story by Riata Cummings
Cameron Dickson is a senior at Altamont High School where he enjoys his welding and animal science courses. Cameron does farm work for Jim Taylor, and upon graduation, he hopes to move into the work force full time. When he isn’t busy working, rodeoing or going to school, Cameron enjoys spending time outdoors and can usually be found hunting.
Cameron is the son of Quin Dickson of Vernal and Janelle Bascom of Lapoint. His siblings are Kenzie Choffin, and Janessa and Chance Dickson, and Cameron is the only member of his family involved in rodeo. He is currently living in Bluebell, Utah with the Goodrich family so he can attend Altamont High School and practice more frequently with his roping partner.
Cameron’s friend, Koven Peterson, loaned him a horse and helped him get started. Now, Cameron heads for Justin Goodrich in the team roping. He qualified for the state finals his sophomore and junior years and is determined to qualify this year and consistently catch for his partner.
Cameron loves that team roping has “never comes easy. I have always had to work for it. You have to give your partner a chance to win. There is a balance of responsibilities that makes it that much more rewarding when it pays off.”
He ropes on a horse named Justin Time, who belongs to the Goodrich family. The sorrel gelding is usually calm and easy going, but “it doesn’t take much to get him excited and ready to rope.” Cameron and his partner practice as often as they can, usually about three times a week.
Rodeo has taught Cameron that “life is not as easy as it looks. You put in the work and put in the time if you want to be good at anything. Winning doesn’t come easy, especially if you aren’t willing to work for it.” When he started roping, he would get down on himself for mistakes or shortfalls. “I wanted to be good, so I decided to work for it. It’s always challenging to get to where you want to be; when life is hard you have to keep going. Don’t let the bad runs get to you. Don’t beat yourself up but be willing to learn and always strive to be better.”
Cameron’s heroes include his father and his grandfather. He looks up to his father, Quin, for pushing through the pain of a rare brain disease to live life and find happiness. He admires his grandfather, Bob Dickson, for encouraging him to pursue the western lifestyle and he is grateful for his friendship and guidance throughout his life. Cameron also looks up to his great-great-grandfather, Thomas “Riley” Blackburn, a world champion team roper and trick rider with the Buffalo Bills Traveling Circus. One day, Cameron would like to be remembered as a positive, hardworking, and accomplished man like his role models.
Cameron would like to thank the Goodrich family for giving him the opportunity to continue rodeoing and for helping him become the athlete he is. He would like to thank Koven Peterson for getting him started down the rodeo road. Finally, he would like to thank his parents for supporting his rodeo dreams.