story by Lily Weinacht
Yancie McCuistion competes in the CSHSRA in every rodeo event, save the saddle bronc riding. The 18 year old from Sugar City, Colo., gave up high school sports this school year to focus on rodeo, and the sacrifice has been rewarding. He is currently leading the all-around and the bareback riding in the association, while Yancie also competes in the bull riding, tie-down roping, team roping, steer wrestling, and reined cow horse. “I’ve put in all this time and effort, and I’m working to be the best one day!” says Yancie. “I love the sport and the competitiveness. It’s all on you – you can’t blame somebody else when you don’t win or you buck off, so you have to make yourself better.”
Coming from a rodeo family, Yancie’s dad, Curt McCuistion, rode saddle broncs in the PRCA, sitting in the top 20 in the world for several years, while Yancie’s mom, Farrah McCuistion, is a former barrel racer. “I look up to my parents, and also my grandpa, Jim McCuistion,” says Yancie. “He helps me with team roping quite a bit and takes me to all my rodeos, and he provides the livestock for me to practice. My dad was also a really good bull rider, and now he trains horses, so he helps me with my horsemanship and bull riding. Another person who’s helped me a lot in tie-down roping is Frank Grant, a good friend of my grandpa’s.”
Competing in at least five events per rodeo proves demanding, but Yancie, who won CSHSRA Rookie of the Year in 2014, has learned how to compete successfully on both ends of the arena. “I get pretty sore, so I work out quite a bit and stay conditioned – I think that helps a lot,” he explains. “The rodeo knows I’m pretty much doing all the events, so they’re patient with me.”
Of all his events, Yancie particularly enjoys team roping and steer wrestling. “I head in high school for Logan Kenline and heel in the CJRA, and I make my own horses, so it’s a blast for me! In steer wrestling, I just like the adrenaline rush. Not many people like jumping off a horse, but it’s grown on me.” Yancie qualified for the 2015 NHSFR in bull riding, bareback riding, and steer wrestling, while he also competed in the IFYR.
Since he was driving 30 minutes every day to go practice at his grandpa’s ranch, Yancie recently moved to the ranch outside of Sugar City. His younger brother, Crowley, will occasionally join him in the roping pen, and their younger sister, Chaney, is an avid basketball player. Yancie lives in a piece of roper heaven with 100 head of Corriente steers to practice on, and his friends often come practice with him. The 30 head of horses he rides include his rodeo horses, Jewels, his steer wrestling horse, Boss, his head horse, and Bamber, his mount in the tie-down roping. Yancie also has a business starting colts, which he trains while working on his grandpa’s ranch, or doing day work for neighbors.
A senior at Crowley County High School, Yancie’s favorite part of the day is his weights class. He is eager to graduate this spring, and he’s narrowing down his choice of colleges, having been offered several rodeo scholarships. “I’d like to get a real estate degree, and then my plan is to compete in all of my events for the first two years of college,” says Yancie. “After that, I’ll pick my top three. I want to have a mentality like Trevor Brazile – he picked the three events he was good at and it paid off!” Yancie finishes, “I’d like to make the College National Finals and win it, and I plan on rodeoing on the PRCA Mountain States Circuit and going to the NFR!”
