story by Lily Weinacht
“My motivation is really the connection that you get when you rodeo with a horse. It’s one of the things I’ve found to be very freeing, and it’s one of the places I find myself at my happiest,” says Jordan Miner. The 16-year-old from Mesa, Colorado, found her niche in rodeo by competing in gymkhanas as a child, then advancing to junior high and high school rodeos. She’s also an avid Nordic skier, and encouraging athletes to pursue rodeo alongside their other sports is one of her chief goals while serving as the 2018/2019 CSHSRA Rodeo Queen. “I do a lot of other activities other than rodeo, and I like letting people know that even though you do other sports, you can participate in rodeo while you’re doing them,” she explains.
Along with rodeo, Jordan is an FFA member, showing sheep and goats at fair and serving as a junior officer, as well as competing on the vet science team. She also enjoys running track, and is applying to the National Honor Society. That, alongside competing in the CSHSRA in barrel racing, pole bending, and breakaway roping, has made Jordan adept at managing her time. “I enjoy them all equally, and I also do shooting sports, which is my best event. It’s the only event I’ve been to Nationals in—I went in 2018,” says Jordan. “Sometimes I’ll be doing queen grand entry and then they’ll be doing barrels in another arena, so I have to switch horses and make sure my horse Bugsy is warmed up ahead of time, but we can usually get through it pretty easily. My mom and dad, Theresa and Jeff Miner, have helped me out a considerable amount with traveling and helping me keep up with homework, and giving me the animals I need to compete.”
She rides her gelding Bugsy in the pole bending and barrel racing, and her mare Holly in breakaway roping and her queen activities. Jordan also has three other horses she rides at barrel races, and a filly she’s training. Her dad owns a guiding business, and they also have 27 head of horses and mules for riding and packing. “I’ll take trail rides out occasionally, and sometimes I help with the advanced horsemanship in the arena,” Jordan adds. “I help some of the local kids if they’re down practicing—we have an arena in Collbran—and we’re looking to get an arena built in the next month or two at my house.” Jordan also looks forward to her home CSHSRA rodeo in Grand Junction each fall, which she helps set up and run. “During that rodeo we usually have a roping fundraiser and a barrel race fundraiser, so we’ll be moving cattle and setting up barrels, and doing that while also competing and helping with the rodeo itself.”
A junior at Plateau Valley High School, Jordan does much of her studying on the road to maintain her 3.6 GPA, and particularly enjoys science and history. “I’m kind of a history dork when it comes to ancient civilizations,” she says with a laugh. “I really like anthropology.” Since her school doesn’t have a ski team, Jordan skis for Aspen Valley High School, and also competes nationally in the Rocky Mountain Nordic Association. She competed at Nationals in Anchorage, Alaska, in March and placed in several races. Jordan also hopes to rodeo in college. “And I am also looking at skiing collegiately and hopefully making the All-American.”
