story by Laurie Dineen
Wyatt Wollert calls Wiley, Colo., home with his family, dad- Waco, mom- Danielle and sister- Wayttyn (age 11).b“We have a small feedlot so I help my dad with those cattle and we also calve out more than 500 heifers every year,” said Wyatt. “I enjoy staying at the calving barn and can even pull a calf if there are problems. From April until about June, I spend a lot of time helping with spring brandings. I love to rope, brand, and flank calves with my friends and family.”
Growing up around cattle and horses, it is no surprise that Wyatt also loves to rodeo. A CJRA member since 2010, he has proven himself as quite a hand and a tuff competitor. Wyatt was the 2011 CJRA PeeWee Champion flag racer and All-Around Champion, the 2012 CJRA Junior Boy Rookie of the Year, and the 2016 CJRA Winter Series Junior Ribbon Roping Champion. He also was a NLBRA Member and NLBFR Short Round Qualifier in Breakaway Roping.
This 13 year old will be competing in his last year as a Jr. Boy this summer and hopes to have a very successful year. He will be competing in chute dogging, ribbon roping, team roping, breakaway roping, and goat tying. “I would like to win as many saddles as he can. My personal goal for the year is to rope every calf and steer so I can have a great season,” he exclaimed. Participating in the CJRA Winter Series this year was a great confidence builder for him. “My partner, Wacey Day and I had a 9 second ribbon roping run during the CJRA winter series in March. That was a great feeling and I hope we have lots of runs like that during the regular season.”
Wyatt attributes a lot of his success to his mount, Freckles. “He is my main horse and I can use him in every event. He is pretty special because he has been in my family since I was born and my sister and I both ride him. I won the pee wee flag saddle on him in 2011 and my sister won the pee wee barrel racing and goat tying saddles on him in 2014. He also helped my sister win two barrel saddles in 2015 at open races,” said Wyatt. There are several other people that have also helped Wyatt along the way. “Fred Sherwood, the Lamar Community College rodeo coach, has helped me for several years and I’ve also learned a lot from Cole Dorenkamp and Jace Honey. My rodeo heroes include Clay O’Brien Cooper and Luke Branquino and I have learned a lot from watching them.My mom and dad also help me with practice at home.”
In addition to the CJRA, Wyatt also likes to enter ranch rodeos. “I’ve competed on teams in the traditional format and the scramble format and I like the scramble format the best,” he said. “Every team member is in the arena and doing all events at once. I like the fast-paced action of the scramble and I get to complete with guys who are a lot older than me. In ranch rodeos you have to be able to head, heel, and read cattle and I like all of those things.”
Wyatt attends Wiley Junior High and as an 8th grader, his favorite class in school is social studies. “Mrs. Piner is one of the best teachers I’ve ever had and I can relate the stuff we are studying to the places I have traveled.” Wyatt has been able to travel to many places with his mom like Phoenix, Arizona, Las Vegas, Nevada, Virginia Beach, Virginia, and Nashville, Tennessee. “This July, we are traveling to Washington D.C. for a 4-H leadership conference,” Wyatt said. A 4-H member for many years, Wyatt has raised chickens and sold eggs for as long as he can remember. “I have been the supreme champion poultry showman for 4 of the past 5 years at our county fair. My favorite breed is Buff Orpington because they show well with their golden color, are good egg layers, and have a gentle disposition.”
When not in school, rodeoing, showing at 4-H or helping his dad with their cattle, Wyatt likes to also play football, basketball and throw the shot and discus in track, in addition to hunting and fishing. “My favorite place to fish is at the S Lazy U Trout Club near Creede, Colo., and my favorite person to hunt coyotes with is my uncle Neil.”
This well rounded cowboy is also setting his long-term goals to college rodeo and after that he would like to make it to the NFR in the team roping and steer wrestling. Wyatt is definitely proof that there are enough hours in a day and where there is a will, there is a way!
