 63.5
5 Bo Bushhousen 60.5
6 Frazier Kaelin 56
7 Matt Symonds 54.5
8 Trey Vance 45
9 Devin Konicek 41.5
10 Hayden Stump 32.5
Breakaway Roping
1 Emma Ohm 49
2 Summer Richardson 38
3 Tehya From 38
4 Ali Vaughn 38
5 Wacey Day 37
6 Jaya Nelson 34
7 Jessica Stevens 27
8 Jace Hurlburt 24.5
9 Shayda Vaughn 24
10 Whitney Jennings 24
Bull Riding
1 Jett Sjeklocha 28
2 Cole Kerner 27.5
3 Dalton Garey 20
4 Tanner Drueke 19
5 Drew Farrell 10
6 Hunter Boydston 9.5
7 Brady Painter 9
8 Cooper Kursave 8
Girls Cutting
1 Faith Storer 112
2 Mekenna Fisher 99
3 Emma Pearson 74.5
4 Peyton Fisher 68
5 Gracyn Hicks 64
6 Whitney Jennings 62
7 Jenna Rutar 36.5
8 Jordan Downing 11
Goat Tying
1 Jessica Stevens 77
2 Wacey Day 68.5
3 Emma Ohm 56
4 Abigail Lawton 49
5 Kaci Wickersham 49
6 Ally Micheel 43.5
7 Ashlyn Henderson 43
8 Emma Warren 42
9 Kinley Greenough 39
10 Clancy Jo Brown 29.5
Pole Bending
1 Madison Mills 100
2 Clancy Jo Brown 65
3 Abigail Lawton 58
4 Jenae Whitaker 53
5 Emma Pearson 44
6 Lauren Lehl 34
7 Ashlyn Jensen 29
8 Brooke Mccully 28
9 Jordan Peterson 27
10 Elle Ravenscroft 24.5
Saddle Bronc
1 Brody Mcabee 60
2 Monte Bailey 30
3 Leif Meidell 19
4 Dean Schroder 9
Steer Wrestling
1 Rhett Witt 60
2 Dane Pokorny 50
3 Tucker Ravenscroft 46
4 Sage Schrunk 42
5 Coy Johnston 40
6 Thayne Kimbrough 39
7 Dalton Kunkee 35
8 Cody Miller 33
9 Gage Davis 33
10 Kaden Wooters 33
Team Roping
1 Jate Saults 58
2 Brent Charlton 52
3 Cooper Bass 43
4 Zack Bradley 43
5 Jasper Neal 38
6 Sage Dieter 38
7 Zane Kreikemeier 33
8 Coy Johnston 33
9 Ryan Shepherd 30
10 Carter Anderson 30
11 Sage Schrunk 30
12 Hayse Wetzel 30
13 Cinch Painter 28
14 Roper Wetzel 25
15 Chance Symons 23
Tie Down Roping
1 Rhett Witt 62
2 Zane Kreikemeier 56
3 Matthew Miller 50
4 Sid Miller 47
5 Tate Talkington 46
6 Layne Wallinger 43
7 Jate Saults 31
8 Sage Schrunk 30
9 Trace Travnicek 28
10 Carter Anderson 25