story by Riata Christiansen
Cheyenne Manning was raised in the small town of Cedar Fort, Utah. She loves the close and supportive community that has shaped her into the person she is. Cheyenne is the only child of Jeannie and Texas Manning. The three of them are the closest of friends, and enjoy spending time on the weekends riding horses or just hanging out.
Cheyenne is a senior at West Lake High School. Her favorite classes are her agricultural classes and she is a member of the National FFA Organization. She competes in the Veterinary Science CDE, a competition for members who are interested in the veterinary field. She has wanted to be a vet or vet tech since she was little, and the competition provides her with opportunities to succeed and grow, as well as teaching her about what she can do for her own animals.
Cheyenne’s parents never competed in rodeo, but they did grow up around horses. Her first interest in rodeo was rodeo queening. She told her mom she was going to be a rodeo queen someday, and started competing when she was just nine years old. She did a lot of small town pageants until she was old enough to compete in larger ones, and through it all she has developed an immense passion for queening. She loves educating people about the sport she loves and representing the people she loves, all while looking beautiful. Being the face of the sport might come with a lot of responsibility, but there is also a lot of opportunity and fun.
Along with queening, Cheyenne competes in the breakaway roping, barrel racing, pole bending, and goat tying. Her favorite of those is the barrel racing, because the lessons you learn on the back of a horse can be carried to every area of your life. She loves that the clover leaf pattern has taught her to push herself to learn more and accomplish more all while feeling the rush of competing. Her horses include Kitty, a sassy and stubborn bay roan, and Diamond, who has an endearing and quirky personality. The typical practice usually starts with the challenging goat tying, then on to barrel drills or conditioning her horses.
Her mother, Jeannie, is her hero. Despite people telling Jeannie it wasn’t possible, she worked hard to become a nurse. Cheyenne hopes to be humble and hard working as she strives to accomplish all the goals she has set. One of her greatest motivators is her best friend, Shakimbree, who reminds her that no matter what happens you can’t give up. Shakimbree supports and helps Cheyenne despite the fact they often compete against each other.
Cheyenne lives by the motto, “I know that God would never give me anything I can’t handle, I just wish he didn’t trust me so much.” Her advice for anyone in rodeo is to remember that everyone must start somewhere, so don’t compare your start with someone else’s finish. Practice, practice, practice because the more you do the better you will become.
