story by Ruth Nicolaus
Klay Jones loves to work.
He works at his job on his uncle’s ranch and he works at his school studies.
But his favorite kind of work is as a steer wrestler and heeler in the Utah High School Rodeo Association.
The Lehi, Utah cowboy spends his days as a senior at Lehi High School, where his favorite class is sports psychology. He’s learning about the mental part of sports, and it helps with his rodeo competition. “You want to visualize a perfect run, and have that run in your mind. Walk through the steps, tell your mind how your body is supposed to move, so when it happens, it’s muscle memory and technical memory and it’s second nature.”
His school day ends at noon each day, and that’s when he heads to his uncle’s ranch, where he works five or six hours a day. He’s careful with his earnings (“I’m kind of tight with my money,”), saving it but occasionally spending it on tack or rodeo equipment. He’s just purchased a pair of custom chaps.
Then on the weekends, he’s in the arena, competing. He’s qualified for state finals the last three years, in the bulldogging each time, and he’s currently ranked tenth in the state in that event.
After high school graduation, Klay might choose to work on a ranch in Montana or Nebraska, then attend college.
He is the youngest of five children: brother Jake, sister McKenzie, and his triplet sisters Kassadee and Kadee.
He is the son of Darin and Kellie Jo Jones.
