by Lily Weinacht
Emily Linn of Siloam Springs, Arkansas, is the first of her family to rodeo. The 17 year old watched barrel racing at her hometown rodeo and was determined to chase cans of her own, running her first barrel pattern around three 5 gallon buckets in her field. “I wouldn’t be the person I am today without rodeo, and I definitely wouldn’t have all my horses without it,” she says.
Emily competes in Little Britches in barrel racing, pole bending, goat tying, trail course, and most recently, ribbon roping as the runner. She and Devon Don Burger won second and third in their first two runs together. “During one of my last rodeos, the cow trampled me, but it was fun!” Emily says with a laugh. “I’ll learn some more skills to avoid that.” Barrel racing is her favorite since she’s competed in it the longest, and Emily also plans to start breakaway and team roping.
She credits her rodeo and horsemanship skills to several people, including her parents, Connie and Kevin, who gave Emily her first horse. “My horse trainer, Jerry Queen, has worked with me on my horsemanship and riding, which really helped me as a rodeo queen too. I wouldn’t be doing as good as I am right now without my barrel trainer, April Yeager, and the skills she’s taught me in barrels.” In 2015, Emily tried out for her hometown’s rodeo queen competition and came in first runner-up princess. She returned in 2016 and won the queen title, representing her rodeo as Miss Siloam Springs Rodeo Queen. She passes her crown to the next queen in June. “One of the things I learned is to always smile,” Emily says. “Everyone is looking up to you no matter what you’re doing – it doesn’t matter if you have your crown and sash on or not!”
She has five mares, but currently rides two in her rodeo events. “Missy, my gray mare, will be six this spring, and I use her for barrels and poles. She moves like a rope horse, and I’ll be using her when I start roping. Cracker Jack will be seven this spring, and she’s my goat and trail horse. I fully trained them both, so I’m pretty proud of them.” Emily also has several cows and goats, along with a miniature pig she calls Dudley. “He always goes to us with rodeos, and he’s an awesome cuddler. When I get home from school, he gets to roam around the house, but pigs are like toddlers – they get into everything!”
Emily is the youngest of five brothers, though all are grown and living on their own. Several of them come to watch her rodeos, but Emily travels to most of her events with her mom, Connie. She has qualified for the NLBFR every year since joining for 2012/2013 season, but 2016 was the first time she was able to compete at the finals. “Because of the drive and how much it would cost to get to Colorado, I couldn’t make it out, so it helped a lot to have the finals closer,” Emily explains. “The Lazy E is one of my favorite arenas, and my horses and I had a good experience. We’re coming back this year, and hopefully we’ll do a lot better.”
When she’s not rodeoing, Emily is a student at Siloam Springs High School. A junior, her favorite class is Ag. “I’m finishing Animal Science II right now, and I’m also in FFA. I’ve been on the horse judging team since I was a freshman. If I’m not rodeoing, I’m riding horses, learning to rope, or going to the gym with my best friend,” she adds. “I’d like to continue to rodeo in college, and I plan to go to NEO (Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College) to get my prerequisites done. Then I’d like to go to either Oklahoma State or Kansas State to become an equine vet.”
