Roundup 2023 - Jackson Hole Rodeo Program

Table of Contents

5 HOLD ON TIGHT

Learn the difference between saddle bronc, bareback and bull riding and what Mutton Bustin’ is, among other details of how rodeo disciplines work.

6 RODEO ROYALTY

Each night of the rodeo, Western princesses float around the arena on horseback and mingle with fans in the stands. Read about this year’s rodeo pageant and who won the crowns.

7

GOIN

’ PRO

Jackson Hole’s rodeo serves as a pipeline of sorts to the highest levels of the sport nationwide.

8 THE LATINO CONNECTION

Jose and Joe Alejos, of Afton, are a father and son rodeo team with Guatemalan roots.

14 RODEO GALS

Gracie Hardeman and Kasey Carr were not only born to rodeo, some say they were born with their boots on.

18 NAMES AND NUMBERS

Find where your favorite contestants ranked at the end of the 2022 season.

18 AUTOGRAPHS

PUBLISHER

Adam Meyer

EDITOR

Johanna Love

MANAGING EDITOR

Rebecca Huntington

Section EDITOR

Mark Baker

Photographers

Bradly J. Boner, Kathryn Ziesig, Ryan Dorgan, Natalie Behring

EDITORIAL DESIGN

Andy Edwards

COPY EDITORS

Jennifer Dorsey, Mark Huffman

WRITERS

Mark Baker, Miranda De Moraes, Mia Fishman, Tom Hallberg, Kate Ready, Evan Robinson-Johnson

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Sarah Wilson

ADVERTISING DESIGN

Lydia Redzich, Heather Haseltine, Luis Ortiz, Chelsea Robinson

ADVERTISING SALES Managers

Karen Brennan, Tom Hall, Megan LaTorre, Tatum Mentzer

DIGITAL CAMPAIGN MANAGER

Tatum Mentzer

PRODUCTION

PRODUCTION MANAGER: Dale Fjeldsted

PREPRESS MANAGER: Lewis Haddock

PRESS SUPERVISOR: Stephen Livingston

PRESSMEN

Nick Hoskins, Robert Heward, Gunner Heller

CIRCULATION MANAGER: Kyra Griffin CIRCULATION

Oscar Garcia-Perez, Rulinda Roice

A saddle bronc rider prepares for his turn at the Jackson Hole Rodeo.

Learn the arena events of the Jackson Hole Rodeo

By Tom Hallberg

So you’re ready for the rodeo. You bought a pair of cowboy boots. You went to Pendleton and nabbed a pearl-snap. You got a Stetson or a felt full-brim hat. Maybe you even wiggled into a pair of Wranglers. You can walk into the stands of the Teton County rodeo arena, and no one is going to look at you sideways as you take your seat and sip your Coors: You look the part. But for all your good looks, when the action starts you’re completely lost. The rodeo is like some alien sport.

Have no fear; with this trusty guide you can follow the action without looking lost. Keep this in your pocket, or study it in your hotel room before you head to the fairgrounds. That way, when people are raving about their favorite saddle bronc rider at the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar later tonight, you’ll be able to join in the conversation.

Saddle Bronc Riding

Keep the hand free.

In rodeo’s classic event, riders start with their heels above the point of the horse’s shoulders as it makes its first move out of the chute, which is called “marking out the horse.” With one hand gripping a rope attached to the horse’s halter, the rider must stay securely seated for eight seconds. But it’s not simply a matter of hanging on.

According to the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, riders often call saddle bronc riding the hardest rodeo event, because they must have style and grace, mirroring their movements to the horse’s bucking for a fluid ride. That free hand, usually cast upward like that of a congregant in a revival tent, cannot touch the rider’s body or the horse at any time in the eight seconds. After marking out the horse as it leaves the chute, the rider must spur in a pendulum motion, going from the point of the shoulders to the back of the saddle.

How to win: First, stay on the whole time. Second, look better than everyone else, meaning a fluid ride synchronized with the horse, with control of the horse’s bucking motion. Riders are scored out of 100 points, with 50% coming from the rider and 50% from the horse.

Bareback Riding

“Like riding a jackhammer with one hand.”

The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association spares nothing when describing this event, in which riders sit astride a horse with little more than a leather strap attached around its withers, the spot between the shoulder blades. As in saddle bronc riding, when the horse leaves the chute the rider must “mark out” the horse or face disqualification.

As the horse bucks, a rider must employ a pendulum-swing spurring motion, with the spurs curled back from the horse’s shoulders on the buck and out over the shoulders on the descent.

Don’t touch the animal or yourself with

the free hand — that disqualifies a rider.

