story by Lindsay King
Pogo-sticking around on a miniature pony at barrel jackpots since she was two, Paige Jones from Wayne, Oklahoma, is a barrel racer through and through. She has a great stead that makes her job fun and easy, keeping it her favorite event out of poles, goat tying and breakaway roping. Her mom Kay started her sister Ceri, 25, in rodeo leading Paige into the event. “My dad Jack just runs cattle and my mom rode some, but she mostly just did it for fun. So Ceri and I are the first generation of rodeo competitors,” said the 16-year-old.
Paige looks up to Ceri, someone who has tried her hand at a little bit of everything and been good it each one. “She has won national titles, IFYR, jackpots, pro rodeos; she helps me be better. It is a competition around our house when we go to jackpots.” Ceri is training up young barrel horses so when Paige gets her PRCA permit they can haul to rodeos together. However, she has aspirations to be an architect one day also. “I like math and science, I am always drawing things like buildings and floor plans. I want to go to Texas Tech because they have a good program and I have been following their rodeo team.”
The high school sophomore captured her third barrel title at state finals this year, taking the champion buckle her sixth and seventh grade year as well. “This was my fifth trip to nationals, where one of my proudest moments happened in 2016. I won reserve in breakaway and poles in junior high and that led me to winning all-around. It was the biggest accomplishment in my book.” The big rodeos are where Paige finds she has the most fun: nationals, IFYR, qualifiers for the American. “You have the best out of all the states, Canada, Australia and now Mexico, you see all the differences between people and how they compete from all corners of the worlds. It is fun to meet and socialize with them.”
Support from all corners, Paige has her parents and friends in her corner for every rodeo. “My mom is always down at the barn with me at all hours, she takes me to all the rodeos and really puts in the miles for me. My dad is more behind the scenes, he is my number one fan out in the crowd.” The people Paige goes to school with simply don’t understand the work and passion that goes into rodeo. “It is fun to be around people that do the exact same thing and care about it as much as you do. When we go to rodeos, we are all together and supporting each other.”
Homeschooled as a freshman, Paige went to Wayne Public Schools as a sophomore but will start Epic Charter Schools in the fall. She is looking forward to a border bash with Texas. “The OHSRA is well organized and I love getting to compete against kids from other states. The sponsors and directors are great, but competing with the people I have known since sixth grade has kept us all extra close.” The year Paige’s family moved from Kansas to Oklahoma, her dad had signed her up for mutton busting and did well enough to get invited to the championships. “I hit a barrel that day and broke my leg, so I couldn’t actually go.” Paige finished 13th at the 2018 NHSFR. She had all the confidence in the world after winning the barrels at the Best of the Best Timed Event Rodeo on her four-year-old by The Goodbye Lane.
