story by Riata Cummings
Payton Alfred is the daughter of C.J. and Sabrina Alfred of Herriman, Utah. She is the youngest of three children, with an older brother, Dalton, and sister, Harlie. Payton enjoys riding on the trails of the mountains near her home with her friends and family. She just completed her eighth-grade year at Fort Herriman Middle School and will start her freshman year at Mountain Ridge High School at the end of this summer. She is looking forward to competing in high school rodeo and plans to enroll in an agricultural class and become a member of the National FFA Organization.
Payton’s father introduced her to the world of rodeo. He had experience with riding club associations, and, though he never competed in rodeo himself, he wanted her to gain the horsemanship and life experiences. She has been riding horses as long as she can remember, and she competes in the pole bending, barrel racing, goat tying, and, formerly, ribbon roping. Payton loves the thrill of catching a calf, and the roping events are her favorite. She rides a grey horse named Blue for the barrel racing and a bay mare named Star for the roping and pole bending, though both horses are versatile enough to compete in any of her events. Payton enjoys competing in the Heber City arena and has a goal to qualify for the state finals held there every year.
Rodeo has taught Payton that, “working hard for something is better that just being handed all the pleasures of life. The sense of accomplishment makes those things better, and hard work is what brings that accomplishment.” Payton has a couple of different mottos, including, “Hold on and pray,” and “Perform like no one else is watching.” The later reminds her to stay calm in the arena, mentally placing herself in the practice pen where there is no pressure. She says, “If I am stressed in the arena I don’t perform as well as I should. But if I can remove the pressure and think that no one is watching me, it is just like practice.”
One of the hardest things Payton has done is learning to work with green horses with her father. It has taught her that, “You have to be patient with horses. They don’t know what to do so you have to be patient with them and show them how to do what it is you want them to do.” Payton’s heroes are her father and her nephew, Colter. Her father’s hard work gives her the opportunity to do the things she loves. Colter is only 1-year-old, and was hospitalized after a traumatic brain injury, but he fought through it and is now thriving. Grateful for the example of diligence and strength from her nephew and dedicated horsemanship from her father, Payton would like to leave a similar legacy. She would like to be remembered as, “someone who never ceased learning or developing as a person and a horsewoman.”
She would like to thank her father for the opportunity to rodeo and the horses that make it all possible. She is grateful for her whole family, who have ridden alongside her and encouraged her to, “Keep going, keep learning, and keep riding.”
