story by Riata Cummings
Jaynie Ethingham is the 14-year-old daughter of Rebecca and Jeff Ethingham of West Mountain, Utah. She has two younger brothers, J.W. who is 9-years-old, and Garrett who is 10-years-old. They enjoy playing card games, attending each other’s sporting events, and reading together as a family. Jaynie attends Mt. Nebo Junior High School as an eighth grader, and her favorite classes are animal science, art, and English.
Jaynie started competing in rodeo last year but has riding horses since she was three-years-old. She started competing in the horse 4-H as an eight-year-old, and her prior barrel racing experience helped her excel at the three timed events. After some of her friends started rodeoing, Jaynie decided to join them and give roping a try. She now competes in the barrel racing, pole bending, breakaway roping, ribbon roping and goat tying.
Being part of the horse industry and rodeo community has taught Jaynie that “if you never give up you will eventually get what you are working for.” She has learned that “even if you have a bad day you can try harder the next time. Go home and practice harder so that you can be better.”
Jaynie lives by the saying, “Never let it rest until your good gets better and your better is best.” The quote reminds her to focus on her riding and motivates her to practice. “Even when it gets hard you have to remember that it is going to be okay. Just suck it up for a minute and I promise it will get better.”
Jaynie has three horses; Dotty, Mouse and Sara Jean. Dotty is an Appaloosa mare that Jaynie uses as a show horse. Mouse is her grulla breakaway roping and goat tying horse, and Sara Jean is her sorrel barrel racing and pole bending horse. Sara Jean loves her job and reminds Jaynie of her old horse, Molly. Molly carried Jaynie to a state championship in the horse 4-H but died suddenly before the next year’s state finals. Jaynie borrowed a horse named Paint from Kacey Calmar to compete in the state show, and eventually found her other horses. That difficult time taught her that “sometimes you just have to restart and get back on.” Adjusting to different horses and events has helped Jaynie develop greater horsemanship and increased her adaptability.
One of Jaynie’s heroes is Kacey, who lent her Paint. “She helped me get through that experience and she has taught me so much about rodeo and life. She is a life saver.” One day Jaynie wants to be like Kacey, and hopes others will think of her as a talented trainer, a high achieving athlete and a helpful friend. Jaynie is grateful for the people who have supported her dreams and helped her get on the rodeo road.
