Living in a small town, there are fewer opportunities for unique extracurricular activities. Two students from Yutan High School—siblings Holden and Ansley DeGroff—don’t let this stop them, though, and are still able to compete in high school rodeo.
“Rodeo is a sport with multiple events where you can do all sorts of things like bull riding, bronc riding, multiple roping events and there are also some sorts of wrestling events,” sophomore Holden DeGroff said.
Holden competes in team roping, which includes a header, a healer, a rope and a steer.
“The steer is lined up in a shoot and once you nod for the steer, the steer runs out. The header ropes the horns and the healer ropes the feet. You try to rope the steer as fast as you can,” Holden said.
Holden’s sister, freshman Ansley DeGroff, competes in barrels, poles and breakaway barrels.
“Barrels has three barrels you ride around, and poles has six poles that you weave through twice,” Ansley said. “During barrel breakaway, you get into a fenced in area, back up and once you nod your head, the calf leaves the shoot and you try to rope the calf.”
From training to packing for the trip, the rodeo preparation can be a long process.
“To prepare for the rodeo, I ride my horse every day and go over the basics most of the time,” Ansley said. “Usually a day before, I get everything ready and packed for the trailer. And then the day of, you just have to be ready to drive far.”
While training is year-round, the actual rodeos are concentrated during two times of the year.
“High school rodeo is in the fall, and then there’s a spring season, and they both last about two months each,” Holden said.
During those two-month spans, the Degroffs try to go to as many competitions as possible.
“We go to about somewhere around 20 to 30 rodeos, but in the off-season, there’s jackpots that we can compete in,” Holden said.
The high number of competitions can present some challenges for the siblings.
“Injuries for the horses and keeping them in shape is a big challenge,” Ansley said. “With school and sports, it’s hard to be able to practice and ride every day.”
Holden and Ansley have each received many awards for their rodeo performances, including buckles, bridles, breast collars and horse tack.
“When I win awards, it feels great. It pays off for when all the practice you have put in wins you something,” Holden said.
Because they practice and compete so often, both DeGroffs have learned many lessons that can help them get better.
“Some of the biggest lessons I’ve learned has to be [that] you can’t get mad at yourself. It’s not always yourself, it’s the animal, and you always got to be very kind and easygoing with your animal, otherwise it can make everything else a lot harder for yourself,” Holden said.
Ansley agreed, saying, “You can’t get down about one run, and if you mess up once, go home, practice it and go back stronger.”
Although there are challenges, neither Holden nor Ansley plans to stop doing rodeo anytime soon.
“It’s like a passion to me, like somebody who plays a school sport that they enjoy,” Holden said. “When you work hard enough for it, you want to keep doing it.”
