Written by: Siri Stevens

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Taylor Donaldson is a tie-down roper and team roper in the Kansas High School Rodeo Association. The 18 year old cowboy, who lives in Kiowa, prefers the tie-down roping over the team roping, mostly because “I like to get out there, and I like the action. I don’t like to just sit on my horse, like in the team roping.”

This spring, he’s going to break out a green horse, a fifteen year old sorrel named Freck who he’s been working with all winter. His heading horse is an eighteen year old bay named C.D., who was raised by the family. Taylor heads for Cole Quaney, from Cheney, Kan.

He is a senior at South Barber High School in Kiowa. His family moved to Kiowa from Louisburg, Kan., which is just south of Kansas City and Taylor went from being in a class of 200 to twenty, which was a big adjustment, but he loves the rural area. The best part is there are more opportunities to rope, but the down side is that if you want to go out to eat, there aren’t many choices. The closest fast food is in Alva, Okla., twenty miles south. But he loves it that “everybody knows you, you know everybody. You can go down the road and talk to everybody.”

The best part of school is that his two hours of work study at the end of the day are for riding colts and team roping. He makes sure he rides colts pretty quick so he can rope. He plays on the South Barber High School Chieftain football team and basketball team. He is a member of FFA, a member of KAY (Kansas Association for Youth), on the honor roll, and is the Senior Class Student Council Representative.

Taylor also competes in the National Little Britches Rodeo Association, and qualified for their finals last year in the tie-down and team roping. This fall, he will attend Northwestern Oklahoma State in Alva, major in Ag Business, and compete in both roping events.

His older sister  Tiffany competed in college rodeo, and his older brother, Trevor, competed in the tie-down roping, steer wrestling, and team roping in high school rodeo. He is the son of Scott and Denise Donaldson.