story by Lindsay Welchel
Growing up in rodeo was a natural choice for Destyn Ladner, 20. As a child, the little cowgirl followed her two older brothers into arena competition, and she’s been involved in just about all she can ever since.
Destyn competed in junior high and high school rodeo in everything from cutting, to barrel racing, goat tying, breakaway roping and more. She has won All-Around titles and was state champion breakaway roper in Mississippi High School Rodeo. She went to nationals all four years as well and competed at the International Finals Youth Rodeo in Shawnee where she was on the Bloomer Trailers team. Now, Destyn is in college, but rodeo is still a constant in her life. She college rodeoed at East Mississippi Community College, where she just finished up her Associate’s degree. In the fall, Destyn will attend the University of West Alabama and continue college rodeo while getting her Bachelor’s in biology with hopes of going on to dental school.
Destyn’s favorite event is breakaway roping, which she does actively in the Tri-State Rodeo Association.
Compared to doing other school sports, Destyn is glad she got involved in rodeo.
“It’s a good culture to grow up in. You get to meet so many different people and travel all over the place while you’re doing it. I think [other sports] are kind of a local thing that you do with people that live around you. [With rodeo] there’s more opportunity, and it’s a good family-based sport to grow up in,” she says.
To succeed takes hard work and determination, but also surrounding yourself with positive people, Destyn explains.
“I like to practice and be around people that are better than me that could show me something I need to improve to be better or faster. [A] positive influence is the best way to go. You don’t want to hang around people that are going to drag you down.”
She wants to thank some of those people that lift her up;
“My parents, I couldn’t do it without them. I’d like to thank Randy and Kim Bloomer for helping me throughout high school and Justin Thomason with Resistol. He’s been really good to me. I’d like to thank Lindsey Pender and her mother Rita for helping me in the barrels all this time, and my family and God.”
Destyn is already helping the next generation of cowgirls, her niece, Kinley, is 4 and has started to rodeo, continuing the family tradition.