How to win: It’s quite similar to saddle bronc riding. Stay on for eight seconds. Spur correctly. Judges score the rider based on the spurring, and they score the animal based on how hard it tries to buck its rider, if it changes direction and if it fully extends its legs while it bucks.

Bull Riding

For those who don’t think riding a horse bareback is daring enough, try bull riding. It has the same setup as bareback horse riding — stay on for eight seconds hanging on by a piece of rope tied around the animal’s chest — but the animal is a 2,000-pound behemoth with horns.

Riders are not required to mark out

their animals as they leave the chute, probably because staying on for eight seconds is a feat in and of itself. Spurring is also not required, again, because they’re simply holding on for dear life.

The unpredictability of the bull’s movements makes this one of the most exciting — and dangerous — events at the rodeo. Bulls dart side to side, buck back and forth and sometimes spin in circles. Think Muhammad Ali’s footwork combined with Shaquille O’Neal’s body.

How to win: Hold on. Any rider who actually makes it eight seconds stands a good chance of winning, but judges also give credence to those who can employ spurring techniques or look good while they hang on.

Team Roping

The synchronized swimming of rodeo, team roping requires a pair of horse riders to precisely wrangle a racing steer. The riders start on either side of the chute, and the quarry is given a head start across the arena. The header breaks first after the steer reaches its “advantage point.” The heeler follows.

The point of the event is in the name: team roping. The header ropes first, aiming for the horns and head and, once the steer is caught, swings it to the left so that the heeler can attempt to catch both hind legs in his lariat. The header has only three legal catches: around the horns, around one horn or around the neck; catch anything else and the team is disqualified.

The clock stops when both riders have roped the steer, their lines are taut and their horses are facing one another.

How to win: Do it the fastest. This is a timed event, not a scored one, so the basic premise is to be the speediest team. However, teams can be assessed penalties for a couple of things. If the header breaks before the steer reaches the advantage point, that’s a 10-second penalty, and if the heeler manages to wrap only one hind leg, that’s a five-second penalty.

Barrel Racing

As with most rodeo events, the name is fairly descriptive of what the competition looks like: Three barrels are set in a triangular pattern in the arena, and the horse and rider start outside the racing area. The timer starts when they pass the starting line.

The rider takes a clover-leaf line,

PRICE CHAMBERS / NEWS&GUIDE

Bareback riding is one of the most popular events at the Jackson Hole Rodeo.

A bull rider holds on in an attempt to make the eight-second mark at the Jackson Hole Rodeo.

PRICE CHAMBERS / NEWS&GUIDE

Team roping requires riders to work together to wrangle that critter.

See WILD RIDES

Rodeo royalty gets a makeover

Turnout has declined, but those who wear the crowns still bring passion.

By Kate Ready

If the Teton County Rodeo Royalty program were a pine log cabin, it was ready for a new foundation. Amidst a program restructuring with new rules, turnout dipped this year with four competitors compared with last year’s 11.

The two-day pageant was moved from August to May, new age groupings were put in place, the Lady in Waiting crown for the Queen title evaporated, and now the program has stricter requirements for community involvement.

“We changed the title age groups to mimic the state of Wyoming royalty rules,” Teton County Royalty Coordinator Amy Renova explained.

Rat her than five title positions, each with two attendants, the royalty program now has only four titles with one attendant each: PeeWee Princess (ages 7-10), Junior Princess (1114), Senior Princess (15-19) and Miss Teton County Queen (20-26), with one attendant each.

On May 11, after two nights of competition, the revamped program crowned the winners of the 2023 Teton County’s Rodeo Royalty in the Heritage Arena of the Fairgrounds.

In her third time competing, 13-year-old Ella Hatch, from Moran, received the year’s top crown for Junior Princess.

A passionate member of the 4-H Club, Ella has two Grand Champion buckles under her belt for rodeo in Wyoming. Her confidence and composure on her horse, Easy, shone through, snagging her the win in the horsemanship category as well as in modeling and sp eeches.

Ella’s competitors were both crowned on May 11, too, in an act that broke the new rules but honored the commitment of the young women as the future of the new program.

Margaret Dornan, 14, is the First Junior Attendant. Thi s year’s Miss Congeniality, 13-year-old Bailey Cook, snagged the Second Junior Attendant with Lucila Scharp, 11, crowned as the Pee Wee Princess.

Royalty represent Teton County throughout the year at different town events as ambassadors of Western heritage, helping laypeople understand the s port of rodeo and its deep roots to the history of Jackson Hole.

Ella wanted to compete in order to carry the flag at the rodeo, said her mother, Kelly.

Margaret, the First Junior Attendant who also won in the personal interview category, said the same.

“I went to a lot of rodeos with Ella [Hatch] last summer,” Margaret said. “I talked to some of the girls who did it

and saw how much fun they were having. It’s a dream of mine.”

