story by Siri Stevens
This was the year that Ella Kay achieved two big goals. She is the 2023 National Junior High School Goat Tying Champion and won the short round. “They were really big goals,” said the 14-year-old, from Iowa, Louisiana. Ella will now compete in the high school level. “I will show them that a freshman can do it – age doesn’t intimidate me. I’ve always played up – both in rodeo and other sports. The only thing I can do is control what I do and I can’t control what they do.” She wears air pods to drown out the background noise and puts everything in God’s hands. “It’s always been like that. When I get to a big stage, I try not to express any nerves because my horse will know.”
She went to her final year in Perry, Georgia, in three events; the other two fell apart, but the goat tying made up for it all. Ella Kay’s practice routine is rigorous. She ropes on both of her horses every afternoon, ties goats with coach, 2022 College Nationals Goat Tying Champion, Kamryn Duncan, and conditions in the gym with different coaches at least twice a week. “I push sleds, tires, and run with resistance bands,” she said. “That’s helping with my agility and it’s helping me be more mentally tough.”
The crew that joined Ella on the ten-hour trek from her hometown of Iowa, LA, was dad, Brian, mom, Dea Anne, and sister Addison (17). The whole family put in effort to support the world champion, “It took a big crew to get this done,” said Brian, who used to compete in tie down and now works as a supervisor at Westlake Chemical, “All the grandparents at home are taking care of chores; her older sister, Addison, is helping in the barn, and her mom Dea Anne (who is an elementary school principal), is keeping track of forms, fees, clothes, and cooking.” Her parents and older sister instilled in her that God is there to help. “Kamryn and I say this prayer before every run, God has a plan. When He’s ready, I’m ready.”
As winning the world caught Ella by surprise, her dream to be a rodeo athlete caught the family by surprise too. When Ella was little, she would beg her older sister and her parents to let her rope too. “My family didn’t expect me to be a cowgirl and at first they said I was too young,” recalls Ella, “When I finally convinced them to let me try, I jumped on a horse and started roping.” Going into the sixth grade, she approached her parents again with the desire to high school rodeo. “I told dad I was doing junior high.” Her first year in the LJHSRA proved Ella to be a big deal indeed with her finishing her first season as a state champion in the goat tying. The second time around at nationals, Ella was wiser as to how to handle the pressure, “I changed not paying attention so much to points and just trusting my body to do the work.”
Riding three horses and roping isn’t all that Ella puts her heart and soul into. A student-athlete at Barbe High School, Ella competes year-round in her extracurriculars of volleyball and softball. Ella’s passion for rodeo continues to be unyielding. She also looks forward to competing in high school rodeo in a month, where she hopes to be a four-year national qualifier all while trusting in God’s greater plan.
