story by Siri Stevens
Josey Murphy is 14 years old and ended her junior high career with back-to-back All Around titles for the Louisiana Junior High Rodeo Association. She competes in barrels, poles, breakaway, goats, team roping, and ribbon roping. There’s a three way tie for her favorite between barrels, breakaway and goats. “If I had to pick one, it would be breakaway. It’s an aggressive event and I’ve always liked the feeling of having a rope in my hand,” she said, with her rooster, Jimmy Dean, crowing in the back ground.
She started competing when she was three. “My mom (Julie) got a really old horse for me and I started walking and trotting around and pretty soon I could lope the pattern myself so we went to playdays.” She practices everyday on one of her six horses. “There are around 35 horses on the place – my family, especially my dad and my uncle, gets horses in to tune on or sell.” Murphy Ranch is located in Keatchie, Louisiana. “There is a little store and a four way red light, two churches, and that’s town,” she said. “I love it – it’s very pretty – green grass and hills.” Josey has one older brother, Macon, 16. “Sometimes we want to kill each other, but that’s brothers and sisters.” Macon a sophomore in high school and was named one of the top 50 basketball guards in the nation. He competes in rodeo as well in calf roping and team roping. They practice together at home, and sometimes at the end of the practice session, their dad, KC, will call for a three calf match, and they will compete with each other. “My dad screams, saying ‘you just won a $30,000 trailer’ to make it fun.” KC has a fence building company, he also buys and sells cows, as well as hay that is raised on the ranch. Everybody in her dad’s family lives on the ranch, her uncle along with her grandparents.
Josey is excited to start high school next year. “It’s not easy being a freshman, but I’m going to go for it and do my best.” There are 150 students at the high school, located in Grand Cane, 20 minutes away. “My brother has a license and will take me.”
Josey knows she wants to rodeo when she gets out of high school. “I might try for the NFR but I’m not positive. I haven’t thought about what I want to study, but I know I want to rodeo.” Rodeo seems to be in the family blood. “My dad’s side of the family is from Montana, and my mom’s side is from South Texas, so everyone loves rodeo.”
