story by Michele Toberer
Beau Peterson is in her second season of competition with the Kansas Professional Rodeo Association, and the Council Grove, Kansas cowgirl is ready to get back to winning again. Beau has just finished her sophomore season at Oklahoma Panhandle State University in Goodwill, Oklahoma, where she is studying to obtain her Biology degree which she will use to later attend nursing school. She finished the semester in an online class format, and the Covid-19 pandemic has put quite a dent in what she had planned for the 2020 rodeo season.
Beau hails from a rodeo family; her parents, Matt and Dustin Peterson were both raised in rodeo, and her older sister, Michaela, also is a strong rodeo competitor. The family owns and operates a ranch and feedlot. Matt high school rodeoed and went on to team rope and steer rope, and Dustin high school rodeoed before getting involved in women’s ranch rodeo. Beau competed with much success in the traditional rodeo ranks, starting as soon as she could ride a horse and moving from junior rodeos to junior high and high school rodeo competition before stepping into the college and open level.
During high school, Beau competed in the Kansas High School Rodeo Association, where she went to national finals all 4 years. In 2017, Beau won the Kansas state champion title in breakaway roping and goat tying; and was the 2017 IFYR Champion Goat Tyer. She was the Kansas state champion pole bender, breakaway roper, and goat tyer, and all-around champion cowgirl in 2018. Beau finished 4th place in the world in goat tying, and 6th place in breakaway roping at the 2018 NHSFR. Continuing her winning streaks on into her rookie year of college competition, Beau was the reserve champion goat tyer for the NIRA Central Plains region and was the 2019 NIRA CNFR Champion Goat Tyer. Although the 2020 season was looking bright, and Beau was set to qualify for the CNFR in breakaway roping, barrel racing, and goat tying, with her sights set on another national title, Beau has had to overcome the disappointment she felt when the 2020 CNFR was canceled amid the Covid-19 pandemic. With all region champions named by standings at the point the season was canceled, Beau finished as the 2020 NIRA Central Plains region all-around champion cowgirl, and champion goat tyer.
Beau is grateful for her team of horses she competes on, as well as her parents and the village of people that support her rodeo endeavors. She rides a 14-year-old bay gelding named Hustler to breakaway rope, “I’ve been riding him since he was 6 and I’ve grown as a roper with him. He’s done his job perfectly each run and allowed me to be successful.” Zanny was a 24-year-old chestnut gelding that she won the goat tying on at the college finals and had been in her family since he was 2. “He passed away last year and is definitely missed. Now, I’m goat tying on a 6-year-old mare named Missy that I just started training last year. For barrel racing, I’ve been blessed that Marc and Kim Harland have given me the opportunity to ride some of their amazing horses. Right now, I’m riding their 7-year-old bay mare, Barbie.”
Beau is enjoying competition in the KPRA and was grateful to qualify in barrel racing for the 2019 KPRA finals, where she was named the 2019 KPRA Rookie Champion Cowgirl. “The KPRA puts on a great production of rodeos and their finals were really fun.” She looks forward to the 2020 KPRA season resuming so that she can return to the rodeo competition that is such an integral part of her life. “I’m looking forward to the end of May or first of June, when KPRA rodeos should get back on track, I’d like to qualify in barrels and breakaway for this year’s finals.”
During this rodeo hiatus, Beau has played basketball a time or two to pass the time, and has mainly spent a lot of time roping, riding young horses, and keeping her good horses ready to go as soon as the gates swing open.