Dornan is a fifth-generation Jacksonite whose great-great-grandmother, Evelyn Dornan, homesteaded on the Snake River. It was her first time competing.

“A level of comfort sets in when you’re on your horse,” Ella said. “The speech was nervewracking. The program definitely develops your public speaking skills.”

Next up for Ella and the group of newly crowned title holders will be to continue improving their skills in horsemanship and public speaking while broadening their knowledge of rodeo history and Western heritage.

Renova plans to guide the royalty in this by facilitating workshops and clinics and providing “healthy community exposure.”

“I would not be surprised that they step up to roles that are not being asked of them,” Renova said. “These girls are truly passionate about keeping royalty alive in the Tetons and have time and time again shown their commitment and dedication .“

Contact Kate Ready at 732-7076 or courts@jhnewsandguide.com.

Ella Hatch, 13, is crowned Teton County Junior Princess at the Heritage Arena in May following two days of competition during the 2023 Teton County Fair and Rodeo Royalty Pageant. She was one of three girls competing for the title.

Lucila Scharp is crowned Teton County Pee Wee Princess. She and the other new title holders will continue improving their horsemanship, public speaking skills and knowledge of Western heritage.

“These girls are truly passionate about keeping royalty alive in the Tetons and have time and time again shown their commitment and dedication.”

— Amy Renova COUNTY’S ROYALTY COORDINATOR

Jackson rodeo sharpens skills of young athletes.

By Evan Robinson-Johnson

Clowns and confections may sweeten the spectator side of the Jackson Hole Rodeo, but there’s work behind the wings that makes local competition a treat for up-and-coming athletes.

With mini bulls for young kids on the path to a college scholarship, and more bullish rides for semipro athletes looking to sharpen their skills, “there’s no other stock like this around,” said rodeo patriarch and current operator Phil Wilson, who’s seen his share of friends and family members rise through the rodeo ranks.

“We try to match the ability of the young man with the animal,” he said.

Wilson’s son, Buskin, used to ride bulls in the pro circuit before he became the resident stock expert for the local rodeo. His grandson, Levi, has held a Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association card since he was 18. And Levi’s brother, Seth, has been on the TV show and Premier Professional League known as Bullfighters Only and has been ranked top 10 in the world for the last four years.

Another local, Dylan Grant, cut his teeth in the Jackson arena before join ing the pro circuit in 2018. In 2021, he

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Unbreakables: 11 generations of horsemen

By Miranda de Moraes

”Unbreakables” are feral horses, older than 3, too wild to train. Jose Alejos adopted four.

Mustangs have overpopulated Rock Springs. In an effort to repair the ecosystem, the Bureau of Land Management has placed many up for adoption.

While the program offers a nonlethal alternative for population control, some of the wild horses are no longer colts, which can render them “unbreakable.”

When horses can’t be trained any longer they run the risk of slaughter, especially since horse meat is a blackmarket commodity. Therefore, the BLM surveys the new homes of its adopted horses to ensure the animals are alive and well.

It was Alejos’ turn for a checkup.

“Where are my babies?” the bureau worker asked, swiveling his head.

Alejos motioned ahead.

Three horses stood tall, patient, fastened with ropes. The bureau worker’s eyes doubled in size at the once feral mustangs, tamed. He hung speechless for a moment, then asked where the fourth was.

Alejos flashed a toothy smile.

“Between my legs,” he said, sitting atop a horse, one of the adopted “unbreakables.”

As a 10th-generation descendant of Jacinto Alejos — a Spanish horse trainer who he said profoundly contributed to the success of Spanish conquest in the Americas — Jose Alejos has horsemanship in his blood.

In 1611 the Spanish throne gifted Jacinto a 200,000-acre ranch in Retalhuleu, Guatemala, which he said was the first private Spanish property in the Americas. Jose Alejos grew up on this ranch, learning to herd cattle and handle horses as soon as he could walk.

Now a globally acclaimed horse trainer, the 52-year-old Alejos is stationed in Afton at a ranch where he’s “saving horses and changing lives,” as the Bronze Buffa lo Club’s slogan goes.

Alejos’ 20-year-old son, Joe, is a prodigy at the club, attributing much of his success as a now-professional bull rider to the Jackson Hole Rodeo. Joe was the rodeo’s top bull rider last season and is back this year to do it all over again.

The trainer

Jose Alejos calls himself a “war kid,” born in Retalhuleu amid the Guatemalan Civil War. The “warrior” mindset he

cultivated at a young age informed his philosophy on masculinity and his value system today.

“In the modern world we are so accommodated with good stuff, but we need strong men,” he said. “Men like us conquered the land, men like us made society what it is, whether we like it or not.”

