story by Riata Cummings
Madison Davenport is an eighteen-year-old rodeo athlete from the tiny town of Neola, Utah. The small community near Roosevelt has a very secluded and quiet environment, and Madi loves it there. Madi takes classes online, which she enjoys. Madison has a twin sister, Taylor. She also has an older brother Austin, and two younger siblings, Sage and Holden who are also twins. Her mother is Staci Schneider, but she has also been raised by her grandpa Kim.
Madi grew up in the rodeo community and has competed at local shows since she was a little girl. She now competes in the Utah High School Rodeo Association as a breakaway roper and pole bender. She enjoys roping more than the speed events though, and practices hard to get better at it. She likes to stick to rodeo, but some of her other hobbies include boating and snowboarding with her family. She also started her own beading and leather work company and enjoys seeing the product of her hard work.
Hard work is a frequent for Madi, and she tries to rope four times a week. She is proud of the improvement she has made in her roping. Just like many rodeo athletes, Madison battles her head. Despite good productive practices, it can be hard to keep your head right at the rodeo. She knows that if she can relax, have fun, and do what she knows how to do she will be able to rope at the top of her game. Madison loves that rodeo is such an individual sport where it can just be her and her horses. She rides two bays, Egypt and Rango. Egypt is her breakaway horse, and the sometimes grumpy Rango she uses for barrel racing and pole bending. The atmosphere of rodeo is a unique and special feeling. The sense of hospitality and community make things that much better. Madi hopes to compete in the Rocky Mountain Professional Rodeo Association in the future. She also hopes to start a few young horses and maybe make it to the NFR one day.
Madison hopes to leave the legacy of always being her own person. She strives to make others happy, which in turn gives her the same reward. Madi would advise rodeo athletes to have fun and enjoy the moment. Don’t worry so much about winning, just go out there and have fun. She can’t live without her animals and would spend her last five minutes with her family, given the chance. With those priorities, its easy to see the Madison is going places.
