Dallie Bastian
story by Skylar Wright
Dallie Bastian is the 12 year old from Neola, Utah and competes in breakaway roping, barrel racing, pole bending, goat tying, ribbon roping and team roping. She is most proud of making nationals this year in two of her events and winning rookie of the year for the sates of Utah.
She is a sixth grader competing at nationals this year in pole bending and breakaway. This year she decided to draw out of pole bending. “My pole horse is older and I didn’t think he would run as good as he does in Utah and the trip would be hard on him too,” she said.
As a child growing up she has always been around horses and her parents rodeoed growing up. Her parents now just haul her and her two siblings to their rodeos and help keep horses in shape. Dallie has four horses that she uses out of the families six head they own.
She attends Roosevelt Jr. High School where her favorite part of school is PE. “I like to be able to run and play.” Dallie also plays the piano and has for about four years now.
Dallie is a very determined 12 year old that loves to rodeo, spend time with her family and her two dogs. She has plans of making nationals as many times as she can and continue to rodeo as she gets older.
Gracie Peterson
story by Skylar Wright
Gracie Peterson the 13 years old from Delta, Utah competes in pole bending and team roping. She attends Delta Middle School is very determined when it comes to competing in the various activities she’s involved in.
Outside the rodeo arena she plays basketball, softball, soccer and volleyball. “Its hard to make time for everything but somehow I fit it all in,” she says. Her dad helps by keeping her heel horse, Cowboy, tuned up and in shape.
Cowboy has been apart of the Peterson family since he was a four year old. Gracie’s dad started him to ride and was roping off him when Gracie decided to take over and start teaching him the poles. Cowboy is now her pole horse and heel horse for the rodeos.
The youngster has an older brother who also rodeos and it pushes Gracie to do her best. “When my older brother beats me it makes me work harder.” She has set goals to run a 19 second pole run and to be a national champion pole bender one day.
Her future plans are to become a large animal vet. “I love to help animals and I want to help.”
Gracie knows what she wants and understands what hard work is, even at a young age. Her horse is rode everyday or she can’t go to the rodeo that weekend and she makes sure that her homework is done on time. She appreciates her family for always pushing her to do the best she can.
Joey Dansie
story by Siri Stevens
13-year-old competes in team roping, chute dogging, tie down roping, ribbon roping and he’s considering adding bull riding to the list next year. “I think it looks like fun and it will add to my All Around points,” said the son of Zane and Lorana Dansie. Zane produces ZD Cattle ropings for as long as Joey can remember – 24 years, since 1991. Joey helps his dad by flagging or working chutes or just ropes and wins some money back. Joey has been roping his whole life. “It’s just fun,” he said. Joey does ranch rodeos for fun. He was one out of going to the Junior High Finals in all of his events, and now will concentrate on heading to Oklahoma for the NLBFR.
Joey has six brothers and sisters – four brothers and two sisters. He is the second to the youngest. The family works at the ranch and Joey brands, and is the one that holds the wire when it’s time to fix fence. He is hoping to go pro rodeo once he’s done with high school, he is not sure yet.
Joey won a saddle in
Mesquite.
He does both head and heel, and likes them both the same.
When he grows up, he wants to be a professional rodeo cowboy.
Mom works at the house, in the garden, and the only time Joey helps her in the garden is when one of his 16 goats gets in the garden. “I tie the little ones and leave the big ones for breeding or just goat roping them.” Joey put on a goat roping once at a high school rodeo. “It’s hard to haul all the panels and chute and goats to them.”
Joey is going to be an 8th grader at Ft. Herriman. He likes school – his favorite class is PE, and his least favorite is Language Arts.
He practices with his sister (Whittney, 23) every morning. “We practice goats, ribbon roping, tie down roping, and my dad runs the chutes.
