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Mid States Rodeo Association - East (MSRA-E)
Phone: (810) 252-4732
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Members
Meet the Member: Kali Carpenter
November 2, 2021
Story by Ruth Nicolaus The Mid States East Rodeo Association member lived in Texas for five years before moving back to her parents’ farm in Otisville, Michigan for the summer. And now she’s staying for good. A barrel racer, team roper and breakaway roper, Kali competed in NBHAs and IBRA events in her teens. In 2016, when she moved to Texas, she began competing in rodeos and became a Mid-States and International Pro Rodeo Association…
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Meet the Member Paxton Rodriguez
September 23, 2021
story by Ruth Nicolaus Over 240,000 people have seen Paxton Rodriguez’s work. That’s because his Tik Tok account, Boy_With_Rope, has that many followers. The Midstates Rodeo Association member, a resident of Clayton, Mich., is a trick roper, along with being a tie-down roper, team roper, and steer wrestler. At 21 years old, he’s the fourth generation of his family to be involved in rodeo, the third generation in the MidStates. His parents, Raul and Polly,…
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Meet the Member Alex Greene
November 19, 2020
story by Siri Stevens “We are proud that he is still following his dreams to compete in rodeo It’s tough being from Ohio to pursue that on a full time basis,” said Alex’s dad, Mark. 18-year-old Alex is majoring in Ag Business and Marketing at Southern Arkansas. “They have an outstanding rodeo facility and they are incredible,” said Mark, who is a mechanical engineer and came from a dairy background, not rodeo. “He just came…
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Meet the Member Tyler Foster
October 22, 2020
story by Siri Stevens Tyler Foster grew up going to rodeos. “My dad (Earl) and Uncle Allen were both steer wrestlers and team ropers. They had a rodeo company (A bar K Rodeo) up here (Ontario). “We started going over to the states when I was 18 – we were going over there to IPRA rodeos. From the IPRA we joined the MidStates – they have a great Finals. We’d go to Ohio and Michigan…
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Meet the Member Madison Iager
August 20, 2020
story by Michele Toberer As a first-generation rodeo athlete, Madison Iager got started in rodeo after first being interested in the rodeo queen life. “I didn’t have anyone in my family that rodeoed but in high school I wanted to be a rodeo queen; and while I was the Maryland High School Rodeo Queen in 2013 and 2014, I started barrel racing. I figured I could surely run a barrel pattern, but never really thought…
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Meet the Member Jake Hawkins
July 23, 2020
story by Michele Toberer “Jake The Snake” Hawkins is a 21-year-old Goshen, Indiana cowboy that mainly has roping steers on his mind. One of the main things he loves about roping, is the family time he gets to spend with his parents and three younger siblings. “When I was younger, I had to make a choice between soccer and rodeo, and I liked that with rodeo I spent more time with my family, so stuck…
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Meet the Member Kayla Keller
June 18, 2020
story by Michele Toberer In her fourth season of rodeo competition with the Mid-States Rodeo Association, Kayla Keller is looking forward to the rodeo season picking up again after a mid-season break due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Hastings, Michigan cowgirl competes in barrel racing and breakaway roping in the MSRA and is grateful to have rodeo as a part of her life. “I’ve made it a conscious decision to keep rodeo in my life.…
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Meet the Member Claudia Freier
April 15, 2020
story by Michele Toberer Claudia Freier was excited to finish 2019 as the Mid-States Rodeo Association Rookie Champion Breakaway Roper and reserve champion breakaway roper for the season after winning the average at the MSRA finals rodeo. Born and raised in Birch Run, Michigan, the first-generation cowgirl started out riding dressage horses when she was 10 years old, but once a friend from school introduced her to rodeo, there was no turning back. She started…
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Meet the Member Samantha Courville
March 19, 2020
story by Michele Toberer Samantha Courville of Kankakee, Illinois is very appreciative of her supportive family as well as the encouraging barrel racers of the Mid-States Rodeo Association. She was excited to step into the world of rodeo competition after barrel racing at jackpots for four years; and qualifying for the 2019 MSRA season finals her rookie year was icing on the cake for the 18-year-old cowgirl. “The MSRA made my first year of rodeo…
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Meet the Member Dakota Warnken
February 13, 2020
story by Michele Toberer With bull riding on his mind, Dakota Warnken of Wakarusa, Indiana couldn’t wait until he turned 18 so he could fulfill his adrenaline filled dreams. Rodeo was not a part of his upbringing, but somewhere inside, Dakota knew he was destined to be climbing in the bucking chute and chasing gold buckles 8 seconds at a time. Greg Warnken, Dakota’s dad, works as an RV hauler, and his mom, Lorie stays…
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Meet the Member Neal Borntrager
January 23, 2020
story by Michele Toberer “My whole life all I wanted to be was a cowboy, riding the ranges, and working cattle on a big ranch,” explained Neal Borntrager of Middlebury, Indiana. However, being a cowboy seemed like only a dream to Neal as he grew up in Riceville, Iowa as a part of the Amish community. He was surrounded by farms and animals, but thought being a cowboy was something that wouldn’t materialize for his…
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Meet the Member Rob Black
December 20, 2019
story by Michele Toberer Rob Black grew up on a family ranch in Bruneau, Idaho as one of the 9 children of Joe and Margaret Black. He and his seven brothers and one sister, spent their time riding, roping, and using all the skills needed to get the ranch work completed. In 1970, his senior year of high school, he started competing in rodeo, and rodeo has been a part of his life, off and…
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