story by Riata Cummings
Kamerie Iverson is the daughter of Travis and McCall Iverson, and the late Kerri Iverson. She hails from Tabiona, Utah, and her siblings are Kaelyn, Kenleigh, Gus, Kolton and Stran. Together the family enjoys spending time outdoors, hunting and riding horses.
Kamerie attends Tabiona High School as an eighth grader. She loves the logic and challenge of her math class and the relaxed enjoyment of her physical education course. She also enjoys playing on the volleyball and basketball teams between rodeos.
Kamerie’s mother, Kerri, passed away three years ago after a struggle with breast cancer. Kerri was raised as a 4th generation cattle rancher, and she competed in rodeo and rodeo queening. Together, she and Travis taught Kamerie and their other children to ride at a young age. Kamerie remembers riding her own horse when she was 4-years-old. “I grew up around horses and rodeo, and that’s what we do as a family. Being with the horses makes us all happy.” Kerri was, and is, Kamerie’s hero. “My mother taught me everything, and she never gave up on anything. She was always so kind and so beautiful and so smart. She understood everything. I want to be like that.”
Kamerie has been a rodeo athlete since she was very young, and she now competes in the barrel racing, pole bending and ribbon roping. The barrel racing is her favorite event, and she loves that the event is “all in fast-motion. You get a thrill and an adrenaline rush every run.” She is ribbon roping with Swade Olsen, and the two are one of the top 10 teams in the state this season.
Kamerie competes in the barrel racing on a mare named Moon, who has a spunky, hyperactive personality. Her pole horse, Joe, is a big-hearted gelding who can “really get moving.” Last fall, Kamerie and Moon won 3 of the 6 junior high rodeos, and she finished the fall season sitting first in the barrel racing. She is hoping to stay consistent and be one of the top five barrel racers and pole benders at year’s end. Kamerie rides her horses everyday from Monday to Saturday, alternating between pattern work in the arena and endurance training on the mountainous terrain near her home.
Rodeo has taught Kamerie that “life is going to have its ups and downs. There will always be hard times in life, but you have to keep your head up and work through them so you can accomplish your goals.” Kamerie loves that rodeo lets her spend time with “people who know me and root for me. Whether it’s best friends or family or someone you barely know, they are cheering for you and ready to help you.”
Kamerie lives by the saying, “You know what you need to do.” The mantra applies to her life in and out of the arena. “If I am about to run, I just have to focus on what needs to happen to make the run go well. In life, when you know something is wrong, you just focus on what you can do and make things work.” One of her greatest strengths is her sense of humor and ability to make herself laugh. “Sometimes, if I am really nervous for a run, I just talk to myself until a joke comes up and I forget what I’m so nervous about.” She would advise rodeo contestants to “have fun in the arena and do everything at your own pace.”
Kamerie would like to thank her parents and her siblings for their help and support of her rodeo dreams. “Thank you for keeping me on good horses and helping me have a good attitude. You’ve always been there for me, and I know you always will.”
