By Lily Weinacht
Trevor Reese from Boone, Colo., is a first generation cowboy, and this summer, the 18 year old made history in his family again, adding 2015 CSHSRA Bareback Riding Champion to his list of firsts.
Having won the NLBRA World Champion Senior Boys Bareback Riding title in 2014, Trevor went into state finals this year confident he could take first again. “I was able to get maxed out on high school points this spring and rodeo with the CPRA. I think taking a break from high school rodeos helped me get my mind off state finals, and not overthink it,” he explains.
On July 3rd, however, Trevor broke his left leg competing in a CPRA rodeo, taking him out of the running for not only the NHSFR, but also the IFYR and NLBFR. Yet his sportsmanship has shown throughout the weeks of recovery. “I can’t complain too much,” he says. “I believe God makes everything happen for a reason!” Trevor competed in the NHSFR for the first time last year, and returned this year to watch from the bleachers and cheer his teammates on. “I was real proud to see them perform well, and it was a nice way to end my high school career,” he says, also going to watch a round of the NLBFR in Pueblo.
Trevor’s rodeo career began around his freshman year of high school. He grew up showing pigs in 4-H and helping his family farm until a neighbor across the highway, Paul Scholtz, put on a Western day at his house. “It was an event for kids to come experience rodeo, and I asked him if I could get on a bucking horse,” Trevor recalls. “I rode my first horse at a jackpot and won $50, and it’s been a wild ride ever since! Rodeo has changed my life, and I wouldn’t be anywhere close to where I am today without it. My entire family and all of my friends have done nothing but support and encourage me, and I owe them the world for that. Plus I’ve had the sponsorship of Rockin’ B Feed and Supply out of Colorado Springs.” This spring, he was also the winner of an American hat signed by Tuf Cooper, which now hangs in Trevor’s room.
Trevor lives with his parents, Dana and Wendie, near Boone. Dana is a full time diesel mechanic, while Trevor has helped his dad fix pickups since he was knee high. The family also enjoys hunting, fishing, and water skiing, though Trevor has stayed closer to home since his accident. “I’ve been lifting a lot of upper body weights and finding as many crossword puzzles as I can. I’ve also been teaching myself guitar.” Last summer, Trevor served as a co-instructor for a rodeo Bible camp in La Veta, Colo. “I was honored and really humbled to fill a position like that,” he says.
Presently, Trevor is packing for college, leaving in late August for Garden City Community College in Kansas. He is going on a rodeo scholarship, and anticipates his leg being healed in time for college rodeo. He adds, “I’d like to study for farm and ranch management, but I’m also fascinated with psychology and behavioral analysis.”
Trevor’s primary goal is to keep himself healthy, but he finishes, “I’m motivated to rodeo by two things. First is the atmosphere of rodeo and the big family that’s there to help each other out. We’re not competing against each other, but competing together against a pen of horses or steers. Second, I hope someday to stand on a stage in Las Vegas for the WNFR and tip my hat, and be proud of the fact that I wouldn’t be there or anywhere else without Jesus Christ, who died on the cross to forgive all of us of our sins. I hope to use the rodeo platform to share how much God loves us and the things He does for us.”
