story by Riata Cummings
Hadley Robinson is the son of Lucas and Jaimee Robinson of Coalville, Utah. His siblings are Calissa, Britton and Jaislyn, and together the family enjoys riding horses, watching movies and going to rodeos. Hadley attends North Summit Middle School as an eighth grader, and the 13-year-old’s favorite classes are language arts, math and science.
Hadley started competing in rodeo as a 6th grader, but he has ridden horses for as long as he can remember. He loves the great environment of the Utah Junior High School Rodeo Association rodeos, and enjoys the adrenaline rush he gets when competing.
He competes in the boy’s breakaway roping and in the team roping as a header for Talon Odenbach. His team roping horse is Coke and his breakaway horse is Bloue. Hadley practices every day but Sunday, roping the dummy, exercising his horses and drilling the fundamentals. Recently Hadley has placed at his qualifying rodeos, and last year he qualified for the Utah Junior High School State Finals Rodeo. This year he has set a goal to win a saddle in one of his events.
A couple of Hadley’s heroes include his Grandma and Grandpa Wilson. His grandma, Louise, makes his rodeo shirts, and his grandpa, James, gives him pep talks before he competes. Hadley looks up to them for their kind personality and giving nature. “Even when you do something wrong, they are still on your side. They are always willing to help other people achieve their goals, and I love that.”
Hadley’s greatest strength is his positive attitude. He is “always smiling,” and knows that keeping a positive attitude is crucial to success. “Things don’t always go perfectly, but you have to have a positive attitude about it. Your mind can feed you those negative thoughts, but you have to let the positive wash the negative thoughts away so you can keep competing.”
One of Hadley’s hardest experiences was putting down his old horse. He and the mare had a close relationship and a “good bond” because they had been riding together for many years. “One day I came home, and she was laying down in her pen. She couldn’t get up, and I had to tell my parent it was time to let her go.” The process was emotional but having another horse to focus on and being surrounded by supportive family helped Hadley move past the experience and become a stronger person.
Hadley would advise rodeo rookies to “get a good bond with your horse because without that everything just falls apart.” He would encourage them to work with their horse outside of rodeo and to “spend time improving together.”
Hadley would like to thank his parents, grandparents and siblings for supporting his rodeo dreams and helping him become a better competitor. He is grateful for the people who have made his rodeo career possible and for the chance to compete in the greatest sport on dirt.