story by Ruth Nicolaus
The Smithfield, Utah girl was crowned at the end of her eighth grade year last summer. It was her third rodeo title. She served as the Cache County Fair and Rodeo Princess in 2013, and as the Hyrum Star Spangled Banner Junior Rodeo Queen in 2014.
She also competes in the pole bending and will add two more events this spring, the breakaway and the reined cow horse.
She has two horses in her rodeo barn. Dandy, her pole horse, is a bay who is seventeen hands tall and has a lot of character and attitude, she says. Sometimes when she’s riding him, he’ll just stop and “act like he’s done.” Cayenne, her queening horse, is a buckskin who is fourteen hands tall. She has an attitude, but not as bad as Dandy’s.
She is a freshman at North Cache School in Richmond, where she loves everything about school. Math is her favorite class.
She is a member of 4-H and loves to help younger girls prepare for pageants. Daughters of family friends often come to her for advice and help in preparing for modeling and interviews.
In her spare time, Taylor loves to shop. Her weakness is boots, and she estimates her closet has about twelve pairs, all different colors and styles. The good thing is that her mom wears the same size, so they raid each other’s closets.
She has competed at state finals her seventh and eighth grade years, both times in the poles.
When she grows up, she’d like to be a neurosurgeon. The brain and how it works interests her, and she’d like to be able to help those who have suffered brain trauma.
Taylor has an older sister, Marissa, who is 20. She is the daughter of Tyler and Tacy Hymas.