Alejos sees worth in war as a means to “save lives.” A virtuous man, he believes, is one who understands he has a “mean demon inside but can keep it down” until the time is right to be a “warrior.”

That thinking has enabled Alejos to excel professionally in the hair-raising sports of bull riding and bullfighting.

As a multigenerational

horseman, Alejos found that bull riding came easily. He won his first national championship when he was 14. Two years later he started competing in college at the University of San Carlos of Guatemala, the fourth-oldest college in the Americas.

Alejos had intended to pursue a professional career in bull riding, but his alcohol addiction shattered his vision.

“When you’re an alcoholic you can’t be a pro athlete — you’re low energy,” he said. “I didn’t make it riding bulls in the U.S. because of alcoholism.”

It took the loss of his second son for things to change.

One month after his son was born, the infant died of a surgical complication. Alejos was 27

at the time and realized it was time to quit his addiction.

“I had to lose a kid to learn and do what I did,” he said.

Because he was no longer young enough to bull ride professionally, Alejos opened a professional bull riding arena in Guatemala called A-10.

At A-10 he recruited formerly incarcerated youth and orphaned children as athletes, training them to channel their aggression into bull riding, which provided the teens with purpose.

“The cartels gave them a sense of belonging,” Alejos said of the past lives of many of his riders. “That’s what I offered these guys: a family.”

Alejos was also committed to helping the kids get clean,

as many struggled with addictions themselves. By sharing his “war kid” philosophy, he helped troubled teens “straighten out.”

“I would tell the delinquents, ‘It’s harder to not break the rules,’” he said. “Going wrong is easy, going clean is hard — especially when you’re an addict.”

In the nine years of A-10, Alejos said, he trained more than 60 kids to ride bulls, propelling them to professional competitions in countries like Australia, Canada, Brazil and the United States. The bull riding competitions Alejos held were so popular that the Guatemalan government insisted on buying the operation in 2006, he said.

Instead of changing hands, Alejos closed it down in 2008.

A few years before he opened A-10, Alejos started competing as a bull fighter, since he was then too old to bull ride professionally. He won the Professional Bull Riders, Inc. World Cup 10 years straight for bullfighting, among other accolades, until he decided to hang up his hat 14 years later.

“In my line of work, there are three reasons to quit,” he said. “When you’re not as good as you used to be, when you start getting scared and when you stop enjoying what you’re doing.”

Alejos was readying to compete at the 2008 PBR World Cup in Chihuahua, Mexico, when he felt something shift. For the first time in his career of extreme sports he felt he didn’t want to say goodbye to his wife and 1-year-old son, Joe.

While he still showed up at the World Cup, he quit bullfighting for good afterward.

Alejos reverted to horse training, channeling his multigenerational wisdom into training professionally. In home-schooling his children, Alejos could travel the world with his family as a horse trainer.

He works “behind the scenes,” often “training the trainers to train,” he said. Now he’s the star of his own show, smoothing out “unbreakable” horses and kids at the Bronze Buffalo Club.

The club

Multigeneration Wyoming cowboys and brothers Cody Hyde and Justin Hyde opened the Bronze Buffalo Club in Victor, Idaho, nearly 15 years ago in an effort to “preserve Western values.”

For about a decade, the Hyde brothers had been hunting for an emblem of traditional

Jose Alejos is a 10th generation horseman. His Son Joe alejos, also a horseman, is a champion bull rider at the Jackson Hole Rodeo.

KATHRYN ZIESIG / NEWS&GUIDE

The Alejos family, of Afton, includes, Emilia and Jose and their three children, Silvia, Joe and Jose Adrian, and their English mastiff, Tonka. Jose Alejos is a descendant of Jacinto Alejos, a 17th-century Spanish horse trainer.

UNBREAKABLES

Continued from 8

horsemanship to add to their leadership team at the club. Within 30 seconds of speaking with Alejos they knew they had found their match.

“My brother and I looked at each other, and we were like, ‘This is the guy we were searching for for 10 years,’” Cody Hyde said. “Holy smokes, he’s got a gift.” They were stunned by Alejos’ ability to train virtually any horse, no matter how unwieldy, and he became a keystone at the Bronze Buffalo Club about four years ago. Beyond Western equestrian breeding, the mission of the club refreshed at the time to include “saving last-chance horses and kids.”

While the club had more than 60 horses on its property in Afton this spring, Alejos has trained hundreds of “unbreakables” in his years with the club, which have been sent back to their homes. By sensing the potential of any rescue, Alejos trains the horses he receives in classical, dressage, roping, ranch or jumping specialties, among

others, to give them new purpose.

