story by Lindsay Humphrey
In 2019, Harper Kate Wilburn was standing on the sidelines watching her 14-year-old sister, Avery, compete at the Junior World Finals in Las Vegas. After laying down a smokin’ run in Memphis, Tennessee, at the Lucky Dog Productions Barrel Race, Harper Kate came out on top in the junior division and punched her ticket to the December event. “I won the qualifier, but it was a tough race and I knew it would be. One of the cool things about qualifying was that my sister also qualified with me,” said the Redbanks, Mississippi, cowgirl. It was the 11-year-olds first attempt at qualifying for the KK Run for Vegas Production. Evidently, she was well prepared when she was up on the clover leaf pattern.
“I always have to say a big thank you to my trainer¬, Kindyl Scruggs. She owns the half brother to my horse, so she always knows how to fix the problems I have. She helps my sister too.” It was only a few years ago that Harper Kate was riding ponies before stepping up to 7-year-old, Canada-bred, Chasin’ Fire Money (“Chase”). At first Harper Kate was intimidated by the gelding, but the duo clicked almost immediately when they met just two years ago. Chase experienced Vegas as a back-up horse for Avery and that gave Harper Kate the opportunity to hit up some of the jackpots in their down time.
The Junior World Finals were set in Texas for 2020, and that changed things up for all of the competitors. “The pen is similar to Vegas, but it’s still different. The long alley cuts you off from the whole arena.” A few weeks before the big event, Harper Kate gave the arena a test run at an amateur rodeo. She shook the nerves out in the first performance for a clean run on the second day. Consistency was the name of the game in December when Harper Kate and Chase clocked 14.9 and 14.7 in the first two rounds to clinch their spot in the short go. Their 14.4 pattern put them in 12th place for the average that week.
As a first-generation rodeo competitor, Harper Kate tried her hand at more than just one event through the Tennessee Junior High School Rodeo Association and Little Britches. She runs barrels and poles, ties goats and is a runner in the ribbon roping. But that’s not all. Harper Kate is also serving as the Tennessee Youth Queen. “I love it, it’s really fun. Chase had to acclimate to being a queen horse in addition to his other events. We used a pillowcase on a stick to practice carrying a flag at home.” Originally Chase was strictly a barrel horse, but Harper Kate has helped him diversify his athletic endeavors.
“I love getting to teach Chase new things and spend quality time with him. I taught him how to do poles and now he loves it. Sometimes we do better in the poles than barrels.” Harper’s main goal is to ride every day and improve her skills in all her events. So far, Harper Kate is having a strong season as a sixth grader. “I hope we can keep our momentum going, because we’re leading the poles in junior high and little britches and then we’re second in barrels.”
Despite her dedication to rodeo, Harper Kate also enjoys spending her time working on 4-H projects. She’s been a member of 4-H for the last three years and has found her niche in cooking and art. “My mom (Kristen) used to own a catering business, so I was always around cooking. And my dad (Dustin) is really good at drawing, so that inspired me to pursue art.” Typically, Harper Kate is splitting most of her time between Chase and Avery, but sometimes 19-year-old Madison is thrown into the mix as well. She’s the oldest of the three and is now away at college, but still supports her younger sisters in their rodeo careers. Harper Kate is thankful for the support of her family, her equine vet, Zach Bruggen, and all of her sponsors: Edge, Rock N Roll, Panhandle, and LE Equine.
