story by Lindsay King
“To me track is very similar to barrel racing, you have to run fast and work hard at it. I like that track is more of an individual sport like rodeo, you are not going to be good if you do not work hard at it, it takes a lot of dedication,” said Tristen Spivey from Marlow, Oklahoma. A hurdler and relay runner in track, Tristen also plays basketball and runs cross country, but rodeo is easily her favorite sport of all. “We live in the country and my mom had a horse, though neither of my parents ever rodeoed, they let me ride and took me to a rodeo. I saw the barrel racing and I’ve been hooked ever since.” Tristen’s dad Keith got her a horse when she was eight and she started running barrels in a local youth association. “I won some buckles in barrels and poles. Those were the first buckles I ever won in rodeo.”
This fall Tristen won her first round in the barrel racing in the OHSRA. “I enjoy all the Oklahoma high school rodeos, but my favorite is now probably in Beaver. That was where I had my first high school win. It is a long drive, but I had some good luck there.” Tristen runs barrels on a mare she trained, making her win this fall even sweeter. The 19-year-old is now trying her hand at breakaway roping for the first time. “I have always watched breakaway and thought it would be fun to do. I bought an older breakaway horse last February, now I just have to get it figured out. My goal is simply to catch a calf, it is a tough event to get the hang of.”
The Bray-Doyle High School graduate plans to attend Cameron University with aspirations to become a chiropractor for both people and horses. “I want to own a practice and then train barrel horses on the side, maybe go to some futurities. Of course, I want to work towards making the NFR one day as well.” This summer and fall Tristen plans to buy some young horses to train and eventually sell as the start to her future barrel horse business. “I got some college offers to rodeo, but I really want to focus on training young horses. I am thinking about buying my PRCA permit for the fall though.”
A big influence in Tristen’s life has been Ashley Whatley, a native of Marlow. “Ashley has been my biggest supporter and mentor, she has helped me with my mental game mostly. She has grown my relationship with God and I think that has helped my mental game the most.” She also looks up to Hailey Kinzel for her humble spirit and down-to-earth personality for such a successful and young rodeo athlete. With few fellow rodeo competitors at her school, Tristen enjoys doing something different from everyone else. “Most kids don’t understand why I put so much work into rodeo or why I cannot hang out all the time like they do. Rodeo has taught me a lot about self-discipline and knowing that if I want to be good I am going to have to work for it.” This discipline and leadership is evident in her school work and FFA, as she serves her chapter as president.
It comes as no surprise that Tristen loves to ride, something she looks forward to doing every day. She works for her family maintaining the grounds of their wedding venue to pay for high school rodeo. “I love how friendly and supportive the people are in the OHSRA. It has definitely given me a step up in rodeo. I feel like I have gotten better since I started competing in it.”
