story by Ruth Nicolaus
Danyelle Williams has a very special horse, a “gift,” she says.
Sonny, a sorrel with white socks, was purchased by the Williams family when he was four years old and Danyelle was nine. The grade gelding was “barely halter broke,” she said, and “he has honestly been the majority of my success.”
The Vale, Oregon, cowgirl, a member of the Idaho Cowboys Association, rides Sonny for both of her events, the breakaway and the barrels. She rode him for junior high, high school and college rodeos. He’s carried her to three Columbia River Circuit Finals Rodeos in the barrels and once in the breakaway, and numerous Idaho Cowboys Association finals, between her and her mom, Monica, who used to breakaway and team rope on him.
Like many of the good ones, Sonny doesn’t come without his quirks, she said. “He’s never going to be a kids’ horse. He spooks a lot, and he has bad habits he’s picked up in his old age.” One of those bad habits is untying himself, so that when she goes to rodeos with him, she keeps an eye on him.
Running barrels on the gelding “used to be a little scary,” Danyelle said. “He was so fast, and he didn’t want to turn very well.” But in his later years, he’s come along well, she said. “He hit his prime at age seventeen.” At the College National Finals, Danyelle won second on him two years in a row, in the barrels. She won the all-around with Sonny, but he wasn’t eligible for the AQHA Horse of the Year, since he was grade. That didn’t matter to Danyelle. “We know what he’s worth to us.”
Danyelle attended Blue Mountain Community College in Pendleton for three years and spent a year at Eastern Oregon University in La Grande, Oregon, before graduating with a degree in elementary education.
She has been substitute teaching since graduation, and she enjoys it. “It’s the perfect opportunity to work and rodeo,” she said. “I love it. I just like to be able to do different grades and different classrooms. It’s been a good experience to see how other teachers do things.”
It’s also given her the chance to rodeo on Sonny while he is able. She knows he’s coming towards the end of his career, and she loves his personality. “He has a big heart. He gives 110 percent every time.” She takes it day by day with the horse, “because I don’t know when we’ll have to retire him.”
Danyelle and her mom rodeoed together in the ICA and other associations for years. She remembers coming home from a rodeo with her mom, where they tied for first in the breakaway, on Sonny. “That ride sticks out.” Her mom has had shoulder and hip replacements, so hasn’t been able to rodeo with Danyelle for two years.
She and her mom train performance horses, with support from her dad, Joe. Just this spring, Danyelle bred her first mare and will have her first colt next year. She’s hoping for a multi-talented horse, one that can do both the breakaway and the barrels. “I’ve been spoiled by (Sonny)”, she said. “Ideally, I would like to replace him. I think that horse is a once in a lifetime, but we’re hoping to have a couple more.”
This summer, she has nannied for a rodeo family in Caldwell, Idaho. It’s the perfect combination for her. She helps with homeschooling and horses. “I get to do a little bit of everything I love.” She likes her job but hopes school is in session this fall, so she can get back to sub teaching.
Danyelle has discovered she enjoys middle school kids. “I feel like it’s such an awkward time, and I feel like they need some guidance,” she said. “I didn’t think I would like middle schoolers, but I do. I think that’s where I could see myself in a fulltime teaching position.”
She has an older brother, Chase Williams, who has two kids.