Similarly, the club works with many “troubled kids that may not have been very good at where their parents wanted to put them,” Alejos said. He explained that the club “molds them to do what they were born to do,” equipping them with skills, achievements and purpose in horsemanship and rodeo events.

“Anyone can buy a professional cowboy,” the club’s owner said. “We want to make them.”

That’s proven true for Alejos’ son, Joe, who is now a professional bull rider and reigning champion of the Jackson Hole Rodeo.

The boy

Joe Alejos has “always wanted to ride bulls,” though his dad tried to shield him from that career path because of the danger of the sport. While a gifted horse trainer himself, Alejos Jr. was offered the opportunity to hop on his first competition bull in Afton when he was 16. From the moment he was bucked off his first bull, he knew that wouldn’t be his last.

That summer of 2020 he rode bulls in the Jackson Hole Rodeo, and the next year he won second place reserve champion for bull riding. Since then he’s been a reliable rider, winning the entire season last year.

“I think Jackson Hole helped me a lot to give me that next step,” Joe Alejos said. “It’s a pleasure to keep the family thing going and follow in my dad’s footsteps.”

He started riding professionally this year with PBR and dreams of making it to the world finals someday. His dad is certain that’s in the cards. With calloused hands and cultivated humility, he will return to the Jackson Hole Rodeo this summer for round four.

Jose Alejos’ commitment to clean living has enabled him not only to go pro as a bull fighter, but to rescue hundreds of kids and horses — and to be the best dad he can be.

“In my life I did everything I wanted to after I got sober,” he said.

While he was too old to bull ride professionally by the time he quit alcohol, Alejos is thrilled his 20-year-old son can.

“Joe has the quality to be a world champion,” Alejos said. “I feel very proud of the kid.”

Contact Miranda de Moraes at 732-7063 or mdm@jhnewsandguide.com.

KATHRYN ZIESIG / NEWS&GUIDE

Joe Alejos, 20, was the top bull rider at the Jackson Hole Rodeo in 2022. His father says he has all the tools to become a world-class bull rider. “I think Jackson Hole helped me a lot to give me that next step,” Joe Alejos said. “It’s a pleasure to keep the family thing going and follow in my dad’s footsteps.”

KATHRYN ZIESIG / NEWS&GUIDE

Jose Alejos has traveled the world as a horse trainer. He works “behind the scenes,” often “training the trainers to train,” he says. Now he’s the star of his own show, smoothing out “unbreakable” horses and kids at the Bronze Buffalo Club.

KATHRYN ZIESIG / NEWS&GUIDE

Brothers Joe and Jose Adrian Alejos listen to their father talk about horsesmanship at the Bronze Buffalo Club’s training facility in Afton. The boys were homeschooled while growing up so they and the rest of the family could travel the world while their father pursued his work.

COURTESY PHOTO

Father and son Jose and Joe Alejos take a break and reflect on Joe’s latest bull ride at the Jackson Hole Rodeo. Joe, 20, has been riding at the rodeo since he was 16, and has aspirations of competing at a world-class level.

COURTESY PHOTO

Joe Alejos led the Jackson Hole Rodeo in total bull riding points in the summer of 2022 with 94. He had almost $3,000 in earnings at the age of 19.

“It’s a pleasure to keep the family thing going and follow in my dad’s foosteps.”

— Joe Alejos BULL RIDER

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Gracie and Kasey: born to ride

The story goes that Gracie Hardeman and Kasey Carr were both born wearing cowboy boots. Both descending from generational ranching families, Hardeman and Carr have instilled the knack for rodeo in their bag of blue collar tricks.

For Hardeman, a Jackson Hole High School senior and the president of the Wyoming High School Rodeo Association, it’s all about tradition. Her grandmother, Jennifer Clark, competed on the University of Wyoming rodeo team in the 1960s. Her grandfather, the late Earl Hardeman, a member of the Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame, was a familiar voice in the valley, announcing the Jackson Hole Rodeo for more than 30 years.

Gracie’s father, Rob Hardeman, still competes in the arena, and her older sister, Hailey, has followed her grandmother and represents the brown and gold for the Pokes’ rodeo team.

“Rodeo has always been a big part of our family’s lives,” Hardeman said, “Getting the opportunity to grow up on a ranch in Jackson has helped me immensely with my rodeo career throughout the years.”

Now in her fourth and final year of high school rodeo, Hardeman has come out of the gates hot. Last season she tussled with Wyoming weather, a bad draw of stock and injured horses. But her motivation to achieve this spring has been nothing short of monumental.

With the hunger to show off her array of skills at the National High School Finals Rodeo in Gillette come July, Hardeman is after the podium in breakaway roping, her top event.

