By Magie Downares-Nevius
Taking an early lead in the CPRA breakaway standings, Teresa Brevik has already accumulated almost $2,000 in season winnings. The approximate five-year on again-off again member is a two-time finals qualifier in the event, but also extends her list of competition to the mixed team roping with younger brother (Calvin). “He‘s a very talented man inside and outside of the arena and he‘s always there to help me no matter whether it be roping, working or life,” Teresa says. “I would really like to make the finals in the mixed team roping this year with him.”
Growing up in Durango, Colo., Teresa got her start from her parents (Phil and Cindi) and has been roping since she was around 6 years old. “I caught my first calf at my very first rodeo and have been hooked since then,” she says. While Cindi grew up on a ranch, where riding and roping came naturally and showed a little on the side, she has been able to offer her help when needed and Phil roped as a long-time member of the PRCA and initially got his kids into the sport. “Dad worked on a bunch of outfits from northern Colo., Wyo., and Mont. The ranching side, along with hunting and fishing guides was one of the best rodeo training that we got,” Teresa says. Teresa faced the toughest obstacle of her life with the passing of her father in 2013. “He helped me to do a lot of things and is still my hero, but I feel that God puts us in a situation to find the good in everything,” she says. “I have discovered that the unexpected has opened my eyes that life is too short and if I want it, I have to go get it.”
The Farmington, N.M., resident is the Special Projects Director for the city of Bloomfield, where she obtains and manages the funding for projects, which leads her to overlooking such projects. “I have been with the city for four years, but in the position I am now, for two years,” she says. A Hodgkin Lymphoma survivor, Teresa, has been cancer free for 11 years, but continues to find the silver lining in her everyday activities. “It was a very humbling experience to go through as a junior in high school,” she recalled. The 28-year-old cowgirl spends her free time traveling the world for fun and is an advanced scuba diver. “I figure that if I want to do it, now is the time,” she says. Her expeditions have contributed to her setting her sights on her rodeo and life goals and will take every opportunity to accomplish what she heads out for.
