story by Lily Weinacht
Chelsey Alex credits rodeo and horses with turning her life around. The 23-year-old breakaway and team roper from Watsontown, Pennsylvania, grew up riding horses at her Uncle Ken’s home. After being abused as a child, it was the sport of rodeo that became her focus. “My uncle introduced me to Roger and Lisa Pontius, and they took me in like a daughter and got me into rodeo,” says Chelsey. “I did the Keystone Junior Rodeo Association, and I started there when I was 11 and I’ve been doing rodeo ever since. It was the support system that everybody gave me that I liked, and the friends I made from all over.”
Chelsey competed in the KJRA until she turned 18, then joined the APRA. “Going into the APRA and competing against different age groups is incredible. It was me at 18 going against 40 year olds and they were kicking my butt!” she says with a laugh. Currently, she’s sitting in the top ten of APRA breakaway ropers. “I’m hoping this will be the first year I make it to the finals. I’ve been pushing a lot and going to every rodeo I can.” Chelsey, a header, ropes with Roger Pontius, and keeps her horses at the Pontius farm just a few miles away. “He’s pretty much my uncle. He and I travel everywhere, and I call him Uncle Roger. Breakaway is more my favorite, but only because in team roping, you have five minds to deal with, whereas with breakaway, it’s me, my horse, and the calf. It’s the adrenaline rush of going out for that two second run.
“My mom and grandmother have definitely inspired me to keep going,” Chelsey adds. “I always quit at sports when they weren’t going good, but with rodeo, they really pushed me to do the best I could. Lauren Wagner was a huge coach to me – last summer I didn’t catch at all and she kept pushing me and told me the things I did wrong and how to fix them. She was great!” Chelsey’s mom and grandmother come to as many of her rodeos as they can, while her boyfriend, Jake, travels with her often. “I call him my good luck charm, because every time he’s been with me, we place at every rodeo. He’s a big supporter, and he drives while I sleep.”
Both of Chelsey’s roping horses are in their early twenties, but she says her palomino gelding, Dakota, still has the heart of a 10-year-old. “I don’t practice too much on him because he gets too antsy in the box, but when it comes to performances, he can time the barrier out without me kicking him. My head horse, Copper, is blind in one eye, and he’s the first horse I owned myself. He knows his job too and puts me right at the tail end of the steer and waits for me to turn him off. He’s been blind ever since we had him, but it’s the opposite eye from where the steer comes out, so he can still see the steer coming.”
Along with rodeoing, Chelsey started a new job this summer as a correctional officer at a women’s facility. She graduated from Bloomsburg University with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and wants to become a counselor. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking at Ricketts Glen State Park, visiting wineries, and running in 5K’s. Most recently, she ran for the Wounded Warriors, and she and her boyfriend also like to take his boat out. “I have a 9-year-old head horse I’m trying to get on the road because I want to retire the other one I have now,” she finishes. “We also have a 13-year-old I want to become my breakaway horse, so I’m just trying to get some young horses to step up and compete as good as the others.”