She was sitting in fourth, behind Farson’s Sydney Jones, Douglas’ Dylan Thar and Yoder’s Hadley Thompson, respectively, in early May.

“The past few years the Wyoming High School Rodeo Association has had some phenomenal athletes, making the competition extremely strong,” Hardeman said, “But I’m working hard on continuing to be a strong competitor.”

Carr, a Jackson Hole High School junior and Wyoming High School Rodeo competitor, has also had another standout rodeo season. After battling with a stress fracture in her tibia last spring, Carr has gotten back into the swing of things.

“My biggest goal is to stay healthy and to continue to take care of myself as well as my horse’s health,” Carr said.

With her groove restored, she has placed within the top four for goat tying at every high school rodeo this season and has been swapping with Yoder’s Thompson for the top spots on the podium. Currently, Carr holds the state buckle-winning position for goat tying with 79 total points for the season. Her talent has also earned her a spot within the top 10 in pole bending and breakaway roping.

On the last weekend in April both athletes saw the arena in Big Piney for their respective events. Carr, who competed in breakaway roping on Saturday, placed sixth with a time of 3.690 seconds.

To close out the rodeo, Hardeman placed sixth in both breakaway roping and pole bending with times of 3.000 seconds and 21.318 seconds, respectively. Carr snuck into the top 10 for

By Mia Fishman

goat tying with her time of 8.950 seconds, placing ninth.

In early May the rodeo crew traveled to Newcastle in search of competition. Hardeman placed within the top 10 for breakaway on both days. Her pole run wasn’t what she had hoped for, but she bounced back into third place in the

rankings with a time of 20.7 seconds.

Carr did well in goat tying, placing fourth on a Saturday and second on Sunday, winning the average. She also placed sixth in barrel racing and seventh in breakaway roping.

But the sport isn’t always all belt buckles and big checks, especially in the

Cowboy State during the winter months. Aside from keeping their horses healthy, weather is the biggest challenge for these rodeo girls.

“Rodeo time in the valley is limited, so when winter hits you have to get a little creative,” Hardeman said.

“I have had to find my own ways to be able to practice without my horse, like roping in my garage on foot and tying my goat dummy,” Carr said, “I’ve also been lifting weights, because staying in rodeo shape is so important, especially when you’re not able to ride all winter long.”

They not only compete at the high school level but can also be found surrounded by grandstands, roping calves, tying goats and running barrels or poles at the Jackson Hole Rodeo during the summer months. Last season, Hardeman waltzed into her senior year with a Jackson Hole Rodeo Breakaway Championship under her belt.

“The Jackson Hole Rodeo is a great venue to season horses and develop my skills,” Hardeman said, “Competing in front of 2,000 people for three nights a week only makes me a stronger competitor, both mentally and physically.”

For generations of rodeo athletes across the valley, the Jackson Hole Rodeo has been the foundation of their love for all things Western.

“The Jackson Hole Rodeo has been one of the highlights of my summer ever since I was 3 years old,” Carr said. “It was the place that taught me what rodeo really is all about.”

Contact Mia Fishman via 732-7065 or sports@jhnewsandguide.com.

The Jackson Hole Rodeo has played a key role over the years in the development of some of Teton County’s top high school rodeo stars.

COURTESY PHOTO

Kasey Carr and Gracie Hardeman are now seniors at Jackson Hole High School and always at the top of the standings in breakaway roping and other Jackson Hole Rodeo events.

RYAN JONES / NEWS&GUIDE

Kasey Carr won the Teton County Barrel Association’s super horse competition in 2015 at the tender age of 9 on her horse, Turbo, more than a quarter century after the competition was reopened to youths.

rode all the way to the Mountain States Circuit Finals, winning $1,972 for an 86.5-point buck on Bad Memory. For those unfamiliar with the scoring, four judges dole out a combined 100 points, 50 for the rider, 50 for the bull. Rides count for score only if the athlete can hold on for at least eight seconds.

And that’s where the Wilson bulls really shine.

Jackson’s rodeo has a particular knack for giving riders a chance at a score, thanks to the caliber of bulls Buskin recruits. Scouring the country for roughstock that are just the right amount of rough, the retired rider puts together a lineup that gives young athletes a challenge without immediately sending them into the dirt.

Talk to the athletes who drive from across the Cowboy State and the Mountain West to compete in Jackson Hole, and they all praise the Jackson rodeo for giving them the best rides of the year.

Of course, having the right bulls is only half the battle. In order to train young athletes, Phil Wilson has put together something of a boot camp on his South Park ranch. Just above the board room where his family gathers on rodeo mornings, there’s an outfitted gym to get the youngsters in shape. In addition to dumbbells and rowing machines, the center boasts an automated bull and a motorized breakaway steer for roping.

