story by Siri Stevens
Kelly Short has been riding saddle broncs since he was a junior in high school (2016), going through Idaho District 8 High School Rodeo. “I grew up in the sport, my dad (Marty Short) pro rodeoed for 20+ years, all through high school, college at UW, and on until he was 45.” His grandpa rodeoed in the RCA for a long time, staying in the Wilderness Circuit.
He has been with RMPRA since 2017 or longer. “The people that run it are good people and it’s well organized,” he said. “They have good competitive stock; that’s how I learned to ride – the stock is awesome and it’s a great place to learn.” Kelly lives in Franklin, Idaho and works in Hyde Park, Utah. He landed a job with Camp Chef, which is based out of Utah and works as a project manager. “They are great,” he said about the company. “I work Monday – Thursday, so it’s a perfect schedule, especially with RMPRA.” He’s been there for five years and plans to stick around. “I’m a pretty big outdoors guy and it’s the lifestyle of the brand – it’s totally related to my extra curricula activities of hunting and fly fishing.” He grew up with that as well as rodeo. Camp Chef – the main facility is in Utah, but they have facilities in Arkansas too.
He is the only one of his siblings that took up rodeoing. He has an older sister, Jeri; older brother, Casey; and a younger sister, Daryn. The 24-year-old is on his PRCA permit this year and plans to hit the road around his circuit. “We’re going to try our luck there.” His girlfriend, Canyon, “is all about it and super supportive.” He stays in shape and ready by climbing on everything he can. There are a few practice pens around and that helps. He rides and works horses, especially in the summer.
