story by Ruth Nicolaus
Anna Clark has a bond with a special horse.
After pairing out cows and calves all winter on a ranch horse named Bogey, her buckskin mare, she tried the horse in the barrels.
Bogey knew nothing about barrel racing, but Anna’s parents knew the mare was bred to be fast. They’ve had some success this past fall, doing well at rodeos in Lexington and Valentine, and they have a special bond, her mom, Alicia, says, one that is “once in a lifetime,” Alicia said. The horse was bred and raised by Anna’s grandparents, Stan and Carolyn Clark.
The Nebraska Junior High School Rodeo Association member lives on a ranch outside Thedford, Neb., and also competes in the goat tying and pole bending. For those two events, she rides Dusty, a dun gelding who is the opposite of Bogey, she said. “He’s lazy and you have to push him to get him to go,” she said. But once they’re in the arena, he gets excited.
Anna is an eighth grade student at Thedford School, where English is her favorite subject. She loves to read, especially mysteries and historical fiction, and likes history class as well, learning how people lived “back in the day.”
Her favorite teachers are her English teacher, Mrs. Haake, because “she relates to you,” Anna said. “She’s one of the teachers that can joke around with you but also be serious and teach.” She also enjoyed her sixth grade teacher, Mrs. Maseburg, because “she was always happy and was willing to answer our questions.”
She participates in volleyball, basketball and track, and is on the honor roll.
For fun, Anna loves to hang out with friends and learn Tik Tok dances.
The Clark family is host to several animal species, and most of them are pets: dogs Johnny, Bo, and Rex, who are ranch dogs; Columbus the chicken (the only chicken named out of the flock due to her black and white feathers; the other chickens are all red and indistinguishable from each other); goats Squints and Wendy (named from The Sandlot movie), and cows.
Anna’s favorite meal her mom makes is tacos, with homemade shells and beef, sour cream, lettuce, olives, cheese and salsa.
Her favorite place to be is on the top of a big hill near the house, where she can watch the sun rise.
The most fun she’s had on a trip was when the family visited Yellowstone National Park and Cody, Wyo. two years ago.
When she grows up, she’d like to be a doctor or a veterinarian.
She has a younger brother, Caleb, who is ten, and a sister, Brenna, who has gone ahead of her family to heaven.
Anna is the daughter of Adam and Alicia Clark.
