story by Riata Cummings
ayden Reck is the son of Kristy and Jason Reck of Orderville, Utah, a small town in Kane County. He is a senior at Valley High School, and his favorite classes are shop and math. Jayden works as a diesel mechanic and a laborer at Croft’s X Concrete and Excavating. He enjoys shooting guns, riding 4-wheelers and working on trucks. Jayden’s siblings are Cobe, an older brother, college student and avid golfer; Tayler, an older sister who has three children of her own; and Casey, a younger brother that plays basketball and baseball. Their mother works at the elementary and their father runs the Thunderbird golf course where the boys all enjoy golfing together.
Jayden first became interested in rodeo two and a half years ago thanks to a couple of his buddies; Elijah Monnett and Dillon Jacobs. “One night we were at a rodeo and one of the guys turned out. I asked if I could get on, and I have been riding bulls ever since.” Jayden enjoys the adrenaline rush of climbing down in the chute on top of a 2,000-pound bull. He also enjoys meeting all the people at the rodeos because, even though it is a different environment than he grew up in, he has come to love the western way of life.
The western way of life has taught Jayden that, “Nothing is free, and you have to work for what you want.” Rodeo requires immense dedication and determination. Jayden wasn’t raised in a rodeo family and has had to work hard to be able to ride at the same level as his competitors.
Jayden lives by the simple saying, “‘Just wing it.’ When I see something that seems impossible, I have to just go for it and things usually turn out. That’s how I like to live my life, I’ve always done my own thing.” Jayden is a people person, and rodeo gives him the chance to meet new people and talk to cowboys who have been rodeoing longer than he has.
“Watch what others do and learn from them. Take all those different techniques and find your own way of doing things. Ask the people who know.” Jayden would like to be remembered as a good hearted and kind person. He has always been willing to help those in need, whether it’s shoveling driveways or fixing up a friend’s truck.
Jayden would like to thank Elijah Monnett and Dillon Jacobs for helping him find rodeo and become the rider he is. He would also like to thank Swanny Jacobs who has been his rodeo dad and Dan Monnett for always being there and pushing him to be a better rider. He is grateful to his bosses, Tyler Baird and Tanner Croft, for being around to help him through life. He would like to thank them for teaching how to work and why it is important. It truly takes a village to raise a cowboy.