Don’t sleep on the training, Wilson warns, unless you want your season cut short by an injury.

A tough attitude might be enough to get a young competitor into the fair-

grounds, but to escape without a pulled groin or a popped socket, some work in the preseason is well-advised.

Do it right and you can make it all the way to the National High School Finals Rodeo, where homegrown star Brody Hasenack took third in bull riding in 2021.

Jackson’s athletes have also found fortune on more gentle steeds. The Hardeman family, for instance, has made a show of the barrels for generations. Hailey Hardeman is competing for the University of Wyoming rodeo team and likely to go pro after graduation.

Keeping things in the family has been a boon for the Jackson Hole Rodeo. But as fewer ranch families call the valley home, the supply of talented cowboys and cowgirls is drying up. Athletes like Hasenack and Hailey’s younger sister, Gracie, wonder who will rise to their ranks after they graduate.

— Hal Johnson

But the old-timers don’t look too darkly on the situation. Wilson likes to say that rodeo is cyclical, with ups and downs in the national attention. As long as he can do his part to keep folks interested in the sport, he believes the athletes will continue to compete.

Hal Johnson, who ran the Jackson rodeo back in the 1960s and still lives in Teton Valley, Idaho, said he’s starting to see “city kids” take up the mantle. And as far as he’s concerned, they’re welcome in the arena as long as they can ride.

“It doesn’t matter where you were raised, it’s the desire, you know. If you want to do it, you can do it.”

Contact

“It doesn’t matter where you were raised, it’s the desire, you know.”

FORMER JACKSON RODEO OPERATOR

WILD RIDES

Continued

looping around one of the first barrels before riding across the arena to the next one and circling it before riding to the back of the arena. After looping around the back barrel, the rider sprints the horse back across the starting line, when the timer stops.

Originally a sport for the ladies, who were judged less on speed and more on horsemanship, outfit and style while the men took part in the roping and bull and bronc riding events, today’s barrel racing is for riders of all sorts — men, women and kids, according to the International Barrel Racers Association.

How to win: Be the fastest. Contestants who knock over a barrel are given no time, though touching a barrel, even to keep it from falling, is allowed.

Mutton Bustin’

The entry for this event on ModernFarmer.com is titled “6 seconds and a sheep,” which pretty much tells you everything you need to know. Mutton bustin’ is like bronc riding, except the contestants are kids and they ride fluffy sheep rather than 1-ton death traps.

Helmeted, the kids basically hug the sheep’s neck and hang on as the woolly ungulate sprints as hard as it can

around the arena. There are basically no other rules, no spurring or style points, no marking out the animal. Though it may seem cruel to stick a kid between the ages of 4 and 7 on an animal that can weigh close to 200 pounds and is intent on leaving its rider behind, the sport introduces children to the roughstock events that their parents or older siblings participate in.

How to win: It’s quite similar to bull riding — just stay on for the six seconds. From there, if several kids manage to hang on and not slide off the animal’s side (which seems to be the way most fall off), it seems to be the judges’ discretion who wins.

Mini Bull Riding

Almost exactly like bull riding, except everything is smaller. Full-grown mini bulls are about 500 pounds (they’re the Lil’ Sebastian of the rodeo), and their pint-size riders are kids who haven’t grown up enough to fit on the back of a regular bull.

Riders are generally 14 or younger.

How to win: See bull riding above. Pee-wee riders, generally ages 8 to 10, are asked to stay on for six seconds; mini riders, generally 11-14, are asked to hang on for eight seconds.

Contact Tom Hallberg via 732-7065 or sports@jhnewsandguide.com.

Mutton busting: Kid meets sheep for all the glory.

RYAN DORGAN / NEWS&GUIDE

Barrel racing at the Jackson Hole Rodeo: It’s a kind of horseback slalom.

Last call

2022 Jackson Hole Rodeo Year-End Standings

Here’s where the Jackson Hole Rodeo riders finished at the end of last year’s season after leaving it all in the arena. Standings are organized by rider place, points and cash winnings.

