story by Lily Weinacht
Alex Christen met her longtime goal of competing in the M-SRA this year, and came away from the 2016 finals the Women’s Rookie of the Year. “Until now, I hadn’t been able to get my M-SRA card and compete in their finals because they were happening during my college rodeos, so winning was pretty exciting,” the 22 year old from Elwood, Nebraska, explains. She finished her fourth season of college rodeo with Southwestern Oklahoma State University (SWOSU) this spring, and also competes in the NSRA and KPRA.
Alex stepped into the rodeo world in junior high, and while her mom ran barrels and poles in high school, Alex pursued breakaway roping and goat tying. Her first roping coach was none other than Roy Durfey. “I owe a lot of my success to him, and I wouldn’t be where I am today without the help of a lot of rodeo families,” says Alex. “We’ve had some really good people come out of the state in goat tying like Shelby Winchell and Cati Stanko, and you have to give 110%. I loved my college rodeo region, and I was head to head with the other girls all year long. I came up only a point or two short of Nationals, and I came close to the CNFR, but state finals were good to me, and it’s only made me a better person by missing those. I didn’t start roping until I was a freshman in high school, and now I’m hanging out with champions. That doesn’t happen without trying!”
That try comes from the physical and mental training Alex is always working to perfect. “There’s always someone out there willing to work harder than you, so don’t sit around. It’s all about hard work, and some talent, but mostly hard work. When I show up to a rodeo, I’m confident I’ll win because I know I’ve put in enough work that it will show in the arena. If it doesn’t work out, then I move on to the next rodeo. I owe a lot to my head coach at SWOSU, Mike Visnieski, for helping me with the mental training. It was something I knew about but had never executed until I attended school. Athletes my age are at the point where we have the physical part down, but now it’s all in our heads. I travel with Lori and Ginalee Tierney, and they are so positive – we’re always laughing and having a good time, and that’s helped me too.”
Alex rode Lori Tierney’s yellow horse, Charger, when her own roping horse, Cash, hurt her splint bone in June. “Charger got me to the top five in the NSRA and the rookie in Mid-States, and I can’t thank Lori enough for that. I have another breakaway horse, Corona, and my sister, Maura, is goat tying off him in college rodeos.” Most of the horses Alex rides have the Phillips brand. Her step-dad, Tom Phillips, runs Boots and Phillips Rodeo Company, and Alex helps ride colts for another family business, Phillips Quarter Horses. “We have steers and calves and bucking horses galore here. I rope on practice calves at home, and help with the livestock.”
Doing school online gives Alex flexibility to work with her family, and she’ll graduate from SWOSU in May of 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in health information management. “I also love spending time with my niece, Ryann, and watching Husker football,” she says. “My goal is to win titles in all my rodeo associations from here on out, and I’d like to get my WPRA card and become a world champion roper.”
