story by Lily Weinacht
“I really enjoy working with the young horses and watching the light bulb come on for them, and seasoning them and getting to compete,” says Kylie Wells. “I’ve made a lot of friends, and in rodeo in general you’re like a family. That’s one of the things that’s kept drawing me back to compete in rodeo, and of course, the crowd. You can’t really beat a Saturday night under the lights.”
This is the 31-year-old’s first year competing in the CPRA, returning to the rodeo scene for the first time since high school. “My parents knew nothing about horses, and my older sister got involved in horses and we went from there,” Kylie explains. “We joined 4-H and high school rodeo and it’s been in our blood ever since! I have two sisters and we all still barrel race to this day.” Kylie high school rodeoed for her home state of Ohio and qualified for the NHSFR twice, once as the Ohio High School Rodeo Queen, and the second time in the barrel racing. Following high school, she focused more on barrel races. “My parents were very supportive and gave up a lot so us girls could have our horses and go down the road. My sisters kept it at friendly competition, but you still wanted to beat them. If they were out practicing, you were definitely out practicing.”
Kylie came to Colorado for the first time in 2007 for a job and moved back to Ohio several years later. She returned in the last year after her boyfriend took a job with Black Mountain Drilling in Divide, Colorado. Kylie’s mare she raised from a yearling was showing such promise that she decided to join the CPRA. “Her registered name is Dashing For Dinero, but we call her T. She’s a nine-year-old AQHA palomino mare I bought as a yearling from Grace Ann and Deke Walker. I started running her late in her four-year-old year and that first weekend I ran her, we won the 2D both days. I’ve won a couple saddles on her and a buckle. She had a foal that’s a little over a year old now, and I’m hoping he’ll be my next rodeo mount in a few years.” Kylie also travels with her beagle, Kippy, and her backup barrel horse. “My boyfriend, AJ, is very supportive and I wouldn’t be able to go up and down the road without him,” Kylie adds. “My sponsors have helped me out a lot this year. Schumacher’s Alignment and Tire in Woodland Park keeps my truck and trailer going down the road, and The Laser Lady out of Peyton, Colorado, keeps my horses feeling good, and so does Nutrena Feeds.”
During the week, Kylie is an electrician apprentice for Elk Valley Electric in Woodland Park, Colorado. This is her second year in the apprenticeship, with three more to go. “We do mostly residential and custom homes and everything from the start to trenches to the very end. That’s one of the most rewarding things when the owners turn the lights on.” Kylie also enjoys meeting up with her barrel racing friends and riding, or hiking and exploring Colorado. “You get a lot of sunshine here, which is a big thing for me, and if you want to go to the plains or the mountains, it’s not that long of a drive to get there. There’s so much history here – you drive through these small towns and they still have old mining buildings, so you get to see all that history in front of you.” Kylie is also on the board of the Ute Pass Saddle Club, home of the Ute Trail Stampede Rodeo which they are excited to have sanctioned as a CPRA rodeo this year.
Kylie’s ultimate goal is running down the alley of the Thomas & Mack at the WNFR. “My goal is to make the CPRA finals this year, and I qualified for the NBHA’s World Championships this October, so I’ll be taking both horses to Perry, Georgia. I want to have clean runs and qualify for the finals from there, and keep my horses working and healthy.”
