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Kansas Professional Rodeo Association (KPRA)
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Members
Meet the Member Jaylyn Hash
May 18, 2023
story by Lindsay Humphrey Rodeo was and is a key component of Jaylyn Hash’s everyday life. Not only does he compete in three events – calf roping, steer wrestling and team roping – but he’s also bullfighting on a regular basis at the amateur, collegiate and professional level. “I’m a third-generation cowboy, my mom’s uncle – Bud Jennings – owns J&J Rodeo Company,” said the Garden City Community College rodeo athlete. “I’ve been around stock…
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Meet the Member Makaylah Rhodes
May 2, 2023
story by Lindsay Humphrey “In the KPRA, everybody welcomes you in like they’ve known you their whole life,” said Makaylah Rhodes who’s originally from Eagle Point, Oregon, but made her way to Dodge City by way of a rodeo scholarship in 2019 to the community college. “It’s a really good community of people. There are so many people in it, like Leon, that treat me like family, and I know that every rodeo I go…
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Meet the Member Colby Houlton
March 1, 2023
story by Lindsay Humphrey In Kiowa, Kansas, just about everything is as deeply rooted in family as it gets. That’s especially true for Colby Houlton who’s now the seventh generation working on the family farm and ranch in the southern part of the state. “Ever since I could walk, I wanted to be horseback,” said the KPRA tie-down roper. “Most of my immediate family has rodeoed at some point in their life. My started out…
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Meet the Member K Lee Jones
January 19, 2023
story by Lindsay Humphrey You can’t keep a good man down. That’s what members of the KPRA, and anyone who knows him, will say about K Lee Jones from Garden City, Kansas. He’s the guy who didn’t have a strong connection to rodeo when he was a kid but found his way behind the chutes anyways. “My cousin, Skeeter, rode bulls and I watched him at the Little Britches finals one year,” he said. “I…
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Meet the Member Scott Vander Hamm
September 23, 2022
story by Lindsay Humphrey “I like that the people in the KPRA are good, hard-working folks who generally compete as a hobby,” said Scott Vander Hamm from Ingalls, Kansas. “Mostly, it’s full of people who I can send my kids off with and not have to worry about them.” When Scott first got to Kansas, he competed in the KPRA and even made the finals for a few years. When his boys – Jhett, 16,…
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Meet the Committee Shelbie Rose
August 18, 2022
Story by Lindsay Humphrey Wife, mother, daughter, roper, friend and rodeo coach. Those are just a few ways to pinpoint Shelbie Rose who grew up in Colorado but rodeoed in the Sunflower State and found her way to Oklahoma Panhandle State University in Goodwell. “I started roping when I was 9 and that was more fun than running barrels or tying goats for me,” she said. “My parents didn’t really rodeo, but they grew up…
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Meet the Member Clay Casper
July 21, 2022
story by Lindsay Humphrey When Clay Casper and his brothers – Ty and Wyatt – turned 18, their dad, John, made them all get their CDL. This was a safeguard to make sure the boys always had a job option in their back pocket. While pursuing a degree in agricultural communications from West Texas A&M University in Canyon, Clay didn’t anticipate using that CDL again. “My plan was to use my degree to teach so…
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Meet the Committee 65th Annual Kingfisher Rodeo
June 22, 2022
story by Lindsay Humphrey What was once the capital of the Oklahoma territory – Kingfisher – is now the host of a rodeo that celebrates 65 consecutive years in 2022 this August 5-6. A member of the Cross family has been involved for every single one of those years. Sherrie Cross is now co-chairman of this year’s Kingfisher rodeo and she’s been working hard to make the event something spectators and competitors alike can look…
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Meet the Committee Leeann Ridley
May 19, 2022
story by Lindsay Humphrey Leeann Ridley gets pulled in a million different directions on any given day. Most weekends during the summer, she’s either headed towards Kansas or Oklahoma, whichever is hosting a KPRA event. “We live in the southeast corner of the state (Las Animas, Colorado), so we’re only 80 miles from Kanas or Oklahoma,” said the KPRA barrel racer. “A lot of the rodeos we can go to and then come home that…
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Meet the Vici Rodeo Club
April 25, 2022
story by Lindsay Humphrey It’s been almost 25 years since Vici, Oklahoma, hosted a regular rodeo in the Vici Rodeo Club Arena. In its place, the town started a ranch rodeo to honor the foundation of the community. This is the year Vici switches things up again and reverts back to a rodeo with the regular events. “We decided it was time to have a real rodeo again, so we’re going to try it,” said…
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Meet the Member Billy Peters
March 17, 2022
story by Lindsay Humphrey Long-time Sublette, Kansas, native Billy Peters is a self-proclaimed late bloomer in the world of rodeo. Compared to his peers at the time, high school seniors, he was definitely behind the ball, but he’s proven that it’s never too late to get started in the toughest sport on dirt. “I’m not even sure what originally drew me to team roping, I think I had some friends who were doing it and…
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Meet the Member Tate Pollmeier
July 22, 2021
story by Lindsay Humphrey Fort Scott, Kansas, cowboy Tate Pollmeier lives and breathes bull riding. If he isn’t riding one himself or thinking about his next mount, he’s helping his parents, Mark and Jaime, buck one of their 17 bulls at home. “My dad started riding bulls when he was 18 and moved to Fort Scott for college, which is where he met my mom,” said the 17-year-old. “They bought some rodeo cows and now…
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