Bull Riding

1. Joe Alejos, 94, $2,953.25

2. Payton Nelson, 88.5, $3,003.50

3. Emmit Ross, 70.5, $1,125

4. Tucker Wilson, 51, $1,665

5. Buskin Wilson, 36, $767.25

6. Brody Hasenack, 35, $706.05

Mini Bulls

1. Callaway Wilson, 103.5, $1,256.50

2. Landen Forstpointner, 85, $317

3. Strat Youngberg, 74, $648.50

4. Bodie Young, 46.5, $525

Bareback

1. Chance Schielke, 77, $1,740

2. Joe Alejos, 58, $2,105

3. Jaspur Brewer, 49, $844

4. Eian Smith, 26, $554

5. KC Gibson, 9, $0

6. Charles Bisset, 9, $436

Saddle Bronc

1. Blaine Mathews, 207, $6,710.95

2. Caleb Brangham, 107.5, $1,981.80

3. Jacob Bentlage, 90, $1,459

4. Grady Eckley, 69.5, $2,025.50

5. Daniel Weyrich, 23.5, $291

6. Gus Lozier, 18, $430

Breakaway Roping

1. Gracie Hardeman, 133, $1,663.50

2. Dally Wilson, 166, $1,205

3. Hailey Hardeman, 115.5, $887.50

4. Allie Stevie, 90, $591

5. Kasey Carr, 65.5, $382.50

6. Mylee Mickelson, 47, $487.50

Tie-Down Roping

1. Colt Ramsey, 40, $125

TEAM ROPING

The classification of ropers, divided by headers and heelers, is essentially a handicap system. Simply put, the higher the number, the more skilled the rider. Full classification can be found at TeamRoping.com

No. 8 Header

1. Ryder Kerr, 256, $3,202.60

2. Trina Wheeldon, 168, $1,599.40

3. Bill Lewkowicz, 98.5, $512

4. Gracie Hardeman, 70, $557

5. Hailey Hardeman, 66, $673

6. Jaden Edwards, 56, $637.30

No. 8 Healer

1. Chris McGee, 207, $2,288.20

2. Case Kerr, 164, $2,279.10

3. Jahrod Little, 144.5, $873.20

4. Trey Malecheck, 94, $1,046

5. Cooper Lindsey, 62, $648

6. Sad Kreikmeier, 36, $685

No. 10 Header

1. Buck Schouboe, 137, $2,276.10

2. Hank Kerr, 108, $1,484.37

3. Kevin Smith, 102, $1,799.34

4. Allie Stevie, 71, $929.88

5. Neale Jones, 70, $1,005.84

6. Ryder Kerr, 64, $725.28 No. 10 Heeler

1. Kyle Chrisman, 161, $2,644.02

2. Joey Parker, 121, $1,707.60

3. Chance Stevie, 118, $1,648.90

4. Shawn Wheeldon, 85, $920.37

5. Colt Ramsey, 80, $1,115.28

Open Header

1. Wes Pulham, 134, $1,185

2. Billy Grandson, 106, $2,466

3. Owen Lepper, 93, $1,920

4. Brian Espenschied, 71, $738

5. Hays Espenschied, 38, $198

6. Buck Schouboe, 34, $513

Open Heeler

1. Mike Stevie, 182, $3,546

2. Chad Espenschied, 103, $1,089

3. Cael Espenschied, 88, $324

4. Chance Stevie, 73, $774

5. Josi Young, 47, $474

6. Colt Ramsey, 38, $135

BARREL RACING

The four brackets are set by riders with the fastest overall time. 1D includes riders with the fastest times; 2D riders have times ½ second or slower than the overall fastest time; 3D riders clock times 1 second slower than the overall; 4D riders are 2 seconds or slower than the overall fastest time, according to the National Barrel Horse Association.

Barrel racing statistics are organized by rider, mount, points and prize money.

1D

1. Dally Wilson, Chic, 150, $751.79

2. Kasey Carr, Oaky, 71, $637.17

3. Trina Wheeldon, Fozzy, 58, $1,066.96

4. Samantha Thoenig, Willy, 37, $392.63

5. Ashlyn Chamberland, Oakey, 37, $246.74

2D

6. Lexi Carr, Moe, 34, $405.51

1. Dally Wilson, Chic, 85, $945.90

2. Dakota Bethers, Lux, 73, $820.32

3. Ariat Kerr, Martien, 67, $202.80

4. Ella Hatch, Weldun, 63, $164.66

5. Hailey Hardeman, Trump, 38, $117

6. Charlie Peterson, Dusty, 31, $43.68 3D

1. Ariat Kerr, Martien, 136, $582.66

2. Ariat Kerr, Kat, 128, $160.16

3. Ella Hatch, Weldun, 104, $375.16

4. Paiton Peterson, Jim Dandy, 42, $153.92

5. Leah Carr, Holly, 37, $52

6. Ashlyn Chamberland, Oakey, 36, $87.36 4D

1. Macy Parker, Bay, 217, $713.84

2. Sara Little, Gunner, 168, $400.76

3. Ella Parker, Afro, 124, $108.03

4. Frankie Gransden, Jake, 67, $228.15

5. Silena Wheeldon, Jax, 64, $85.14

JH Rodeo Autographs

NATALIE BEHRING

A rodeo worker guides a horse into a corral at the Jackson Hole Rodeo.