New Mexico Junior High School Rodeo Association (NMJHSRA) Archives

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New Mexico Junior High School Rodeo Association (NMJHSRA)

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Members

Meet the Member Rylee Strickland

story by Lindsay King Thirteen-year-old Rylee Strickland is a six-event athlete in rodeo. This Artesia, New Mexico, cowgirl even has one horse for each event: heading, breakaway roping, ribbon roping, barrels, poles and goat tying. It’s difficult balancing school and rodeo, but Rylee wouldn’t trade it for the world. She gets a lot of help from her parents, Jody and Jessica, as well as her 12-year-old brother, Hayden. “My dad was a team roper, so…

Meet the Member Laramie Martinez

story by Lindsay King Laramie Martinez was privy to swinging a loop from the back of a horse long before he got to do it on his own accord. “I was team roping at a USTRC jackpot when I was six months pregnant with Laramie and I didn’t know it. As soon as he was born he wanted to be bareback on a horse,” said Monteal, Laramie’s mom. As soon as Laramie could hold something…

Meet the Member Cade Figg

story by Lindsay King “Going into state finals I was on the bubble and then I had two really good rounds. I was in third and all I had to do was get my short round calf tied,” said Cade Figg. In an instant, Cade’s dreams of his first trip to Nationals in his favorite event were dashed. “I missed my short round calf, I think because of a lack of focus and determination. It…

Meet the Member Cooper Wood

story by Lindsay King It was on the back of a five-year-old mare that Cooper Wood hand-picked himself that he roped his way to a state championship and a trip to nationals. “My grandpa and I went to a horse sale Clovis to look for a horse and I told him we needed to look at this one, but he didn’t like that she was a mare. I went back and took some videos of…

Meet the Member Kadin Jodie

story by Lindsay King Crownpoint, New Mexico, cowgirl Kadin Jodie proved she is wicked fast with a rope both aimed at a calf and a steer. At state finals she took third overall in the breakaway roping and fourth in the team roping for her inaugural trip to junior high nationals. This isn’t her first trip to nationals per say, but it was the first time Kadin got to compete on the stage. “I was…

Meet the Member Dawson Gurule

story by Lindsay King Dawson Gurule was first introduced to rodeo through its agricultural roots. He is an avid sheep showman, among other things, in his local 4-H club and judges pasture rangeland with his FFA chapter. Privy to a buddy’s chute dogging practice, Dawson got the idea he should try to wrestle at least one steer since he was there. “I ended up giving it a try and I liked it. And now here…

Meet the Member Cole Northcutt

story by Lindsay King In Hobbs, New Mexico, Cole Northcutt can usually be found on the back of a horse swinging a loop. The 12-year-old lives and breathes the western way of life and rodeo. Growing up on a ranch all but required it. “Ranching with my parents (Chris and Julie) is fun. I get to go out and be around cows every day.” Branding in the spring is easily his favorite part of it…

Meet the Member Jordyn Wamel

story by Lindsay King Blazing through the poles at a blistering 21.3 seconds is Jordyn Wamel in her favorite rodeo event. The seventh grade NMJHSRA competitor from Las Cruces, New Mexico, also runs barrels, ties goats and snatches ribbons. As soon as Jordyn starts weaving through the poles, she is at home. “I get kind of nervous barreling down the arena because I am worried about hitting a pole. As soon as I make the…

Meet the Member Jacee Burney

story by Lindsay King Jacee Burney can remember the happiest day in her life: the Friona, Texas, cowgirl caught her first calf in a rodeo and captured third place in the process. At a High Plains Junior Rodeo Association event in Lovington, seven-year-old Jacee threw her first competitive breakaway loop for a catch. “My dad (Cody) rodeoed before me and is a cowboy, so he just started putting me in play days when I was…

Meet the Member Brock Boutwell

story by Lindsay King Finishing in the top 20 at nationals last summer wasn’t the first shock of July for Brock Boutwell from Clint, Texas. “I got sixth place in the second round, now that really shocked me. As a sixth grader I thought the other kids would smoke me because they were homeschooled and got to rope all day every day on multiple horses,” said the 12-year-old with a strong hankering for the breakaway…

Meet the Member Morgan Adams

story by Lindsay King “I have had a rope in my hand since I was little. When I got on a horse and roped my first steer for my dad to heel, it was the best feeling in the world,” said Morgan Adams, a Taos, New Mexico, triple threat in the roping events. He heads, heels and ropes calves in the tie-down and ribbons. Although, it’s a no-brainer for Morgan that tie-down roping is his…

Meet the Member Sterlin Mitchell

story by Lindsay King The first buckle 13-year-old Sterlin Mitchell ever won came as a bit of a surprise. The NMJHSRA breakaway roper waited outside the arena for his next event when he heard his named called as the breakaway champion of the junior rodeo in Farmington. “I didn’t know I had won it at first, but I placed well enough both days I guess. I was the only one to catch both of my…