story by Lily Weinacht
Jordan Pennington at the 2014 NLBFR
– JenningsRodeoPhotography.com
Jordan Pennington, a 13-year-old from Fort Lupton, Colo., and a member of the NLBRA Top Hand Team, has been competing in rodeo since she was five. “My mom and dad asked me if I wanted to rodeo, and I said ‘Absolutely!'” Jordan recalls. As a junior girl, Jordan competes in Little Britches in barrel racing, pole bending, breakaway roping, trail course, ribbon roping, and team roping. Both of Jordan’s parents team rope, and it is likewise her favorite event, whether she is heading or heeling. For that reason, 2014 WPRA All-Around World Champion Lari Dee Guy is one of Jordan’s rodeo idols, and Jordan has attended several of her roping clinics. Jordan also looks up to world champion barrel racer Sherry Cervi. “She’s humble when she wins, and she’s been through a lot in life and is still a very positive person!”
Jordan’s own passion for rodeo and competitive nature has earned her two all-around saddles from the Kit Carson County Little Britches Rodeo, and most recently, the all-around at the Rocky Mountain Little Britches Rodeo, with first place in barrels, team roping, and trail course, and second in poles. She has qualified for the NLBFR every year since joining the association and will be in Pueblo again this summer, looking to beat her record of finishing eighth in the world in pole bending in 2009. Jordan also competes in the Mile Hi Barrel Horse Association, CJHSRA, and the CJRA. “Rodeo is a good option for someone who is really competitive, and it’s a very family oriented sport that uplifts you,” she says.
The Penningtons – Jordan and her parents, Ken and Becky – live outside of Fort Lupton on 60 acres. Jordan also has step-sister, Lynnea, who is 26. The family spends much of their time roping together, coaching Jordan in her events, or caring for their dogs, cats, roping steers, cows, chickens, and horses. Jordan’s own horses are Shiner and Macy, whom Jordan’s mom trained, and Andy and Iris. Shiner, a 14-year-old gelding, is Jordan’s favorite. Her family has owned him since he was a yearling. Once Jordan’s pole bending horse as a Little Wrangler, she trained Shiner to breakaway rope and head, and it was in the arena during team roping that he saved her from a serious accident. “I was heading on him when a steer came up behind me. It pulled me off and I was hanging by a stirrup, and Shiner was about to take off, but my mom told him ‘Whoa’ from across the arena, and he stopped,” Jordan explains. She competes in trail, runs poles, and heels off of Andy, breakaway ropes on Macy, and runs barrels on Iris, a mare that was a new addition to the Pennington’s barn in January.
Jordan recently finished eighth grade at Resurrection Christian School, where her favorite class is history, with WWII being the time era she enjoys studying the most. Jordan also played on her school’s soccer team, and now spends her free time listening to music or reading a favorite book, including The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. But Jordan’s horses always come first, and she says, “They’re one of the main parts to my success, and if they’re not ready, I’m not ready.”
Jordan’s goals for the future are wholly wrapped up in rodeo. She intends to qualify for The American and the WNFR someday, while also joining the WPRA’s junior division this year. She plans to compete in the NLBRA for many more years, and is already looking forward to the 2016 NLBFR at the Lazy E Arena in Guthrie, Okla. But first, she is setting out to make the 2015 NLBFR her best Finals ever.
