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 Gunnar Tipton

story by Lindsay Humphrey “I was born carrying a rope.” It’s a bold statement from 14-year-old Gunnar Tipton who’s been roping calves and heels competitively since he was just 8 years old. “I have loved roping ever since I started,” said the soon-to-be high school freshman. There’s one roping memory that will stick with Gunnar for the rest of his life. “I was riding one of my uncle’s old horses at a little rodeo series…

Meet the Member Riley Ybarra

story by Lindsay Humphrey “This season has been heartbreaking; we were all looking forward to our last hoorah of our junior high years. But it happens and we can’t do anything about it, so we have just moved on and kept practicing so when we get to next year, we are ready,” said Riley Kade Ybarra. Just like the rest of rodeo nation, Riley’s entire season was canceled on account of quarantine. Unfortunately, it was…

Meet the Member Maylin Navarrette

story by Lindsay King Like many junior high rodeo competitors, Maylin Navarrette’s last year in the NMJHSRA came to a screeching halt this spring. She’s keeping her head up and putting a positive spin on the situation. “I have some young horses that I need to train and work on. Without the spring rodeo season, I had more time to get them in shape and ready for next year,” said the wise 13-year-old. Maylin, or…

Meet the Member Justin Anaya

story by Lindsay King “Rodeo is about the losing factor, you aren’t always going to win in life. You have to set goals and work hard towards those,” said Justin Anaya from Stanley, New Mexico. “Ranching is pretty much the same thing, you have to figure out what you want and how to manage your cows, what you have to spend on feed and have a good amount left so you don’t go broke.” Life…

Meet the Member Kye Saulsberry

story by Lindsay King “I wanted to learn how to rope because it was something that my dad (Todd) enjoyed and then I ended up really liking it too,” said Kye Saulsberry. Her dad was a professional tie-down roper in his younger days. He’s probably taught Kye the most about roping, riding and rodeo. The 14-year-old was only four when she started running barrels at local playdays. “I was probably eight when I started learning…

Meet the Member Ike Cline

story by Lindsay King Pietown, New Mexico: if you blink, you’ll miss it. At least that’s how Ike Cline describes his hometown. It’s the type of place where K-12 are educated in the same building and all of his classmates go out for all of the sports teams. It’s quiet, it’s western, it’s perfect for this 13-year-old. It’s also where the Ike’s family has ranched since the 1913. “I come from a long line of…

Meet the Member Braxton McKinley

story by Lindsay King Braxton McKinley grew up watching ropers from the sidelines until he decided to join in on the fun. “My whole family has roped forever and I just like that I get to follow in their footsteps. My dad (JD) used to have roping clinics at the house and I always liked watching them until I got to jump in there and I fell in love with it,” said the 13-year-old about…

Meet the Member Jorgia Nixon

story by Lindsay King Jorgia Nixon might be riding hand-me-down horses, but she’s more than just a passenger. As a six-event rodeo competitor, it takes a lot of skill to constantly switch horses. “I was born on a ranch, so I have ridden for most of my life,” said the 12-year-old. Forever referring to the past nine years. At six years old Jorgia began her rodeo career in the barrels and poles at play days…

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…