story by Ruth Nicolaus
Zane Kreikemeier is a Cornhusker-turned-Okie.
The Nebraska High School Rodeo Association member moved to Marlow, Oklahoma with his family in March, but spent much of the last three months in Nebraska, staying with his cousin, Coy Johnston, in Stapleton, Neb., so he could finish high school rodeo.
A tie-down roper and team roper, his calf horse is a sixteen-year-old mare named Chance, who was started by his parents as a five-year-old. Zane rode her for the breakaway and put some time into her for the tie-down.
His head horse (he heads for Coy) is an eight-year-old buckskin named Buster. Zane trained him and cracked him out last fall, which didn’t go as smoothly as he’d have liked. But this spring season, Buster has done better, as he’s getting used to all the activity at a rodeo.
He took his final year of class online, which worked well for his rodeo schedule but was a bit difficult when it came to Spanish class. “But I got through it,” he said. He usually did his classwork from 8 am to noon on Monday through Wednesday, and by then his schoolwork was done and he could rope, help his dad, and do other things.
For fun, Zane likes to fish at his grandparents’ place in North Dakota. Walleye is the usual catch, and even though he’s not a big fan of fish, he likes fried walleye. He also likes to hunt coyotes and raccoons.
If he was given $1 million, he would buy a place with an indoor arena, where he could train horses and buy and sell them.
This fall, he will attend Western Oklahoma State University in Altus on a rodeo scholarship to pursue a major in agribusiness. After Western Oklahoma State, he may attend a welding and fabrication school.
Eventually, Zane like to have his own welding and fabrication shop, train horses and pro rodeo. Wherever he lands, it will be in the southern states. “I am not a fan of cold weather,” he said.
Zane has competed at the state finals each year of his high school career. His sophomore year, he qualified for the National High School Finals Rodeo in the team roping. His junior year, he missed qualifying for Nationals by a half-point in the tie-down.
Starting a new horse this year made for a tough go, but in the first round at state finals, he won the tie-down and finished second in the team roping. He’s excited to begin college rodeo.
He is the son of Jeff and Wanda Kreikemeier.
