story by Riata Cummings
Brit Bradford is the 13-year-old son of Cody and Tracie Bradford of Salem, Utah. Brit is the middle child, his siblings being Brooklyn who is 19, Beretta who is 16, Brynlie who is 11, and Brielle who is 10. Brit will be a 7th grader this year, and he loves that his online schooling gives him the chance to rope and ride more frequently than traditional schooling would.
When Brit was 2-years-old he was trampled by a horse backing out of a trailer, and seriously injured. He was life-flighted to Primary Children’s Hospital where he fought for his life. Afraid that he would be afraid of horses, his parents set him atop a gentle horse as soon as he was released. Now Brit has an immense love for the sport and is a cowboy, through and through.
When Brit was 4-years-old his family moved to Lana’i Hawaii, where they had the only arena on the island. His Great Grandma and Grandpa Brown where the first in his family to take up team roping, and they passed it to his Grandpa Clyde, who passed it to his father. While living in Hawaii, Brit began competing in rodeo. When he was 9, they moved back to Utah, and Brit welcomed the added challenge of more rodeo competitors. Today, he competes in team roping, tiedown roping, goat tying, and ribbon roping. This year he finished 3rd in the Utah Junior High State Team Roping with his partner, Luke Hanks, and 2nd in the Utah Junior High State Boy’s Goat Tying. He then went on to compete at nationals, where he and Luke finished 6th in the first go-round of the team roping. This year Brit has set a goal to become a state champion and the Jr. NFR Champion Tiedown Roper.
This year Brit will be serving as the UJHSRA Student Vice President, and this is what he would like to say the members:
“My name is Brit Bradford and I am the 2019-2020 Student Vice President for the Utah Junior High School Rodeo Association. I am looking forward to this opportunity because I love rodeo and want it to continue to grow! I want to be a voice for my peers and help make decisions that affect us as rodeo contestants. There is so much that goes on behind the scenes of a rodeo and people have no idea how much work goes into putting on a successful rodeo. I want to learn everything I can and get kids more involved, so they know how hard people work to give us the opportunity to do what we love. I hope everyone has a great rodeo season and remembers how important it is to set goals, work hard, practice, and be grateful for the opportunity you have to be doing what you love. The very most important thing is to be kind to others, cheer everyone on, and help at the rodeos!”
Rodeo has taught Brit to be kind, to be grateful, and to work hard. He lives by the saying, “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard,” and believes the mantra to be true. Rodeo has put Brit in the position to learn from his peers and show kindness to his fellow competitors. Brit’s heroes include his mom, dad, big brother Beretta, and Whit Hill, who have all helped him become the athlete he is today, through their kindness. One day he would like to be remembered not only for a world champion title, but also for his kindness. He would like to thank his parents and grandparents for their support in the practice pen and the arena, providing the stock and the opportunity to compete in the sport he loves. He would also like to thank Outlaw Events and Glen Larsen of Frontier Trailers for their help and support along the way.
