story by Ruth Nicolaus
Laney Lynch is disciplined.
The 18-year-old cowgirl, a resident of Meeker, Okla., gets up early every morning to work horses before she starts her school studies through an online program. She knows she has to make herself do the things she may not want to do, including school work, so that she can keep her grades up.
And after her studies are done, the Oklahoma High School Rodeo Association member practices her events: breakaway roping, team roping (as a header for Ethan Griffin), and reining cow horse.
Her breakaway horse is a dun named Caesar who is strong. “It took me a while to get used to how hard he left the box,” she said. “He breaks really hard and stops really hard.”
Her head horse was a palomino named Peanut who was a perfect fit for her, but who is injured. So she is currently riding a gray named Rule, who gets her by. “It’s hard to go from one that was perfect” to a second horse, she said.
Her reining cow horse is a young mare named Chili who is sweet and “has a lot of feel to her,” Laney said. “She works really good, and she’s probably the prettiest horse I own.”
As a senior, Laney enjoys online classes because of their flexibility. She can do her schoolwork according to her own schedule and doesn’t have to rush through it if she’s headed to a rodeo. “I can make better grades this way,” she said.
For fun, she loves to play video games and read comic books. The last comic book she read was “Ms. Marvel,” and she enjoys playing “The Legend of Zelda.”
She competes in the USTRC ropings and won ninth in the #11 roping at Finals last year.
Her favorite food is her grandma’s mashed potatoes and gravy, with corn mixed in. Actually, anything her grandma makes “is amazing”, including her cheesecake, which is another of Laney’s favorites.
She has qualified for the short go-round at the state finals the past three years, and went on to the National High School Finals Rodeo her sophomore year in the cutting and her junior year in the working cow horse.
Laney has an older sister, Callie Kirk, who just got married last November.
She is the daughter of Micah and Sheila Lynch.
