story by Lily Weinacht
“Rodeo always pushes me to do my best, and it’s given me a strong work ethic,” says 14-year-old Ella Zonneveld. “It teaches people to be respectful and take care of their animals – it’s like a life lesson!” The cowgirl from Berthoud, Colorado, stepped into the rodeo lifestyle four years ago, after her older sister Grace blazed the rodeo trail in their family. “She started rodeoing, and that got the rest of us going,” explains Ella, who starts her third season in the CJHSRA this spring. She competes in barrel racing, pole bending, goat tying, breakaway roping, and running ribbons for Seth Anderson. “I really like breakaway roping, because it’s not just about riding, but knowing your horse and being a team. I’m loving junior high rodeo. The people are all really good, and so are the rodeos. One of the things I look forward to each weekend is Cowboy Church with Dave Hoffman. It really keeps me grounded and focused on not just doing my best at rodeoing, but also how I treat people along the way. I have a lot of really good friends in rodeo and the girls I compete against also push me to keep improving, especially Shea Grogan.”
Ella is currently leading the breakaway roping, and she credits many people with helping her succeed. “We’ve been taking lessons from Kelly and Drew Joseph for several years – we met them when we started going to their feed store. Tyler Boxleitner high school rodeos, and he’s helped me a ton in breakaway – he’s very motivating. Maddy Dickens, Faith Hoffman, and Ellie Eagles have been amazing coaches for me in goat tying.” She’s also practiced with her siblings over the years. Grace (20), works on a ranch in Casper, Wyoming, Grant (19), a bull rider, is pursuing an apprenticeship as an electrician, and Ava (16) competes in the CSHSRA. Their mom, Linda, hauls them to rodeos, and their dad, Ernie, takes care of animals while they’re away.
Ella is stepping up to her sister Ava’s barrel horse, Legs, in the breakaway, and her family bought a new horse, Teddy, just before Thanksgiving. “He’s started on barrels and poles but I want to use him mainly for my goat horse,” says Ella. “My sister and I like to buy prospects and train them to be all-around horses. Teddy and I are getting along, and I’ll start using him this spring. Over the years we have gotten a lot of our horses from Jim Kinnison, who has been a great resource and close friend for years.” The family has six horses total, four goats, and a dog and cat, while Ella is working to convince her parents to add roping steers and calves to the barn.
An eighth grader, Ella is homeschooled, going to a co-op in Longmont once a week for her assignments. “I’ve been studying physical science, writing, history, and art, but my favorite is usually science,” she explains. “Being homeschooled gives me a lot more time to practice and work so I can pay my entry fees.” She works five days a week between two barns in the area, cleaning stalls, tidying the barns, and exercising horses. Once home, she practices and rides her horses to keep them conditioned. Ella also used to do gymnastics, but set it aside to focus on rodeo. Her family also enjoys going to their cabin near Conifer and snowmobiling or ice skating, while Ella hopes to start skiing again.
“This year, I’d like to make it to junior high nationals, hopefully in breakaway, barrels, and goats,” Ella finishes. “I’m hoping to keep my standing in breakaway for the season – I just started breakaway roping a year ago, and it’s been pretty good to me.”
