story by Lindsay King
The toughest part of tying goats for Cheyenne, Oklahoma, native Sealey Bottom is the fact that she is actually left handed. And this is why her sister Sydney, 17, is her biggest influence in the practice pen. “She is always telling me what I am doing wrong,” the 14-year-old joked. “I have had to learn a lot to do it right handed. She is right handed so that is why she is better at tying than me.” Tying is hard for anyone, right or left handed, and Sealey doesn’t think people know how much practice it takes to tie consistently. “I like getting off at a high rate of speed and grabbing the goat. It challenges me to get off going so fast and keep up to get the goat.” Sealey almost didn’t have a choice about getting into rodeo. Both her grandparents and parents, Brad and Kara, competed. She joked “I just kind of did it.”
Her current rodeo career today is all thanks to a plucky pony named Rockstar weaving through a set of poles. “I was probably four or five when I started loving rodeo because that pony was fun. And I’ve never looked back.” It was on another pony, this one named Gunsmoke, when 11-year-old Sealey tied in eight seconds for the first time. Her goal for this rodeo season is to tie in seven, consistently. “I am practicing on my ground work with the goat, making sure I keep my head down and tight to the goat. And getting his head out of the way when I go to tie.” During the summer Sealey and her sister have three-a-day practices. “In the morning we get on the horses and practice in the arena to make sure the horse is doing what he needs to. Then in the afternoon we tie without the horses and put it all together at night.”
Her long-distant goal is to tie a goat in six seconds, winning nationals. Well on her way to accomplishing these goals, Sealey ties at least 30 times every practice, if not more. And she is no stranger to the national stage. “I was going to make it to nationals in goats but I let my goat get up. My partner Raesh Casebolt and I won state in the ribbon roping and then took third at nationals.” Keeping it all in the family, Sealey’s ribbon roping partner is Foreman Casebolt this season. Her favorite trip to date was nationals, all the water fights and time spent with friends keeps Sealey working hard for a second trip. “My favorite place in Oklahoma would be the rodeo in Woodward. It is close to home, so I know all the places around there. And the basketball courts are right next to the arena, so we can go play there.”
The eighth grader at Cheyenne Public Schools runs track but basketball is her favorite sport, no question. “My coach says I am not really an offensive player, I am more defensive. I am scrappy and will steal the ball for a layup any chance I get.” Luckily, this aggressive athlete is also armed with a wicked sense of humor, a bit on the sarcastic side. Also a wiz at math, Sealey foresees herself being an anesthesiologist one day. “I would just really have to learn and memorize the medicine and then calculate doses. I just think it is really cool.” Though she is not sure where she wants to go, Sealy knows she wants to rodeo in college. Her dad always reminders her to never let “her highs get too high or lows get too low.”
